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By now, all of us know that the movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, is in the theaters. It’s based on E.L. James’ bestselling erotic novel, which has sold over 100 million copies around the world.
Since the book has been out for awhile, some research has already been done on it that presumably applies to the movie as well. The Journal of Women’s Health has published two articles by Amy Bonomi, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Human Development and Family studies. The first study [1] was simply to determine if the book promotes emotional and sexual abuse (which it does) and the other one [2] was to see if there was a connection between the violence depicted in the book, and the true life experiences of those women who read the book. Turns out there was. The study showed strong correlations between health risks in women's lives – including violence victimization and disordered eating – and reading Fifty Shades. In other words, if a woman reads Fifty Shades of Grey, she either already has, or is more likely in the future, to suffer from an eating disorder or to suffer violence at the hands of an “intimate partner” than women who do not read such books.
We value freedom of speech, so we place very few restrictions on the media. And yet, is it not obvious that all mental input has some influence? Children don’t become communists, or jihadists, or racists, or rapists, from riding tricycles and playing with toy cars. They develop those tendencies from experiences that impact them during vulnerable times, and especially if those experiences present certain activities as very positive. Fifty Shades is mainstreaming pornography, but worse than that, it shows the emotional and physical violence against women as romantic rather than destructive. If a young person, whose sexual identity is not yet developed, watches this movie, should we not expect it to influence the way that person views acceptable sexual behavior?
Research already shows that about 1 woman in 4 experiences abuse at the hands of an intimate partner. And that is with the prevailing social viewpoint that such abuse is wrong. Can we not expect such violence to escalate if it is promoted in the media as positive?
There is a tendency to think of the removal of all sexual restraints as “empowering.” I’m “free” to do whatever I want. But what is shown in Fifty Shades is empowering only to the abuser, certainly not to the one being abused. Christian, the multimillionaire abuser, actively stalks Ana, including buying the place where she works and tracking her through an app on her phone. He controls her behavior, her eating, and who she is allowed to spend her time with, isolating her from friends and family. He humiliates her, threatens her and blames her. As a result, Ana is afraid of making Christian angry, afraid to talk to her friends, and insecure in her own identity.
Even though it’s supposed to seem “sexy,” the book even includes several instances of rape, where Ana is coerced into or outright forced to have sex.
This is not the first movie in recent years to deal with the subject of “Intimate Partner Violence.” The difference is, the others have universally recognized this violence as a desperate evil, and have attempted to realistically deal with the awful suffering many women experience from it. Fifty Shades of Grey is being marketed as “an incredible fairytale love story,” treating the abusive behaviors as adorably flirtatious interaction. By showing the abuse as romantic, this movie sends out the dangerous message that, in the end, you can change your abuser. Research and the experience of millions of abused women, indicate otherwise.
One of the saddest aspects of this movie is that it markets abuse as “romance,” effectively silencing the voices of millions of victims, who for decades have been trying to be heard. In effect, the movie says, “She acted as if she disliked being mistreated, but in the end, wasn’t it what she really wanted?” Abusive threats and behavior are presented as playful fun; force ends up being acceptable because, although Anastasia is terrified by it to start with, she ends up enjoying it.
This is what women want, says Fifty Shades of Grey: the perpetuation of violent rape culture. Here, coercion is acceptable, abuse is shown as positive, and consent is ignored. It all works out well in the end.
Psychiatrist Dr. Miriam Grossman sums it up well:
“Fifty Shades of Grey teaches your daughter that pain and humiliation are erotic, and it teaches your son that girls want a guy who controls, intimidates and threatens.” [3]
In another article, she continues:
“The bottom line: the ideas of Fifty Shades of Grey are dangerous, and can lead to confusion and poor decisions about love. There are vast differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, but the movie blurs those differences, so you begin to wonder: ‘What’s healthy in a relationship? What’s sick? There are so many shades of grey … I’m not sure.’
“Listen, it’s your safety and future we’re talking about here. There’s no room for doubt: an intimate relationship that includes violence, consensual or not, is completely unacceptable.
“This is black and white. There are no shades of grey here. Not even one.” [4]
My advice? Don’t go to see this movie. Surely we can do better than spending money to support such destructive social garbage.[5]
Since the book has been out for awhile, some research has already been done on it that presumably applies to the movie as well. The Journal of Women’s Health has published two articles by Amy Bonomi, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Human Development and Family studies. The first study [1] was simply to determine if the book promotes emotional and sexual abuse (which it does) and the other one [2] was to see if there was a connection between the violence depicted in the book, and the true life experiences of those women who read the book. Turns out there was. The study showed strong correlations between health risks in women's lives – including violence victimization and disordered eating – and reading Fifty Shades. In other words, if a woman reads Fifty Shades of Grey, she either already has, or is more likely in the future, to suffer from an eating disorder or to suffer violence at the hands of an “intimate partner” than women who do not read such books.
