Jun. 27, 2012 - Issue #871: Edmonton 2012

Lust For Life

Mainstream bondage

50 Shades of Grey has people talking about sex

There has been much written lately about the novel 50 Shades of Grey. Started as smutty Twilight fan fiction, 50 Shades of Grey morphed into an insanely popular e-book and finally resulted in the publication of what has now become a best-selling trilogy. Most of the commentary has been highly critical and dismissive, trivial, poorly written, tired and rife with stereotypes.  But having succumbed to the popular pressure and actually read the book myself, I would like to stand up for it.
I think the people who criticize it so harshly are expecting it to be something that it's not and was never intended to be. This is not a profound comment on the human condition. It is a smutty erotic romance novel—and a damned good one at that.  Sure, EL James isn't going to win a Pulitzer—the writing is stilted and repetitive and rather laughable at times, but she crafts extremely hot sex scenes. 
However eager we are to dismiss it, I think this kind of literature plays an important role. It allows us to imagine the possibilities of what we might like sexually or what we actually would only like to fantasize about. It fuels the fires of our desires and charges our erotic batteries. I talk to people every day who say that reading 50 Shades got them interested in exploring their sexual desires more deeply or in becoming more adventurous with their partners. It also provides a pleasant escape from the tedium of our own sex lives and lets us live vicariously through someone else for a time. And let's be honest, it's excellent wanking material—and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Sure, I agree with some of the criticism. I don't like the implication that a man who likes to dominate and spank women who like and want to be dominated and spanked must have serious psychological issues. I know this has confused a lot of people who don't have any experience with BDSM and that does worry me. But let's not forget that this is a single character in a work of fiction, it is not an overarching statement on the psychological health of anyone who enjoys kinky sex play.
I understand the criticism of the stereotypical gender roles, but I didn't find it all that troubling. The heroine, Anastasia is no shrinking violet. She challenges Christian about a lot of the things he says and does. Unlike Twilight, which portrays Edward's controlling, over-protective nature as romantic, this book implies that it is a character flaw in Christian. Anastasia sees it as more bothersome than romantic. As for the sexual domination, it's just plain hot. In real life, sex is almost always less than we hope it could be. Sex always involves some awkwardness and uncertainty and good sex necessitates some discussion beforehand. It's just not as exciting as being swept off your feet, having all of your desires magically met without ever having to say a word. The reality is that we can never really have that and be safe at the same time, so reading about it is crazy hot.
50 Shades of Grey is not a new thing. These types of books, and even this story, have been around forever. But until now, most of us would never admit to reading them. We would steal them from our mom or older sister's bedside dresser or sneak them into our pile of "legitimate" books at the bookstore checkout. Now you can walk into any Chapters and pick this smutty book up off the front table 50 Shades of Grey display, walk right up to the counter and buy it because everybody's buying it. You can even talk to your friends about it because they've all read it too. The shame is dissolving and I think that, literary merit or not, that is a good thing. V

Brenda Kerber is a sexual health educator who has worked with local not-for-profits since 1995. She is the owner of the Edmonton-based, sex-positive adult toy boutique the Traveling Tickle Trunk.

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