Work Cited

Work Cited:

Berman, Laura. "Why Women Love Fifty Shades of Grey".  Everyday Health. Web.  23 May 2014. http://www.everydayhealth.com/sexual-health/dr-laura-berman-why-women-love-fifty-shades-of-grey.aspx

Expository Essay

Xander Nicolson

Romano

AP 4 English

19 May 2014

Fifty Shades of Baste

For many men, pornographic content makes self pleasing oneself easier.  This has gone on for many years, but has suffered a lot of criticism from people who see pornographic content as being demeaning to women.  Though men are often seen as more sexually motivated, studies show that women are often times just as motivated as men, but due to our society's double standards, pornographic content is acceptable for men, but not for women.  Due to this double standard, men can please themselves with what they call porn, but women can not, leaving them at a loss.  However, women often use erotic, romance books (such as Fifty Shades of Grey) to get internal sexual pleasure without having to break the societal norm.  

According to Laura Berman, a PhD, women read Fifty Shades of Grey “in order to let go”.  Berman claims that women have tons of things on their plates, regarding work and family, and it is nice to be able to relax and funnel their sexual energy into something relaxing rather than stressful.   In the novel, Ana is inexperienced and a virgin.  She is represented as very innocent and many women feel that this is a relief, very much contrasting its male counterpart, where women are experienced and outgoing.   Women report being more comfortable and happy in bed when their partner is more experienced and ‘dominant’.  Now while this is not always the case, many women read Fifty Shades of Grey to fantasize about their love lives.  Of course most women are not interested in many of the methods in which Ana and Christian bond, they are however interested in Christian’s experience and control.  

On the outside, most men and women alike fear or dislike bondage (or BDSM), but this feeling has little appearance in Fifty Shade of Grey.  Shortly into their relationship, Christian convinces Ana to try whipping and bondage.  Strangely, though readers often oppose being tied up, or tying another up, they still enjoy reading about it.  Berman believe this has to do with yet another societal norm.  Women who are too ‘outgoing’ with their bodies are usually looked down upon, and called sluts or whores.  Ana however, would not be called a slut, because she is viewed as helpless.  Getting tied up eliminates part of the shame because suddenly “He is in charge and making her do all of those taboo things”.  Reading this story of a girl who has a full sex life, while still being a “good girl” can often attract women.

Of course one might ask if reading could spark the same sexual arousal as visual stimulation, and according to Berman, it can.  “Men often need visual material to spark sexual thoughts and feelings”, but contrastingly, women often times prefer the unseen.  Women prefer to crave, they prefer the fantasy and thinking about it and thinking of their own images of what is portrayed.  In the book, there is some fairly descriptive sexual encounters between Ana and Christian, but since it is written and not visual, women are able to visualize how they think the scene should play out which supposedly is more arousing than seeing two people actually having sex.  

In a messed up society where men and women have different expectations set for them, women take advantage of Fifty Shades of Grey, a horribly written book, to fulfill parts of their lives that would not ordinarily be filled.  

Genre 1-Text Messages

*7PM at Night*

E: Hey, is this Bella?

B:Yes, I am Bella.

E: Great!  I got your number from one of your friends.

E: From Ellen.

B: Who are you?

E: Do you want to grab a drink?  I really prefer not to text.  It does not allow the same emotional connection.

B: Who are you?

E:  I’m Edward.  Please Bella, let me buy you a drink.  

B: Convince me.

E:  I will take you to the nicest restaurant in a hundred miles.  We will dance the night away.  After that, I will take you back to my forest retreat and we will talk and laugh and drink and eat some more.  We will grow tired, which will lead to us dozing off, only for you to remember that you have to be home by 2 in the morning.  I will cordially offer you a ride home.  We will get back to your house and I will give you a good night kiss.  This will continue.  You will beg me to come in and stay the night.  I will refuse, as it is against my fair nature to do such activities on a first date.  We bid ourselves adieu and I watch as you enter your house just at 2 AM.  

B: I am not convinced.  

E: Bella please.  I will make you the happiest women alive.

B: Fine. Pick me up.