We value freedom of speech, so we place very few restrictions on the media. And yet, is it not obvious that all mental input has some influence? Children don’t become communists, or jihadists, or racists, or rapists, from riding tricycles and playing with toy cars. They develop those tendencies from experiences that impact them during vulnerable times, and especially if those experiences present certain activities as very positive. Fifty Shades is mainstreaming pornography, but worse than that, it shows the emotional and physical violence against women as romantic rather than destructive. If a young person, whose sexual identity is not yet developed, watches this movie, should we not expect it to influence the way that person views acceptable sexual behavior?
Research already shows that about 1 woman in 4 experiences abuse at the hands of an intimate partner. And that is with the prevailing social viewpoint that such abuse is wrong. Can we not expect such violence to escalate if it is promoted in the media as positive?
There is a tendency to think of the removal of all sexual restraints as “empowering.” I’m “free” to do whatever I want. But what is shown in Fifty Shades is empowering only to the abuser, certainly not to the one being abused. Christian, the multimillionaire abuser, actively stalks Ana, including buying the place where she works and tracking her through an app on her phone. He controls her behavior, her eating, and who she is allowed to spend her time with, isolating her from friends and family. He humiliates her, threatens her and blames her. As a result, Ana is afraid of making Christian angry, afraid to talk to her friends, and insecure in her own identity.
Even though it’s supposed to seem “sexy,” the book even includes several instances of rape, where Ana is coerced into or outright forced to have sex.
This is not the first movie in recent years to deal with the subject of “Intimate Partner Violence.” The difference is, the others have universally recognized this violence as a desperate evil, and have attempted to realistically deal with the awful suffering many women experience from it. Fifty Shades of Grey is being marketed as “an incredible fairytale love story,” treating the abusive behaviors as adorably flirtatious interaction. By showing the abuse as romantic, this movie sends out the dangerous message that, in the end, you can change your abuser. Research and the experience of millions of abused women, indicate otherwise.
One of the saddest aspects of this movie is that it markets abuse as “romance,” effectively silencing the voices of millions of victims, who for decades have been trying to be heard. In effect, the movie says, “She acted as if she disliked being mistreated, but in the end, wasn’t it what she really wanted?” Abusive threats and behavior are presented as playful fun; force ends up being acceptable because, although Anastasia is terrified by it to start with, she ends up enjoying it.
This is what women want, says Fifty Shades of Grey: the perpetuation of violent rape culture. Here, coercion is acceptable, abuse is shown as positive, and consent is ignored. It all works out well in the end.
Psychiatrist Dr. Miriam Grossman sums it up well:
“Fifty Shades of Grey teaches your daughter that pain and humiliation are erotic, and it teaches your son that girls want a guy who controls, intimidates and threatens.” [3]
In another article, she continues:
“The bottom line: the ideas of Fifty Shades of Grey are dangerous, and can lead to confusion and poor decisions about love. There are vast differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, but the movie blurs those differences, so you begin to wonder: ‘What’s healthy in a relationship? What’s sick? There are so many shades of grey … I’m not sure.’
“Listen, it’s your safety and future we’re talking about here. There’s no room for doubt: an intimate relationship that includes violence, consensual or not, is completely unacceptable.
“This is black and white. There are no shades of grey here. Not even one.” [4]
My advice? Don’t go to see this movie. Surely we can do better than spending money to support such destructive social garbage.[5]
Bill Mauldin, publisher and missionary
13 Feb 2015
Amy E. Bonomi, Lauren E. Altenburger, and Nicole L. Walton. Journal of Women's Health. September 2013, 22(9): 733-744. http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jwh.2013.4344
[2] Fiction or Not? Fifty Shades is Associated with Health Risks in Adolescent and Young Adult Females
Bonomi Amy E., Nemeth Julianna M., Altenburger Lauren E., Anderson Melissa L., Snyder Anastasia, and Dotto Irma. Journal of Women's Health. September 2014, 23(9): 720-728. http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jwh.2014.4782
[3] http://www.miriamgrossmanmd.com/parent-survival-guide-to-fifty-shades-of-grey
[4] http://www.megmeekermd.com/2015/02/a-psychiatrists-letter-to-young-people-about-fifty-shades-of-grey/[5] Much of this article is based on Kristen O’Neal’s The Real Abuse at the Heart of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/fifty-shades-grey-and-abuse
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