50 Shades Fucked

‘Want true BDSM…Check this out’-Photo Courtesy of Sex And Submission

By now, most everyone who is reading this blog knows there is an honest-to-goodness BDSM frenzy sweeping the land. One that has been caused by the blockbuster hit, 50 Shades Of Grey. A fad that seems to have more to do with people’s curiosity than it does with actual Sex And Submission.

The panties of women all over the U.S is getting quite moist thanks to that movie 50 Shades of Grey. You can barely turn on the TV or read a news article without something about this movie. And to top it off, the movie blasted box office records by earning over 81 million over the course of a three day period. It’s enough to make you think that Americans are really into Sex And Submission. I would tend to agree if this movie was actually about real BDSM, but I am afraid that it isn’t.

It’s an anesthetized version of what people think BDSM is about. It’s a housewife’s fantasy that has little to do with the culture and more to do with what people think it should be. Which would be okay, if that was the only problem I had with this movie. After all, every sexual lifestyle that has been annexed by the movie industry is sort of made more palatable for audiences. I could accept that, however I feel that it goes even further. That it misrepresents the whole lifestyle.

Of course, before I go on I have to say that I only read the book and have seen only clips of this movie. I should also say that I have limited experience in this lifestyle myself. I have experimented, as many people have done, and I do have friends who are into this lifestyle, but I don’t consider myself a member of this community. Sure, you can say that BDSM is a spectrum and even practitioners of ‘vanilla sex’ engage in some degree of it, so it’s not entirely foreign to me. With that being said however, I also don’t go around and spread stereotypes about people who are involved in this lifestyle and things I may not understand about it.

This whole phenomenon seems to focus exclusive on the ‘tools of the trade’, for lack of a better word, than on the relationships. If the book and movie focused more on the interpersonal relationships of the character, then I would have less of a problem with it. Instead, we get cardboard characters dressed up with the accoutrements of BDSM without the substance. I also didn’t like how it focused so much on pain. If you think that it’s all about inflicting or receiving pain, then you really don’t understand the complex nature of it. It is more than just pushing physical boundaries, it is also about pushing emotional and mental boundaries.

To sum it up, if I wanted to learn more about BDSM, then I would go to a site like Device Bondage before I to a Hollywood movie. At least there is some reality on this site. Christian Grey should have said that the movie was 50 shades of fucked up, not him. At least, that is my take.