Perceptions

Im embracing my inner goddess.....no eye rolling now!

So the book..i dont even need to name the book do i? its everywhere, i have read the first one, i have read part of the second...i couldnt do no more...my eyes were rolling more than the female lead.  But this book makes me wander how we (those that practice bdms or are in D/s dynamics) are portrayed.

I read some reviews from people that have bought the book...

"The female lead is schizophrenic.

The male lead needs to go to prison."

"The BDSM is portrayed so badly that I feel genuinely sorry for the community. Did James do no research at all?"

"Apparently, I've got the wrong `wow' factor. I don't feel like, `wow, this is incredible', I feel like, `wow, this is disturbingly unhealthy'".

 "Like a lot of romances, it boasts very familiar male-female dynamics. Hot, rich, older guy falls in love/lust with young, naïve, innocent (and again, not too sharp) girl. She “cures” him of his evil disease (in this case, bdsm and a strange reticence to touching his chest) and makes him see the light. So… if that’s your thing, go for it."

and my personal favourite (said tongue in cheek)

"Anastasia is an immature insecure desperate idiot who wants to become the whore of Babylon. She just wants to listen to her inner goddess (wtf?!) and have creepy monkey sex with Grey. She has no personality nor will whatsoever, she gets excited over the smallest and most idiotic things you can imagine and even though she sees how wrong Grey (the sick f*ck) is, she still goes for it. She’s always mooning over Grey like he’s some kind of god that she’s supposed to worship. He tells her that he doesn’t want a serious relationship just sex and she’s still ok with it. Why? Just because he’s hot? He’s a damn disgusting pervert. He hurt her the first time they made love, she was a virgin for Christ’s sake (and I don’t buy the crap with it being perfect, surely she had vaginal cracks after that), and is treating her like a slave. Even though he’s a successful businessman and he’s rich and famous he still can be a psychopath. Just watch American Psycho and you’ll know what I’m talking about."

Ok fair enough this is only a small sample and i obviously have picked out the negative comments for the purpose of this blog..but there were many to pick from, its one of those books you will either love or hate.

I didnt enjoy it because i dont think it helped in the way that bdsm and D/s is potrayed, will it encourage people to be more curious about bdsm?  i suspect so but if its soley based on reading this book then i think there is a huge possibility they are going to be disillousioned....i can see it now an influx of 'submissives' seeking their Christian Gray...i actually feel sorry for genuine single male dominants!

Im aware that i am most probably in the minority it is after all a commercial success and its not all bad as far as a romance story goes, i dont think bdsm needed to be in it, im still not entirely sure why it was...perhaps thats what it needed to stand out amongst all the other romantic fiction...so publicity wise it worked....but i have to wander at whose expense.

I feel i should add a disclaimer *these are my views only*