Russell Brand and the (Not So) Big Deal about 50 Shades of Grey

What is really so provocative about 50 Shades of Grey that even Russell Brand has been compelled to pontificate on it? (And hit the nail on the head, btw. Thank you, Russell. <3)  It’s cheesy erotica, written in hackneyed 6^th-grade reading-level English, that became a media sensation in a pathetically dummied-down society driven by market trends and those who profit from and manipulate them.  Kudos to the book's writer, I guess, for expertly playing the chat-board strategy to promote her self-published e-book.

That said, the big deal about the social implications of the “oeuvre” is curious to me.  It says a lot about what we think about women.  Folks are freaked out about how the book/movie  glorifies abusive relationships and how confounding it is that women, in particular, are drawn to it.  Hello. 50 Shades is erotica/soft porn. Women are not reading it because they so wish they could be in an abusive relationship; they are reading it (or flocking to the flick) because it provides a sexual thrill.  A hot fantasy.  Something to self-pleasure themselves to. Does that fact really need to be dissected and critiqued in a world where thousands of men are compulsively masturbating to computer porn on a daily basis?

Hand wringing over the social implications of this work of fiction is about on par with fundamentalist Christian concern that the Harry Potter series promotes Satanic magic-mongering among children. 

                                                                    

Not long ago, I self-published a book called The Sex Lives of Sorcerers. It is the second book in a fantasy fiction series for adults that meld fantasy with authentic content drawn from Western occultism and Eastern mysticism. It is not meant to be dark or sexually provocative; it is meant to be thoughtful.  One acquaintance who read The Sex Lives of Sorcerers said she felt gypped because the word Sex was in the title but there wasn’t any sex in the book.  No, there’s definitely sex in the book—it’s just not graphic sex.  It’s really not a book about sex, anyway; it is a book about alchemy, reincarnation, and spiritual transformation in the context of a bisexual MWM relationship. And it includes a bit of bondage and sublimation—like all good paranormal fiction…

“Men stare at you because you’re fuckable. That’s what men do,” Bobby said sourly. He downed the first shot of whisky in a biting gulp and pointed to a crowd at the far end of the bar. “The next guy who turns around—he wants to fuck you really badly.”

 “You’re a retard,” Bella swiped “And you shouldn’t go off your meds like that.”

Bobby swilled another shot of whiskey and chanted that Bella be attentive lest she miss the portended sighting. His little finger, poised on a glass, gestured to where he had pointed before.

Sure enough, a man turned around. It was one of the men who had been in the woods that first time Bella had ever seen Bobby. He was the lankier one with the light brown hair, not the darker one with broad shoulders. He had a heavy brow and piercing eyes that despite the dim lighting Bella could guess were like an unusual blue-green gem. His nose was a perfectly streamlined protrusion and his beauty was masculine and brooding. He seemed a little age-worn, too.

He directed a cold glance at Bobby that drifted to pierce Bella’s gaze and soften. The gesture made Bella sting with fright and a thrill because . . . she didn’t know why. Then he turned away.

“Should we send him over a drink?” Bella asked.

“No,” Bobby tersely replied. He was a “vampire”—he and the other man, Bobby said.

-From Chapter 7 A Giant Pink Dragon in The Fallen Fairy by Soror ZSD23

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