Fifty Shades of Grey = Fifty Shades of Desperation | Teresa Tomeo | Catholic World Report
Real women should be desperate enough to tear down the shades and let in the light of the truth about femininity and sexuality
When did women become so down right desperate?
Yes, desperate. It might sound like a harsh question, but when you step back and take an honest look at the big picture involving the Fifty Shades of Grey “mommy porn” phenomenon—and I am not just talking about the release of the new Fifty Shades film version—you will hopefully see how desperate is quite an appropriate word.
How else are we to describe the millions upon millions of female fans who think the fictional character, Christian Grey, actually has something to offer them besides helping to glamorize and promote their own continued sexual exploitation and degradation?
Book sales are now breaking records in Great Britain and the U.S., with the majority of its fan base married women older than 30. The books have been published in 50 languages. But it’s not just the books and the new film that are bringing in the big bucks. Target, Vermont Teddy Bear Company, O.P.I. nail products, and countless other companies have all jumped in the filthy Fifty Shades pool, as women apparently cannot get enough of the Fifty Shades accessories. Guys: forget chocolate and roses. Sex toys and Christian Grey Teddy Bears in a business suit with a mask in one hand and a pair of handcuffs in the other are among the top items on many a girl’s Valentine’s Day list.
There is even a cookbook entitled, Fifty Shades of Gravy: Rude Recipes for Dirty Dinner Parties. You just can’t make this stuff up. While Fifty Shades of Grey is seemingly everywhere, it is also just one more reminder of the desperate (there is that word again) situation in which we find ourselves. It’s a situation that women, including the most hardened feminists of the bunch, are in a big way partially responsible for.
I was a product of the Seventies and the “I am woman, hear me roar” generation.
Comments