The EMS/Fire/Public Safety field is one of the most crass environments out there. Off-color jokes, explicit conversations, and oversexualized allusions are common place.
It doesn’t phase me; I can take a joke and disregard speech I don’t like. Just today, a police officer friend gave me a handcuff key so I would be prepared for the possible entrapment calls that are becoming more common since the release of 50 Shades of Grey. We laughed at the BDSM connotations of such a gift and what others would think of our relationship. I anticipate this will be the ongoing theme of the weekend.
Despite the levity, I think 50 Shades of Grey is damaging to individuals, to society, and to art.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSENT
One of my books, Crossing the Line, portrays domestic emotional, physical, and sexual abuse in all of its horrific detail. Abuse is reality to many. One in four American women have been raped (many more have been coerced into sex when consensual boundaries were blurred), and I firmly believe abuse should be—must be—portrayed in art.
But there are three critical ideas portrayed in my work that differentiate it from 50 Shades:
Consent is the line between sex and rape.
Consent is the line between BDSM and abuse.
Consent is the line between joking around and harassment.
I understand that consent definitions can be blurred and that it often means different things to different people in different contexts and levels of awareness. That is one of the key points of my work. But what you will never see in my book is the positive portrayal of abuse such as that found in 50 Shades. You will never see the promulgation of stupidity and ignorance portrayed as desirable. You will never see a victim’s fear as a goal. These violate the concept of informed, willing, and uncoerced consent. These differences must be understood. If it's rape, call it rape.
It's interesting that some of the most offended by 50 Shades are those who practice BDSM. Though I am not one of them, it’s still scary to think that people will read this work, with its disrespect of consent, agreements, safewords, and poor aftercare, and come to the conclusion that it portrays BDSM accurately. And don’t tell me, “Well, 50 Shades is just a fantasy!” BDSM is about fantasy, too, but it is founded on consent.
SOCIETAL EFFECTS
I believe in the power of art to mold the collective consciousness of a people. This has been seen throughout history from Greek art to modern advertising. The increase in entrapments subsequent to the release of 50 Shades is only yet another example (albeit, at times, a funny one) of the manifestation of art into human behavior.
Perhaps the greater influences, though, occur at the subconscious level in the acceptance of stereotypes and cultural norms, the issues and ideas we are exposed to but never discuss. Passive absorption. In 50 Shades, this takes the form of overworked tropes: masculinity expressed as dominance and violence; femininity as passivism (women only want to be dominated by men, even when they deny it), ignorance, even eating disorders (You didn’t notice the anorexia? Huh. Imagine that.). We can go further and look at the good girl/bad boy theme (Victorian idealism, anyone?) where the only powerful female character is a rapist, or examine the verbiage chosen to describe male genitalia with physically accurate and metaphorical terms vs. female genitalia as ‘down there.’ Subconscious and damaging, all.
If 50 Shades propagates oppressive stereotypes, does not portray BDSM in a real and safe manner, fails to empower women or encourage societal growth, we must ask: what does it do? What is it? It’s a dangerous, cheap thrill that lacks substance and quality.
DANGERS TO THE ARTFORM
The effects of 50 Shades extends into the world of writing and publishing, too. It is well known that 50 Shades of Grey originated as Master of the Universe, a fanfiction work of the Twilight series.
Fanfiction is a sticky issue right now, and I anticipate its being so for a long while. I love fanfiction. My writing career began in fanfiction, and I have an award-winning novel that was originally based upon my fanfic. I see and appreciate the value fanfiction can add to a fandom.
But one of two things needs to happen before fanfiction should take on a life of its own: 1) The ‘world’ and the characters, both physically and behaviorally, must be each fundamentally altered into a new form (as I did with my work)—styles may be similar, but simply changing the names while maintaining characteristics is not good enough, in my opinion—or 2) credit (read money) must be given to the original creator (such as Alice/Alice in Wonderland or Pride and Prejudice/Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. But to use someone’s creation without their consent (there it is again) is plagiarism. 50 Shades is an openly-admitted BDSM version of Twilight. This is an ethical issue at best and a criminal issue at worst. The fact that such a work could top the NYT Bestseller List is telling of how the industry (and greater society) values originality and creativity.
WHY ALLOW IT?
Though it is awful on so many levels, 50 Shades should not be banned or censored. The most important works to protect are those that offend. However, I will exercise my right to avoid it and encourage others to learn about the problems such a work creates.
So join me:
Instead of giving $50 for an evening out that promotes these dangerous ideas, please consider giving that money to a local abuse shelter. #50dollarsnot50shades
Stand up for, promote, and support art that is original, high quality, and promotes ideals that encourage society improve.
