
While I do know a few women my age who read a lot in the Romance genre, most women at this book club were new to it, so the privacy was important for them to explore the adult themes.īecause reading fiction causes me to lose track of space and time such that I neglect to feed my children, I switched back to non-fiction immediately after reading 50 Shades.

Like some of my friends, I read the books on an e-reader and was glad to take the book to the pool, doctor’s office waiting room, and fitness club without worry that I would be ashamed if people know what I was reading. Instead, she wrote, the books are notable not for transgressive sex but for how women are using technology to subvert gendered shame by exploring explicit sexual content privately using e-readers.” (my emphasis )Ĭhemlay’s analysis is encouraging.

“critic Soraya Chemaly argued that interest in the series was not a trend, but squarely within the tradition and success of the romance category which is driven by tales of virgins, damaged men and submission/dominance themes. I thought this bit from Wikipedia was interesting, One major difference, however, is that they are clearly for an adult audience.Īs the SNL skit illustrates, many women, including myself, are reading 50 Shades on e-readers for privacy. While I was initially suspicious, I liked the books about as well as I liked Twilight, they kept me engaged but were not particularly well written.

The books are explicitly erotic and unlike the few traditional romances I have read, they feature scenes that involve Dominant/Submissive roles with bondage, whips, handcuffs, etc. We had about 20 women attend and enjoyed food, drinks, swimming, and a great time talking honestly about our sexual experiences, good, bad, and challenging.įor those of you who haven’t heard of 50 Shades of Grey trilogy, it’s a popular romance ( watch this SNL skit) that began as fan-fiction of the Twilight series.

Our local Mormon Stories group had a women’s book discussion this week for 50 Shades of Grey.
