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Put down my non-con and back away!
Apr. 2nd, 2014 03:27 pmI've been reading the torments of a lovely, intelligent, sex-positive, feminist sex researcher who has felt obligated to pick up 50 Shades and give it a read. Oh dear. I'm sure you can imagine the book is filled with all sorts of consent violations and sex tropes that aren't actually true and are even harmful. The most common being that genital reactions in women mean they are aroused or welcome the stimulus that caused it.
I've read her reactions to erotic fiction before, and it's clear she feels it should be cleansed of anything that would not be appropriate in real life, especially bad consent stuff. But! But! Fiction is NOT real life. That's why we consume fiction. Look at Harry Potter. He's a child soldier. A horrifically neglected, orphaned, child soldier. True, it has been widely banned by evangelical types, but not because it's a horrific example of how to raise children. Instead it's banned because of what makes it work: the fantastical elements that make it easy to divorce ourselves from the horror fest it would be in real life and vicariously enjoy the adventure and risk. Maybe she'd like 50 Shades better if it still had vampires, but probably not.
ETA: Now I'm trying to think of other fiction that could be cleansed. Perhaps Romeo and Juliet of all that nasty tragedy and hormonal stupids?
I've read her reactions to erotic fiction before, and it's clear she feels it should be cleansed of anything that would not be appropriate in real life, especially bad consent stuff. But! But! Fiction is NOT real life. That's why we consume fiction. Look at Harry Potter. He's a child soldier. A horrifically neglected, orphaned, child soldier. True, it has been widely banned by evangelical types, but not because it's a horrific example of how to raise children. Instead it's banned because of what makes it work: the fantastical elements that make it easy to divorce ourselves from the horror fest it would be in real life and vicariously enjoy the adventure and risk. Maybe she'd like 50 Shades better if it still had vampires, but probably not.
ETA: Now I'm trying to think of other fiction that could be cleansed. Perhaps Romeo and Juliet of all that nasty tragedy and hormonal stupids?
