New Rule

[lederhosen]

Before you criticise "50 Shades of Grey" for being a badly-written unrealistic book that presents an unhealthy relationship model, think about two questions:

(1) Did you criticise "Twilight" for the exact same failings?

(2) Bearing in mind that "Twilight" is aimed at a younger audience who have a higher risk of taking the relationship aspects as a how-to instead of escapist fantasy... if you answered "no" to #1 above, please explain the difference.

I don't plan to read 50SoG. I'm quite willing to take everybody's word for it that it's dull and unrealistic and not a good model for dating. But there are THOUSANDS of books released every year that fit those descriptors, many of them quite successful, and rarely do they cop a backlash like this one. ("Twilight" caught some, but nowhere near this level.)

So while I agree with the criticisms offered, I have to wonder if that's really what's driving the reaction. Would we be seeing this same level of hostility if EL James had written the exact same book, without the kinky sex, as a best-selling romance novel?

Comments

[carolinelamb]

I haven't read it but the impression I got was (from other people's reviews) that it was badly written–not so much about the realism. The people who didn't like 50 Shades of Grey usually didn't like Twilight very much either (I am talking about my friends here–so not a very representative sample :P) ...

Might the hostility towards the book have to do with it originally being written as a fanfic? Maybe some members of the fanfic community feel resentful, or feel that the author didn't deserve her success? Or in short–might it be jealousy?

I can't imagine that the kinky sex was the reason for the hostility. Women like erotic fiction, no? It's our porn (that might come across as gender stereotyping). Women have always liked Lady Chatterly, The Story of O., the Viennese ladies always had a soft spot for Josephine Muztenbacher, while the English female readers all knew Moll Flanders. Since the introduction of the Kindle and the iPad, sales of erotica have increased, because now a lot of women can read their fix without having the husband and the kids see some lurid book cover :P.

[lederhosen]

There certainly has been some hostility on the basis that it's a fanfic. (I'm not sure how fair that is; ALL writers borrow from their predecessors, and acknowledged fanfic isn't always the worst offender. It's not like Meyer invented the Brooding Sexy Vampire...) But I don't think it's all coming from the fanfic angle.

And yeah, women like erotic fiction, but a lot of guys (and some women) still have trouble accepting that the idea. Every so often, I hear somebody talking about "lesbian" porn and saying "well, you don't see women getting excited about two men getting it on..."

And I think of all the slash fans I know :-)

[carolinelamb]

Ha, I just read that 50 Shades of Grey is about a BDSM relationship with a submissive female as main narrative voice? Did I get this right?

So, maybe the hostile reaction also comes from feminists?

Every so often, I hear somebody talking about "lesbian" porn and saying "well, you don't see women getting excited about two men getting it on..."

Haha! And I often don't say anything because it would just completely ... I don't know ... throw them off? One of my friends considered leaving her husband because she found his porn on his computer! If I would have told her I like slash she'd have probably imploded :D

[lederhosen]

I just read that 50 Shades of Grey is about a BDSM relationship with a submissive female as main narrative voice? Did I get this right?

That's my understanding.

[carolinelamb]

Ah! I think that would be enough to send me running (which still doesn't explain the general bad reviews it gets of course) ...

[17catherines]

Actually, while I haven't read either of them, I'm finding that it's exactly the same people I know who are criticising both of them. Though there have been a few comments along the lines of "My God, the writing is even *worse* than Twilight," but I given the source, I don't think that's got much to do with the fanfic background.

Also, allow me to direct your attention to Team Human, but Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalastier - this book is a surprisingly thoughtful YA novel that kind of grew out of a Twilight parody, and is definitely in dialogue with it (my God, I sound like a literature major), and is also *awesome* fun.

(the tagline is "Friends don't let friends date vampires", and it does, indeed, start with the terribly gorgeous, super-strong, superfast vampire turning up at the high school - though everyone does know he is a vampire, at least)