Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to read books about abusive relationships. Problematic romances exist because readers like them, and that’s OK! There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a sexy book in which the consent is dubious, nor is there anything wrong with you if that’s what you like. None of this is to say that you can’t like Fifty Shades of Grey, nor that you shouldn’t. Instead, he’s manipulating her into his own personal sex toy. Put simply, Christian isn’t initiating Ana into a world of ethical kink, where precautions are taken to avoid misunderstandings and harm. The problem is that Fifty Shades casually associates hot sex with violence, but without any of this context.” All of them require self-knowledge, communication skills, and emotional maturity in order to make the sex safe and mutually gratifying. As The Atlantic noted in 2015: “here are healthy, ethical ways to consensually combine sex and pain. Yes, Fifty Shades of Grey does depict an abusive sexual relationship.Īlthough there’s plenty of room for problematic pairings in fiction-even in romance-educators within the BDSM community warn against taking Fifty Shades of Grey as a how-to guide to kinky sex. Is Ana and Christian’s Relationship Abusive? Christian is really into BDSM-or at least, he’s into what most people think of when they think of BDSM: blindfolds, whips, chains, and abuse. Bella and Edward became Ana and Christian, and a star bestseller was born.įifty Shades of Grey centers on Anastasia “Ana” Steele, a 21-year-old woman who embarks on her first sexual relationship with noted kinkster Christian Grey.

Ahead of publication, James removed all traces of the novel, which was then known as Master of the Universe, from the Internet. So let’s talk about 50 Shades, shall we? The novel began as a web-published work of fanfiction, specifically an AU-that’s alternate universe-version of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. If you’re looking for a dark, sexy story with BDSM elements, you’re going to love the 20 best romance books like Fifty Shades of Grey that we’ve picked out for you below. Even today, when romance is in the midst of a Renaissance, no title has quite managed to unseat Fifty Shades as the flagship for kinky lit.

Books like 50 shades of grey 2022