*3 AM*

B: Edward

B: Edwrd text back please

B: Edward I had the best night of my life.

E: Bella, you need your sleep. Please.

B: You took my fuking virginity.  How are you just set there and tell me to go to slep. i love you.  

B: Edward I plea f.  I nee d u.

E: Bella, please go to bed.  I will talk to you in the morning.  Please.

B: You donot care about me!.  What teh hell is wrong with you.  You probably left me aand saw another girl.  

E: NO! Bella, we talked about this.  I do not sleep around.  You are the only girl for me right now.  My past is my past, but for now you are mine, and I am yours.  I would never sleep with another girl while being with you.

B: Okay.  I will go to bed.  

E: Remember Bella.  Remember what I told you. Tomorrow you will see.

Genre 2-Poem

I remember our time together,

That one night,

That one night where you gave me everything,

That one night when I had it all,

I think back upon that one night,

That one night where you promised me love,

That same night when you stole your promise ,

Right back between my fragile legs,

It was that night when you stole the only thing important to me,

The blood flowed from where my innocence you tore,

That one night changed me,

That one night,

That one night killed my trust I held for humanity,

That one night was the worst night of my life,

It is your fault,

You will take the blame,

Because you convinced me,

My choice yes,

But your seduction,

Your lies and promises,

You have made me never be able to trust again.

I thank you.

-Bella

Genre 3-Menu

The Menu of Fantasies that We Will Have Together:

Appetizers:

Chips and Homemade Guacamole: I will dip you into a rich and vivid Mexican cuisine, which we will eat on a patio, overlooking the ocean as the sun sets.  A warm breeze will brush past us, and a good time will be had.  

Bacon Pigs in a Blanket: Together we will wrap ourselves in a blanket to stay warm, as we eat a hearty meal, while we over look a cliff, looking down upon a beautiful mountain range.  

Creamy Spinach Dip with Artichoke and other Vegetables: No.  Just no.  No one likes Artichokes.  No one wants Spinach dip.  Its not even good.  Boring walk down a park that is not clean and has a bad smell.

Entrees:

Filet Mignon:  After eating we take a flight up in a plane and we skydive down, strapped together.  Just as you think we will crash, the parachute will save us.  The thrill will be so high, just like our attraction levels.

Spaghetti Marinara:  We rent a boat and sail across the lake, jumping over the waves, allowing the wind to carry our worries away.

Chicken Pot Pie:  We make a huge bonfire on the beach.  We gather wood and let it blaze as we sit and watch out masterpiece, cuddling in the cozy chair that I bring.  

Desserts:

Vanilla Ice Cream:  We head back to my house and have sex in a very romantic, but mainstream way

Creme Brulee:  We go back to my house and have sex in a very romantic way, involving bondage and other such kinky things.

Chocolate Caramel Cake:  We go back to my house and have sex in a very romantic way,  involving tons of foreplay and less sex.

*You may chose one from each food course, making a 3 course meal night.  

Golden Thread Short Story

Confused and tired, Bella almost knocked her antique, silver alarm clock off her nightstand as its piercing charm awoke her on the groggy Monday morning of June 6.  School had just ended, and of course Bella had neglected to turn the alarm off.  As she gazed around her room it seemed a blur.  The light speared through the window and illuminated her room just enough for her to notice that nothing was in the correct place.   Disgusting.  Quickly, Bella pulled on a shirt and walked over to her hickory dresser.  On it stood a new squared off mirror.  Something about it wasn't right.  Everything seemed in order, except the mirror.  The mirror was a problem.  She grabbed it and edged it back an inch and rotated the angle a couple degrees.  Seeing that the rest of the contents on top of the dresser were arranged to her liking, Bella walked back over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone and saw an unknown number texted.  No.  What had happened last night?  Bella was a good girl, she did not drink or smoke very often, but Prom was Prom.  She stood and stared at the familiar cracked screen on her I-phone 4.  She kept staring until the background picture of her and her dad disappeared.  Then she kept staring at her own reflection in the glass.  The shattered screen distorted her face as she racked her brain, thinking of what could possibly have happened the previous night.  Nothing.  Nervous of what she might find,  Bella slowly unlocked her phone and gently tapped the messaging app.  To her surprise this unknown number was the only text conversation that she had had the whole night.  Bella closed her eyes.  She knew that this conversation would be important.  She knew this as she clicked on the unknown number.  Her cracked phone loaded for a couple seconds and then revealed her conversation with a man whom she would later learn was named Edward.  [TEXT CONVERSATION GENRE].  

