Paper Details

Name: Jobin Thomas
Country: India

Year: 2016
Volume: Volume-3, Issue-2 (July-December)
Page Number: 17-21

Fifty Shades of Grey published in 2011 has seen an epoch making success with two sequels of equal to less achievement published, and the first book already becoming a blockbuster movie. Written by British novelist Erika Mitchell alias E. L. James and movie version directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, Fifty Shades of Grey is still a debatable topic because of its influence in popular culture. Even amidst bans and censorships, both the print version and the movie became popular, reaching to millions. The work in concern can be effortlessly criticized for propagating and naturalizing BDSM (Bondage and Disciple, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism) culture, but a larger apprehension is about the portrayal of women. Even though the author is a woman, majority of positive reviewers are women, and the author herself projects the book as a celebration of sexual freedom for women, the extent to which women are demeaned in the very traditional way should be analyzed. This will bring into light the fact that the book is not at all a manifesto of sexual expression for women but a script filled with evidences to show that the author herself is not free from patriarchal influence. The stereotypical representations of women as attracted to lavishness, riches, and strength is reinforced in the novel.