In Defense of Fifty Shades by E. L. James: Does It Really Contain Gender-Based Violence?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24197/ersjes.45.2024.93-115Keywords:
Fifty Shades series of novels, gender-based violence, battered woman, empowered woman, BDSMAbstract
This article presents a response to the harsh criticism expressed against E. L. James’s Fifty Shades. Accusations have been made from many sides that it encourages gender-based violence within a romantic relationship, unjustly stereotyping the female character Anastasia (Ana) as a battered, submissive, weak woman and a “sex slave.” However, as this thorough analysis will argue, Anastasia does not fit the profile of a victim of gender-based violence. Rather, she embodies the traits of an empowered woman. From this viewpoint, it is unfair to consider Fifty Shades as promoting violence against women.
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