slaves, tell me about 50 Shades of Grey

Wow so the protagonist feels the same way we do. How meta.

i've been saying for days!

what about this guy

ha hahahahahahahahahahaha

I think we have a winner

lol

Ha

Well there you go. Via max:

http://www.freep.com/article/20120624/COL01/206240413/Mitch-Albom-My-Fifty-Shades-of-newfound-embarrassment

50 People You Spank In Heaven

Tuesdays with Bondage

call me contrarian but all that does is make me think I should try to get more on board with 50 Shades, since it upsets him so much lol

I know! I think his fear and hatred of it is the one thing that I see as a positive about the 50 shades books.

exactly

I think part of the fantasy appeal of this book is that the guy holds her to working out a set number of hours per week.

i live in the backend of nowhere, and suddenly in the last couple of weeks this book has gone crazy round these parts.
every woman in my facecrook list is currently reading/talking about them.
then today i am browsing the vinyl racks in local charity shop today and yup, it was the topic of discussion by the folks in the shop.

I made this comment before but all of these people would die of shock if they read Kushiel's Dart

oh man I remember seeing the Kushiel books in my science fiction book club catalogs when I was like 11 and wondering what the fuck they were

Oh my god, sex positivity! Noooo! We should be ashamed and prudish like we were in the 50's!

In related news, Lemony Snicket read what has been described by librarians as "hardcore erotica" at an ALA forum.

Tuesdays with...More, Please

The sales numbers of these are insane. Top three paperbacks according to the Guardian Review, the bottom of which sold around 110,000 copies. The next book in the list was somewhere around 22,000.

xposts: Yeah, this article is complete bullshit. However, I thought the main deal about 50 Shades was that it actually isn't very sex positive, seeing as she completely dissociates herself from her own sexuality, either by childish "hoo-ha" innuendo or projection of sex drive as a different character?

The 50 Shades You Meet in Heaven

oh, someone already made that joke, durr

The 50 Slaves You Beat in Heaven?

It's more sex-positive than Mitch Albom would like is the thing.

well yes, because there's sex in it

This might be unfair of me, but I got kind of a sad, low-self-esteem vibe from the author in the interview I saw with her. She didn't come off as a sex-positive feminist so much as a lonely former shut-in who had suddenly been thrust into the spotlight.

I guess her bio doesn't really back me up on that though. Hadn't read it before.

I think what women really love about this piece of garbage is the fantasy of a rich, handsome billionaire being a controlling d-bag. Do I think these chicks really like the idea of being caned and flogged? Probably not. But they love the fantasy of being "taken care of"

I mean most of this book isn't sexy. It's about a guy who writes a lot of stern e-mails and buys Audi's for his wittle kitten and asks her constantly if she's had a meal in the last 24 hours.

ooh, hawtt

and also tells her to quit biting her lip

Yeah I've also theorized that the main fantasy element in the book is probably the rich daddy aspect and not the bondage, which I think is more of a "how far will she go" thing. My impression is that if the guy were a plumber or pool cleaner or something instead of a billionaire, then he'd probably be the sexy, sensitive lover who gives her what her rich husband can't instead of a dominator.

erotic propaganda for a new patriarchy

that sounds like a Consolidated album title

maybe I'll write something about a spoiled pampered house wife who falls in love with her gardener

because HE IS SENSITIVE and LOVING and shit

I am sure it's been done many many times, though

in a shocking twist, the gardener... is a wereparrot

homo II - there's a lifetime movie with that plot: susan lucci is the pampered woman, she falls for david charvet, who is married to tracey gold

isn't that the plot of lady chatterley's lover? he's a gardener iirc

still, stone cold classic plot.

It also happens on Desperate Housewives, which I uh, just happen to be watching on netflix right now entirely because of my wife.

and asks her constantly if she's had a meal in the last 24 hours.

I think the food issues are fascinating, here. Like, he makes her work out so she'll stay thin and attractive, but he's always plying her with food, and she's always forgetting/refusing to eat...the implication is "like a good woman should." Because love of food and tastes is a sensuous enjoyment that she's not supposed to desire, because she's a blank slate who has never felt anything sensual until this guy came along and made her orgasm continuously, as if by magic. The rejection of the body is total...but only HER body. He's allowed to be in touch with his body.

in a shocking twist, the gardener... is a hunger game!

hahahaha

omg lol

Do I think these chicks really like the idea of being caned and flogged? Probably not. But they love the fantasy of being "taken care of"

being caned and flogged : being "taken care of" :: forcible rape : romance-novel "ravishment"

I refuse to read these books, but I gather they're slightly more explicit Harlequin/Mills & Boon, fueled by the advent of e-readers (no need to go to a bookstore or be seen holding a book with a compromising cover).

isn't that the plot of lady chatterley's lover? he's a gardener iirc

still, stone cold classic plot.

He was a gamekeeper in LCL, but yes, classic since at least Joseph and Potiphar's wife.

See I see the eating/exercising thing is more like you'd treat your dog... make sure it's healthy by ensuring it eats and gets walked.

also pay for its vaccinations

Does he ever ask her about her bowel movements/make sure she's regular?

spay/neuter obv key too

What does he do when she chews up his underwear?

shock collar iirc