Cultural Criticism and Fifty Shades of Grey Outline

Cultural Criticism and Fifty Shades of Grey

I     1. Intro

a.       Fifty Shades of Grey is the first book of a trilogy

b.      Began as Twilight fanfiction.

c.        “Mummy/Mommy Porn” is defined as “a term seem[ing] to index a woman whose identity as a mother usually overrides any sexual desires she may have, but who has been awakened by the series” (Jones, 227).

d.      Is Fifty Shades of Grey “challenging or acquiescing in what are essentially quite conservative sexual and gender roles?” (Jones, 226).

e.      Outside of the BDSM element, this is a very common romance…boy meets girl, they fall in love, and live happily ever after.

f.        Thesis: Regardless of how you might feel about these books, I will argue that the conversations stimulated by them contribute positively to our current views on sexuality and traditional gender roles in our society.

        2. Synopsis

a.       Anastasia Steele, a shy, awkward, college student working in a hardware store, is asked to conduct an interview for her roommate who is ill.  She ends up interviewing Christian Grey, a self-made billionaire.  Christian pursues Ana, has her sign a non-disclosure agreement, and together they begin a BDSM relationship.  Issues of low self-esteem, childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, trust, and abandonment, pepper the story, ultimately, after three books, lead to a successful partnership in marriage, will all elements of BDSM left behind them.

        3.  Fifty Shades of Grey has come under fire for several reasons. – (Negatives)

a.       The book reiterates traditional gender roles

                                                               i.      Enforces male dominance and female submissiveness

                                                             ii.      Claimed to be one of the most “abusive relationship[s]” portrayed in popular fiction” (Purcell).

b.      Anastasia Steele is a stereotype, having “low self-esteem…abandonment issues from her father, apparently has only one close friend who bullies her…doesn’t seem to possess any self-sufficiency aside from cooking for her roommate and herself” (Purcell).

c.       Anastasia’s “wanting to please Christian apparently includes subjecting herself to verbal and emotional abuse from him” (Purcell).

        4. Today, you can’t seem to get away from the word ‘feminist’.  It’s in popular music, it’s on television, and all of your favorite celebrities are either identifying as feminists or rejecting the idea in favor of being ‘humanist’.  (The Argument Amongst Feminists)

a.       Katie Rophie writes, “We may then be especially drawn to this particular romanticized, erotically charged, semipornographic idea of female submission at a moment in history when male dominance is shakier than it has ever been” (Downing, 93).

b.      Blogger Maya, at the feminist blog, Feministing, says, “Really, I’m not perplexed by [fantasies of submission]. And I am in no way appalled. I am fully in support of anyone doing whatever (safe, consensual) thing that [sic] want to do to get themselves off. Feminists for Orgasms!” (Downing, 94.)

c.       Blogger Smash, on Radical Feminist Hub, says, “Freedom is slavery.  Submissiveness is empowering.  BDSM erotica is feminist…just a few of the lies that patriarchal culture has served up for women in the bestselling BDSM novel 50 Shades of Grey” (Downing, 94).

d.      These two sides of the argument illustrate the difference between liberal feminists and radical feminists.

4.        If we push aside the feminism for a minute, we can see some positive outcomes. – (Positive Outlooks)

a.       Women are able to talk about their sexuality

b.      People are more willing to be flexible in terms of their sex lives

c.       People are able to be more accepting of the choices of others

d.      Cultivates discussions about “non-normative” love and sex (Jones, 226).

e.      At the end of the trilogy, “Anastasia is presented as having won that most vital prize in a woman’s life – the love of a good man” (Jones, 227). ( I have to rethink this quote…sounds a little tongue in cheek. Maybe I’ll cut it up a little bit.  “Anastasia is presented as having won…the love of a good man”).

References

Downing, Lisa. "Safewording! Kinkphobia And Gender Normativity In Fifty Shades Of Grey." Psychology & Sexuality 4.1 (2013): 92-102. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2015.

Jones, Lucy, and Sara Mills. "Analysing Agency: Reader Responses To Fifty Shades Of Grey." Gender & Language 8.2 (2014): 225-244. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 5 May 2015.

Purcell, Carey. ”Fifty Shades of Feminism – A Response of E.L.James’ ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.” The Huffington Post. 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 May, 2015.