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.