Accessed 13th August 2013
Published: Aug. 12, 2013
'FIFTY SHADES OF GREY' PERPETUATES VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Contact(s): Andy Henion, Kristen Parker
“Fifty
Shades of Grey,” the best-selling novel that’s promoted as a tale of erotic
romance, actually perpetuates the problem of violence against women, a new
study finds.
Reporting in the Journal of Women’s Health, Amy
Bonomi and co-authors conclude that emotional and sexual abuse is pervasive in
the novel, with the main female character, Anastasia, suffering harm as a
result.
About 25 percent of women are victims of violence
by intimate partners.
“This book is perpetuating dangerous abuse
standards and yet it’s being cast as this romantic, erotic book for women,”
said Bonomi, lead author of the study. “The erotic content could have been
accomplished without the theme of abuse.”
Bonomi, currently an associate professor at Ohio State University , will become professor and chairperson of Michigan State University Ohio State
The researchers conducted a systematic analysis of
the novel to clarify patterns consistent with Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention definitions of intimate partner violence and associated reactions
known to occur in abused women.
Anastasia suffers reactions consistent with those
of abused women. She feels a constant sense of threat and loss of
self-identity, changes her behaviors to keep peace in the relationship such as
withholding information about her whereabouts to avoid Christian’s anger, and
becomes disempowered and entrapped in the relationship as her behaviors become
mechanized in response to Christian’s abusive patterns.
Written by E.L. James and published in 2011, “Fifty
Shades of Grey” has sold more than 70 million copies and set the record as the
fastest-selling paperback of time. A movie based on the novel is in the works
Andy Henion Media Communications office: (517)
355-3294 cell: (517) 281-6949 Andy.Henion@cabs.msu.edu
Kristen Parker Media Communications office: (517)
353-8942 cell: (517) 980-0709 Kristen.Parker@cabs.msu.edu
