Everyone loves a good love story, but what happens when said “love story” focuses on the wrong message?
The trend of romanticizing abusive relationships has unfortunately gained momentum, especially now that the 50 Shades trilogy is coming to life on screen. Suddenly, the lackluster words from the books have transformed into steamy performances that glorify the role of the obsessive, overprotective and controlling boyfriend. While many would defend this character as a romantic, loving partner who just wants to protect his “helpless” girlfriend, I see otherwise.
The widespread adoration of Christian Grey’s extreme actions is a huge step back from the strides that feminists have been making in our society. In Ana and Christian’s relationship, there is no such thing as “equality.” She is essentially his little pet to guard and play with, and he literally (of course) and figuratively keeps a leash on her.
She cannot do anything without his explicit permission, which I find troublesome. Ana can’t make decisions on her own, such as accepting a new job, for example, unless Mr. Grey interferes aggressively. Again and again, throughout the series, Ana is sucked back into the unhealthy relationship despite attempts to flee. It’s love, she thinks, but is it really?
With this kind of behavior, anyone can see that the depiction of women as solely sexual objects is very clear in this series. With the majority of the female characters revolving around and depending solely on their male counterparts, one could assume that they’re not useful or ambitious in any way.
They only need to satisfy the men sexually and emotionally, which goes against the idea of equality between men and women. Both can be productive members of society while also participating in healthy relationships as well as having the ability to make choices freely.
Unfortunately, E.L. James’s erotic series, while mildly entertaining, chooses to ignore this idea in favor of wild fantasy, which somehow includes a need to be obsessively controlled by an emotionally unstable man. The huge impact that this franchise has on the masses is not good, but many clear-eyed audiences can realize that this trilogy is definitely anti-feminist.
Fortunately for us, we can choose to see the 50 Shades series simply as nothing more than entertainment.