An interesting point raised in a conversation with a friend the other day – the world is, quite rightly, outraged at the rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey in India, yet the three top-selling books in the UK last year were the Fifty Shades of Grey series.
Is there a double standard in operation here? We’re saying on the one hand, that the objectification and exploitation of women is ok in books (whips, chains, gags, domination, a multitude of objects inserted into places that they shouldn’t really be), but when it happens in real life, that’s a bad thing?
How are women being perceived by men who read these books? That we’re all gagging for it? We all want to be dominated, and brought to our knees?
One day, we could get on a bus, and the same thing could happen to any of us by men who perceive that this is the way we want, and deserve to be treated.
These books are poison.
I think you have an excellent point. Western society does not just objectify women but, as much as we ignore the truth, rape is horribly prevalent. Consider this story of rape of an under-age girl in the US: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/7/hacker_group_anonymous_leaks_chilling_video
Of course, I don’t believe that books like Fifty Shades should be banned. Rather, they need to be drowned out by the voices of women freed of patriarchy. The fact that they are so popular says something, I think, about our society.