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.
This is a really great outline. I like the idea of gender roles and talking about the negatives behind the novel. Have you decided to do this instead of Pride and Prejudice? I totally think you should!
ReplyDeleteYour positives are cool and interesting to note, because I certainly didn't think anything positive could come out of such as book, yet I suppose it does. Also, I did not know that there were two types of feminists--liberal and radical---thats very interesting..Definitely make sure you mark the difference between their interpretations of the book, I would say.
ReplyDeleteThis looks really interesting! I might put the section on feminism before you talk about why 50 Shades has been criticized...it might be a smoother transition.
ReplyDelete