Anastasia Steele is the notorious book worm-turned-submissive in the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. The novels tell the story of this seemingly quiet, mousy grad student falling in love with a sexual dominant who has a very dark past. The books were poorly written, in my opinion, and I honestly have no idea how or why they gained so much fame considering there’s a hell of a lot better “literotica” out there. But I’m sure glad they did, because Dakota Johnson’s portrayal of Steele in the 50 Shades of Grey movie adaptations reaffirms my faith in badass female leads. I think she may actually be the best of them all, and here’s why:
She lets the man pursue her. Most of these days, female characters are seen as whiney, desperate, hopeless women who sit by the phone, waiting for their lovers to call them. They drop their pants any time they feel horny, and it’s generally on the man’s time and wishes. Ana Steele is the complete opposite. She quietly lives her life and lets Christian Grey, the BDSM connoisseur she falls in love with, make the first move. She knows and respects her worth and expects him to either respect her as well or leave. She forms their relationship on her terms. Ana makes it clear from the beginning what her boundaries are, both sexually and emotionally. She never compromises to please Christian, as much as she can tell he wants to change things sometimes. She owned her feelings, her body, and her mind. There’s a fine line between being a sexual submissive and falling into submission, and Ana makes sure she never goes near the latter. She walks away as soon as she is being mistreated. No amount of apologies or begging makes her stay with Christian. When his sexual desires become too much in the first movie/book (spoiler alert), she leaves immediately. In the second one, she only gets back together with him when he decides to make changes- changes according to what she wants, not him. She proves over and over that she is not his toy, regardless of what his sexual desires may say about her. She embraces her sexuality and doesn’t apologize for it. Although she is shy and uncertain at times, Ana is definitely not afraid to ask questions. And in a society where women enjoying sex can be a sin, it is more than applause-worthy for her to speak up. By constantly asking Christian about toys, terms, and more, she is able to decide what she does and doesn’t like in the bedroom as well as take risks. Even when she thought she couldn’t sexually be enough for Christian, she never apologized for it; she simply acknowledged he wanted something different than her, and exited the conversation. As far as I’m concerned, Anastasia Steele (especially Dakota Johnson’s portrayal of her in the movies) is a headstrong, independent woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go for it. And in a society where females are looked down upon for a plethora of reasons, she is unapologetic in her wants, risky in her behaviors, and firm in her beliefs- both sexually and otherwise. That, boys and girls, is the sign of a badass woman.