Why is it that a pornographic novel written primarily for middle-aged women has taken the nation by storm? What does this tell us about the condition of womanhood in modern Britain?
E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey is ‘the book that everyone is talking about’ and in August it became the best-selling book ever in Britain. Yet its popularity is baffling critics: it’s universally agreed that the writing is terrible, the plot flimsy, and the subject matter heavily pornographic. It initially became popular due to the discretion afforded by the e-book format and now its scandalous descriptions of the physical relationship between the two main characters are freely discussed in the office or on the bus. It has titillated some and offended others, but no one — even those of us who have chosen not to read it — can deny that it’s a cultural phenomenon.
Despite the ‘shock factor’ that has helped propel the book to fame, Fifty Shades is, in fact, an extremely conventional story at heart: a virginal heroine (Ana) is invited to make a pact with a damaged and controlling man (Christian Grey), who is both decidedly dangerous and unavoidably alluring. She is wooed by his expensive gifts, but she must attempt to remain pure throughout the various trials that he presents so that she will succeed in being the only woman to win his heart. And, in so doing, she will transform his dark side so that they can live happily ever after. It’s another fairytale of men’s dominance over women, but here the twist is that Christian invites Ana to enter into a relationship which is purely sexual. He must have complete dominance and she must submit entirely to his wishes, however perverse, within pre-agreed boundaries.
Fans claim that the book is such a page-turner because it is ‘character driven’; readers relate to the main female character and are drawn in by her plight, becoming desperate to know what she will do. Women regularly confess to staying awake late into the night to read more, spending all weekend devouring the words, hiding it under their desks at work to squeeze in another chapter. However, literary critics mock the narrative substance of the book, claiming that it’s an excuse for the racier content: ‘James writes as though she's late for a meeting with a sex scene’.1
All about power
But the book has a secret. For all the talk of bedroom antics, it isn’t really about sex at all. It’s about power, or, rather, the lack of it. It’s about handing over control and enjoying the release from responsibility. Its popularity is testament to the desire of busy, over-worked, exhausted modern women to give up and give in to an expert. Juggling careers, families and domestic roles, women are longing for someone who can take control: ‘When you're a young mom and everyone depends on you for everything… [you like] the idea of having someone take care of you and telling you what to do, even in a twisted sense’.2
This wish exists in a sex-saturated culture, where music videos, song lyrics and television programmes daily break the boundaries of taboo. Alongside these runs a cyber world where endless amounts of graphic content are available at a single click. Academics are arguing that the levels of gratuitous nudity and sexual perversion that we are subjected to are making people blasé and jaded, meaning that they reach for further and further extremes to try and find meaning in sexual encounters. Lost and confused in a sea of suggestiveness, women are turning to Fifty Shades out of a desire for someone to take control.
Craving a loving Lord
As Christians, we should not be surprised that our culture is revealing such a craving. People long for someone who offers to be in loving command of our lives without repressing our individuality, because that’s the relationship that we were made to exist in — with God the Father.
We need to help reveal that looking to dominating men, as depicted in pornographic novels, is not the answer for modern women. The novel quotes from Tess of the d’Urbevilles and Hardy’s words perhaps contain some relevance for modern readers who are at risk of searching for their own Christian Grey: ‘Ladies know what to guard against because they read novels that tell them of these tricks’. Moreover, we need to help our culture see that in all the discussion of control and submission that the novel has stimulated, in fact the really powerful agent is the porn industry, who have now found a new target for their ‘highly lucrative, potentially addictive, ultimately damaging’ product.3
Rachel Helen Smith works as an events planner and freelance writer in Cambridge. More of her articles are available at http://www.rachelhelensmith.com
Footnotes
1. Guardian (July 6 2012), ‘Why women love Fifty Shades of Grey’ (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jul/06/why-women-love-fifty-shades-grey)
2. ABC News (April 3 2012), ’50 Shades of Grey: Why Mommy Porn is Hot’(http://abcnews.go.com/Health/50-shades-grey-women-turned-sexual-submission/story?id=16059118)
3. Herald Scotland (July 14 2012), ‘Mummy porn and a male model of sexual fulfilment’ (http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/comment/columnists/mummy-porn-and-a-male-model-of-sexual-fulfilment.18148693?_=cf2ad82fb83125f83dfcac83ec61a3807a9ac126)
