Reader Review:  50 Shades
Reviewed by Leticia Flores, Ph.D.
 
British author E.L. James’s 2011 erotic novel 50 Shades of Grey has taken the US by storm. Or, as James might write, it has  ‘tied the reading world’s hands and spanked its tender pink posterior until its “inner goddess” has shivered in spasms of pleasure’.  The trilogy has sold over 30 million copies in the US, outselling Harry Potter (presumably different reading audiences, but you can’t be sure these days). This literary phenomenon puzzles me. How have women (mostly) managed to read more than 5 pages of this poorly written piece of Twilight “fan fiction”?  Because it sheds new, mainstream light on an age-old obsession- sex.
My tryst with this book started after I joined a book club of 30-something and older women, and learned that 50 Shades was our first selection. I bit my tongue and dutifully bought an “e-copy”, so I could quickly dispense with the book after reading it.  I was not alone: in June, Amazon reported that 50 Shades was the first e-book to sell one million copies on the Kindle.  My fellow clubbers talked about reading it as an e-book to escape discovery from children, friends and strangers.  Another interesting note- according to the UK’s Telegraph, 50 Shades is the book most British travelers leave behind in their hotel rooms. Apparently people don’t have the desire to place E.L.’s trilogy on their bookshelves next to William or Henry’s works.
I couldn’t get more than two pages in to the e-book before I started posting notes such as “bleck!”, “grrr!” and whining about why the author couldn’t use more than 2 adjectives. I immediately disliked the female protagonist and yelled at her and her one-dimensional friends and suitors as the pages flew. They flew faster after I began flipping past bad prose to get to the “good parts”. Even the erotic scenes left me unsatisfied, cranky and feeling vaguely cheated.  I did finish the book.  My husband got a kick out of hearing me curse and growl at my iPad, so at least someone got some satisfaction.  Attending the book club with grim resolve, I vowed I would not come again if I learned that my fellow clubbers LOVED! 50 Shades. To my relief, they  hated the book as much as I did.  Yet to my pleasant surprise, the discussion revolving around this piece of rubbish turned out to be rich, enlightening and very, very funny. 
This is where I gained some insight into the book’s popularity.  50 Shades has enabled women to talk about sex and its “various iterations” in a safe space.  Bondage and Discipline/ Sado-Masochism (BDSM) is experienced vicariously through the book’s naïve, wide-eyed protagonist. After trashing the book, we had a wonderful conversation about how women learn (or don’t learn) about sex, how mothers (and fathers) teach their daughters about sex, and how sex changes for us as we age. Cultural coverage of the book indicates that women are having 50 Shades sex toy parties; convening panel discussions at universities to discuss 50 Shades from a feminist lens; and dipping their toes into BDSM activities with their partners. People are publicly engaging with a phenomenon that many still deem pornographic, depraved and even criminal.  I wonder, how many of clients are coming in to therapy discussing 50 Shades, relieved or amazed that their “shameful” proclivities are being discussed openly by others? What kind of opportunity does this provide therapists to explore the motivations, satisfactions and possible dangers regarding this kind of behavior, to help our patients seek the healthiest and most satisfying relationships possible?