Fifty Shades of Feminism

1/3/2016 

It has recently occurred to me that the relationship between the fictional characters, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, will be viewed as the romantic ideal for women. At the beginning of the movie (I have not and do not intend to read the novels), Anastasia seems to possess no sexual identity until the handsome and mysterious Christian Grey enters her life and requests that she become his submissive in a seemingly one-sided sexual relationship. 

In order to become Christian's submissive, Anastasia must read and sign a lengthy and detailed contract, which among other things, requires Ana to exercise four days a week with a trainer that is provided by Christian,  eat only from a list of foods Christian supplies her with, get eight hours of sleep a night and begin taking a form of birth control so Christian will not have to wear condoms. Anastasia manages to negotiate a few terms, such as exercising to only three days a week, but none of the terms are hers independently, nonetheless the terms in their relationship. 

As the relationship between Anastasia and Christian develop, Christian's controlling tendencies influence Anastasia's decisions more and more. Christian's possession of Anastasia is the cause of much of my disgust and fear of the book's influence on people and how they might view romantic relationships. The control he exercises over her does not reflect his love for her; it reflects his objectifying of her.  

Yes, as the movie progresses Anastasia feels confident, and maybe even free, for the first time in her life. However, none of the confidence she gained was from within herself. Anastasia believes that she never felt sexy until she met Christian. Anastasia believed that whatever Christian told her was the truth, so when Christian complimented her, Anastasia believed him. She did not come to the conclusion that she was beautiful from herself, but rather from being told that she was from a man. Because of his influence on her, nothing in her life came from herself — her job, her home, her way of life, and even her self-esteem.