Fifty Shades of Porn

Last week, I was asked whether Fifty Shades of Grey is anti-feminist, but I don’t think so, for one simple reason: I think Fifty Shades is a good thing.

Yes, it’s hardly a feminist totem – Ana and Christian’s relationship is at the very least unhealthy, and at the most, emotionally and physically abusive. Much has been written on the inappropriateness of young girls lusting after Christian Grey, who is, to put it mildly, a bit of an idiot. But EL James isn’t holding their relationship up as a romantic ideal for us to aspire to; this is a space, as she has repeatedly said in interviews, for fantasy exploration. Mostly her own, but also for anyone else who wants to come along for the ride.

Maybe it isn’t your personal fantasy. That’s fine too; not everyone’s into being tied down and spanked by an emotionally distant multi-millionaire with wiry copper hair and blazing grey eyes. But there’s a well-used phrase for this within the fanfiction community on the internet: YKINMK. Your kink is not my kink. A great deal of importance is placed on the unacceptability of “kink-shaming” within online communities, no matter how dark or inexplicable said kink might be. And, to be honest, as dark and inexplicable kinks go, a spot of BDSM barely raises an eyebrow online anymore.

Because this book came from the internet. It started out as Twilight fanfiction, and the style – along with the characters – is immediately recognisable to anyone who’s dabbled in that area. The other main complaint from people seems to be that it’s badly written. Well; yes, that’s true. I can definitely say that I’ve read better. At the very least, the books could have done with (if you’ll pardon the pun), a good sub. But I’ve also read much worse – the slash fanfiction pairing Professor Snape with the Pope jumps immediately to mind. Fifty Shades isn’t particularly notable in that regard.

The point is, Fifty Shades demonstrates a tipping point for bringing erotic literature out of the shadows of the virtual and into the mainstream. And it’s selling. Staggeringly well, in fact – over four million copies in the UK so far. Women are not only reading it; they’re reading it brazenly on the train, sharing it with friends, perhaps lending their own (ahem) well-thumbed copy. For once, women are consuming porn openly and without embarrassment, and in a world where almost all porn is geared towards the male gaze, that’s a pretty radical act.

Female sexuality is all too often denied, derided and ignorant; shut away behind closed doors, and tucked away in the darker areas of the internet (I’m looking at you, Archive of Our Own). I hope that Fifty Shades opens the doors for more, and more varied, erotic literature – exploring every type, facet and deviance of sexuality under the sun. I hope that women can use it to feel more empowered and comfortable with exploring their own sexuality. Shoddy writing or not, I can’t see that as anything but a good thing.

Here’s to fifty shades of porn.

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• florapatterson

  Silly response. You are merely admitting a weakness for playing to the gallery and the lowest common denominator. It’s ineluctable that some books are far better written than others. It’s a fact you can’t really circumvent by trying to play the feminist card. Facts are stubborn things.

• http://twitter.com/MegaPigeon Neil Buchanan

  If your definition of love is arranging well-connected partners for your children to ensure the passing of your legacy and property and ensure the financial security of your brood, then yeah, it’s always been about “love”.

• http://twitter.com/markjohnramsden MrRamsden

  Better written earlier erotica, without the Twilight template: Sarah’s Education Madelaine Moore. Sensual, witty, evocative.

• Bocaj

  I understand that it may be positive to bring erotic literature into the mainstream sphere, however pornography itself (mainstream in use) is not socially acceptable to talk about in public. Psychologically females respond better to literature stimulation and males to visual stimulation. Does this not seem to be double standards?

• Dverhaeghe

  you mean Twilight is responsible for the creation of a porn book??

  thank you, it’s been a while since i laughed this hard.

• abbeysbooks

  there are some very well written fanfics on Twilight. Hide and Drink is one that I have reviewed so you could read my review and link to it if you wanted to try one.
  http://twocaptives.blogspot.com/2011/08/reading-savages-hide-and-drink-through_03.html It is more imaginative than MOTU (Master of the Universe) which was what Fifty Shades was called when it was a fanfic. There are plenty of PDF’s around to read it for free with the names Bella and Edward instead of Ana and Christian. I don’t understand why Meyer has let it go so far, but perhaps she doesn’t want her characters associated with it anymore than they are. 50 is erotic but so is Hide and Drink in a different way, perhaps even a deeper and more perverse way, I don’t know. The writing is much better.

• abbeysbooks

  Twilight has made a Foucauldian “cut” into the history of sexuality. It is structurally the Tristan and Iseult legend. There are inversions, but Levi-Strauss would go along with that. This legend ruled over western sexuality for 800 years until the “PILL” made its own cut. But it seems that young women, and older ones also, are not happy with sexual liberation as it has taken away freedom with the other hand. Young girls – and women – can no longer say “no”. After all they now know they aren’t repressed anymore. And the guy’s attitude is you either put out by the third date or so or he’s moving on. It’s complicated but the old “cut” is now open and throbbing to use a pun. Chastity is erotically exciting. If you do a Foucauldian genealogy on it, it has always been known to have this effect. Well enough.

• abbeysbooks

  It’s good because it delivers the goods in terms of erotic lust. I dare you.

• anonuk

  Sexuality is evil? No, it’s the abuse of sexuality which is evil. We are led into evil, or good, by the way we use our sexuality (if indeed we use it at all). Marriage has traditionally been the safest way to negotiate sexuality for most people- but that no longer holds true for ever greater numbers of people.

  As for feminists, well I don’t defend a lot of feminist thought, but to blame feminism for the weakening of marriage seems to ignore the work of those men, and women who wouldn’t usually count themselves as radical or even liberal feminists, who have also worked to erode the institution.

  We live in a complex society and the diktat of imams in madrasahs is not a reliable guide to how most people live their lives. This is why we believe in free will and conscience.

• http://twitter.com/aaronsneddon Aaron Sneddon MCIJ

  Men of the world. Fear no longer of having secret bundles of pornographic magazines throughout your homes, the book fifty shades of porn is rife through the female population, meaning she too is at it yet is not stashing away her book when its not in use. Bring out your bundles, dig under the sofa, behind the loo, under the dog basket, in the oven, display them for all to see, be proud of your stash and show it off.