What had happened last night?  She felt sore in places she had never felt before.  But what had happened?  Certainly she had not actually lost her virginity to a man that she had only met last night.  Had she drank that much that she would forget the whole night?  She gazed down at her hands.  They shook rapidly.  A small hangnail protruded from her pinkie.  Ahh.  Quickly she jumped up and grabbed a nail clipper, and delicately pressed its cold metallic blade up against her skin and sliced.  The hangnail fell to the ground.  Bella picked it up and threw it in the nearby garbage can.  She she gazed around the room one more time.  Everything seemed in order.

She heard the familiar rumble of her father’s truck faintly in the distance.  Its loud, unique, uneven sputter gave it away.  She ran down the soft rug that covered the creaky wooden stairs to the front door.  It had been days since the two had seen each other.  The door creaked open quietly.  Her father walked in slowly as to not allow the floor to destroy the silence.  His hesitant facial expression changed immediately to surprise when Alex noticed that Bella was in fact awake.  

“Dad” Bella cried happily as she ran to him and gave him an enormous hug. “I need help.  I messed up dad.  Please help me.  

“Bella dear, what is it.  Calm down!”

“Prom was last night.  I went out with someone I met and I need help figuring out what happened.   I could never lie to you dad.  I drank a little bit of alcohol.”

“Bella, its okay.  You are an amazing daughter, you know I support everything you do, because you are such a good girl.”

“I do not know anymore dad.  I think I did something horrible!  I think I may have...”

“Bella stop” her father had a concerned look on his face. “I will look into it, you go and have a good day”.

Bella hesitantly agreed and walked out the front door to sit on the porch.  What would her father think of her?  He knew that she had drank.  She had broken the law.  The air was cool outside, and the heat of the porch bench was refreshing and cozy.  She stayed on this bench for a couple of minutes, basking in the sunshine.  Just when she was about to forget about the horrible night that must have had, the front door opened and Alex ambled through holding a sheet of paper.  Bella had no idea what was on this paper, but she could tell from her father’s expression that it was important.  Her hands shaking once again, she reached cautiously out to grab the sheet from her father.  There was text on the page which was in an italicized, cursive, hand written font.  Butterflies flocked her stomach as she laid eyes on the first sentence. [GO TO THE SECOND GENRE THAT IS A POEM]

As her eyes fluttered over the words, a knot formed in her stomach.  She had written this poem.  After a deep, critical analysis of its diction and form, she concluded that this Edward man was not someone to mess with.  He had tricked her, then raped her while she was under the influence.  Bella discreetly rubbed a tear from her eyes before her father could see it.  Bella know that Alex had clearly not read the poem for he had an emotionless face, as he stared off the porch at the lady across the street yelling at her daughter.  As her father continued to stare off, Bella took her leave back into the house.  Once inside, she jogged the stairs to get back to her room.  She grabbed her purse and keys before leaving out the back to her own run down 1998 Chevy.  

Flustered, Bella just began driving.  Thoughts began to fly all around her.  She had written this angry poem at Edward, she assumed.  She clearly had a reason to hate him, but did she have a reason to love him before that hate?  How had she been swooned into his arms so quickly.  Meer hours after meeting him, she had been dropped off and written this poem.  Someone this man did to her made her fall in love.   Determined to find an answer and to let this Edward have a piece of her mind, she parked and called her best friend.  Ellen, her best friend was surely with her the previous night, and had to know something.  She hit the dial button and waited.  The ring went on and on.  It seemed like the voice mail should have started ages ago, but the phone kept ringing.  Eventually someone picked up.  This someone however, was not Ellen.   The voice that picked up was gravely, but at the same time strangely sexual.  Its depth and clarity gave Bella a shiver down her spine.  

“Hello” the voice said.

