DELANEY WRIGHT

With 50 Shades of Grey hitting theatres this Valentine’s Day, movie goers should not take its representation of BDSM at face value as the series perpetuates stereotypes and romanticizes an abusive relationship.

BDSM is a sexual lifestyle that involves extreme forms of roleplay. It also involves a large amount of trust and when done properly, BDSM is completely consensual.

In the best-selling novel 50 Shades of Grey, the depiction of BDSM involves stalking, suspicion, coercion and the male lead, Christian Grey, reveals to have had a damaging past that supposedly resulted in his sexual desires as a dominant. All of this presents a twisted version of BDSM.

I asked a few students on campus what they thought of the novel and by extension, the new movie coming out.

Navin Wanasundara, a second-year kinesiology student, is familiar with the series but has never read any of the books. He thinks that many people will watch the new movie because it will be different from other movies in its content.

“This isn’t one of those films that will go under the bus,” said Wanasundara.

It seemed to be a common theme that many students hadn’t actually read 50 Shades of Grey but were aware of the books and their contents.

Carson Therres, a second-year student from the College of Engineering, said if he had the time, he would have read the books out of curiosity. He said his friends have joked about the movie coming out and is unsure on how the directors will make a film without turning it into a porno.

Ayla Lloyd, a sixth-year arts and science student, read the first book of the trilogy.

“I’m not against the lifestyle but reading it made me roll my eyes. In a positive [BDSM] relationship, it should be the submissive person calling the shots and holding the power, which is not put into line in 50 Shades of Grey,” said Lloyd.

Many of the other positive aspects of BDSM are also ignored. One stereotype reinforced is the idea that participants of BDSM must have a mental disorder to have this type of sexual interest. The backstory of Christian Grey encourages this idea due to a past of sexual assault and a bad home life as a young child.

Interestingly, a study conducted in 2013 by psychologist Andreas Wismeijer from Tilburg University in the Netherlands actually showed that dominants tend to be more mentally stable than those who do not practice BDSM.

When a book that is perpetuating prejudice and misrepresenting a type of sexual acts is being made into a film, should the producers be responsible for providing an audience with the most accurate depiction possible, even when making a fictional film? Or should the audience make it their responsibility to research any movie they see before taking it as fact and being critical viewers?

Therres felt that it was the writers and producers who need to be checking their facts while Lloyd believes that it is the responsibility of the author, but that the audience should still be on guard.

Wanasundara however, thinks that it is the viewer’s responsibility to remain objective and approach movies with a critical mind.

“I’m assuming the film is going to be rated ‘R.’ It’s going to be people who can make their own decisions. I think people are pretty smart and can make their own choices,” said Wanasundara.

Although opinions varied on who had the most responsibility, all students agreed that it should be shared — and not just for this particular movie. Although ideally, producers would remain as informed and truthful as possible, it is not realistic to assume that. As an audience, it is our responsibility to not take information presented in a fictional film as a how-to guide and to not take anything presented as fact until we have found evidence to support it.

If you do watch or read 50 Shades of Grey, do so with caution. The stereotypes involving BDSM and its portrayal aren’t entirely accurate and should be taken with more than a grain of salt.