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In reply to the discussion: Really Newsweek? [View all]flamingdem
(39,313 posts)54. Here's a review from the NYT - the Cinderella fantasy + spanking
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/books/fifty-shades-of-grey-s-and-m-cinderella.html
This S-and-M story about a virginal college student and the handsome young billionaire who binds her sounds racier than it is. Mostly its an updated throwback to scandalous novels of the past, including Jane Eyre and the 1920s desert rape fantasy The Sheik. The main difference is that Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, are set in modern-day Seattle and mix sexting with spanking.
In other words, Fifty Shades of Grey is to publishing what Spanx was to the undergarment business: an antiquated product re-imagined as innovation. When Sara Blakely, a former office equipment saleswoman, wanted control-top pantyhose without the hose and figured that other women might too, she started her own company, Spanx. Women embraced her light-weight girdle once known as a foundation garment as a body-shaping breakthrough. Ms. Blakely is now on the Forbes list of billionaires.
Similarly E L James, the British author of Shades of Grey, a former television executive who became an author by posting fan fiction online, wrote a typical romance novel, added some atypical sex and became an Internet sensation. Lots of women who werent used to reading erotic novels discovered Shades of Grey. And downloading was a huge part of the books success: readers who heard of the book from friends or Facebook could check it out instantly, cheaply and most of all, privately.
Fifty Shades of Grey doesnt defy taboos in the way that other recent and much-talked-about books and magazine articles have, be it Toni Bentleys ode to anal sex, The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir; Kathryn Harrisons account of incest, The Kiss; or Daphne Merkins revelation of her spanking fetish in The New Yorker. Those accounts shocked mostly because the authors were well-known writers confessing to unseemly sexual vices. MORE
This S-and-M story about a virginal college student and the handsome young billionaire who binds her sounds racier than it is. Mostly its an updated throwback to scandalous novels of the past, including Jane Eyre and the 1920s desert rape fantasy The Sheik. The main difference is that Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, are set in modern-day Seattle and mix sexting with spanking.
In other words, Fifty Shades of Grey is to publishing what Spanx was to the undergarment business: an antiquated product re-imagined as innovation. When Sara Blakely, a former office equipment saleswoman, wanted control-top pantyhose without the hose and figured that other women might too, she started her own company, Spanx. Women embraced her light-weight girdle once known as a foundation garment as a body-shaping breakthrough. Ms. Blakely is now on the Forbes list of billionaires.
Similarly E L James, the British author of Shades of Grey, a former television executive who became an author by posting fan fiction online, wrote a typical romance novel, added some atypical sex and became an Internet sensation. Lots of women who werent used to reading erotic novels discovered Shades of Grey. And downloading was a huge part of the books success: readers who heard of the book from friends or Facebook could check it out instantly, cheaply and most of all, privately.
Fifty Shades of Grey doesnt defy taboos in the way that other recent and much-talked-about books and magazine articles have, be it Toni Bentleys ode to anal sex, The Surrender: An Erotic Memoir; Kathryn Harrisons account of incest, The Kiss; or Daphne Merkins revelation of her spanking fetish in The New Yorker. Those accounts shocked mostly because the authors were well-known writers confessing to unseemly sexual vices. MORE
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haha! The writer and editor were fetishists who had themselves some plywood in
Sarah Ibarruri
Apr 2012
#13
She majored in sensationalism. She's clearly selling the magazine to men.
Sarah Ibarruri
Apr 2012
#76
The cover shows a frumpy Queen of England? Or a skinny female playing victim in a sexual fetish
Sarah Ibarruri
Apr 2012
#79
Like I said, I'd be interested to see what the demographics are pre and post Tina Brown takeover.
Warren DeMontague
Apr 2012
#81
Do you think that showing women naked or in sexualized poses is done because for women? nt
Sarah Ibarruri
Apr 2012
#83
Then I do believe you have been entirely too sheltered, if all you see is a scarf. nt
Sarah Ibarruri
Apr 2012
#85
I know, it's about 50 shades of grey and cheesy bondage porn aimed at women.
Warren DeMontague
Apr 2012
#90
I cancelled my subscription, because I now find it nearly unreadable.
Warren DeMontague
Apr 2012
#69
I so don't believe this. Sex play is fun, whether it's one or the other playing alpha, but I
Sarah Ibarruri
Apr 2012
#10
All this tells me is that the marketing whizzes at Vintage books are working overtime
gauguin57
Apr 2012
#30
It's one of the reasons why supermarket historical romance books are so popular.
Marrah_G
Apr 2012
#64
Never mind that in an S&M type sexual relationship, the Submissive is actually in control and holds
Blaukraut
Apr 2012
#68
I'm not going to tell consenting adults how to get or not get their jollies.
Warren DeMontague
Apr 2012
#72
I guess I sort of don't care about the sexuality of other people all that much.
Chorophyll
Apr 2012
#80