“Ahh. Um.  W-who is this?”

“This is Edward”  The voice was so strong and unwavering that Bella lost her train of thought momentarily.  

She began to nervous sweat. What could she possibly say.  She had not planned this out at all.  Bella began to panic.  Her breathing rose.  The only this she could think to say was,  “Oh”.

“Bella, is that you”

“Yes”

“Do you want to meet?”

“Yes”

“Come to Red Aardvark Cafe now.  I will be there”

“Okay”  and with that, she hung up the phone, and slammed it down onto the ground of the passenger seat.  The drive over to the cafe was only a few minutes, and Bella drove it in silence with the radio off.  She parked down the block and rested her head on the steering wheel.  Did she really want this?  She could go home and take the morning after pill and be done with it.  No.  She did want this.  For once in her life she had to stand up for herself.  She had always dreamed of meeting a guy who would love her and who she could love and be in a relationship and be happy.  Edward had ruined this fantasy.  If she did not clear up this nagging sensation in her heart, she would never be able to achieve the relationship that she dreamed of.  She entered the restaurant and saw Edward.  She knew it was him.  His whole body sparkled.  He was beautiful.  She had never seen anyone like him before in her life.  His eyes were daggers.  They sliced through her into her heart.  Speaking of her heart, Bella’s heart skipped a beat.  She choked a bit on her spit from the shock of seeing him.  He stood up so gracefully, almost floating over to where she stood at the door of the cafe.  He softly wrapped his cool, soft hand around her wrist.  They walked together over to the table that he had chosen.  The whole restaurant seemed to be staring at them.  No staring at Edward.  He was beautiful.  But she was here for a reason.  She couldn't forget that she was her for a reason.  She wouldn't forget.  

“Edward, I...”

“Bella, look at this menu.  We must order quickly, because I do have somewhere to be relatively soon.”  Dumbstruck, she stared at him.  He had interrupted her, but strangely she did not mind it too much.  She grabbed the sheet of laminated paper from Edward’s hands and glanced down at it. [MENU GENRE HERE].  As her eyes finished reading the paper, she know that this man by the name of Edward who say in front of her was a keeper.  Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the confusing of prom and the hectic nature of the night, but she had made a mistake being so worried.  This was a great guy who was also great looking.  As the two of them ate the meal that Bella chose, Bella was happy.  When she got home that night, she had an inspiration to draw a picture.  This is what she drew: [PICTURE GENRE].  The End.

FSOG Blog Post 2

     For this second blog post I plan to start an outline to my paper which will include research as well as excerpts from the Fifty Shades book.  To begin with, I would like to write this paper in an exploratory fashion.  I hypothesize that my research will show a strong correlation between peoples success rate with attracting those of the other gender (or those of the same if that is what they are doing), and casual bodily contact.  I believe that people who successfully are able to incorporate this touching of the arm or wrist, I believe will have a higher success rate for beginning to attract the other partner.  I have formed this hypothesis off of hearing personal accounts from friends and people who I have talked to.  I believe that since people who I know are successful with this, I would assume it is universal.  It is also mentioned in the book to have some of these subtle touching and arousing contacts.  There are ample studies online that regard to this idea.  I have read a few of these in the past (when I was younger) and though I do not remember what the results showed, I know that there is ample data out there.  Many people also write personal experiences, which since they are anonymous, and not link able back to the person who wrote it, generally seem to be fairly unbiased.  Through these two methods, I believe that I will be able to fully research the topics.
     One such study that I found concludes that attraction is partially physical, but it is also genetic.  Women are often times more attracted to men who display a strong physical body because that generally means healthy which biologically is a good thing.  Contrastingly, people who are bigger and more subconsciously attractive are more likely to cheat and are recorded to have more trouble being emotionally caring and supportive in relationships.  This data can be used to relate back to Fifty Shades of Grey, because in the book, he is depicted to be physically muscular and attractive, so I could conclude that she is more attracted to him biologically and that his methods of seduction emulate a locus of control which shows dominance which biologically some women are predisposed to be attracted to.
     If my description of the study and my analysis seems slightly sexist that was not my intention!