The Heavenator

The Heavenator:

I thought 50 shades was weird BDSM bullshit and not actual rape?

No. The BDSM element is terribly misunderstood (to the point where practically all of the BDSM community are publicly condemning the book). It's portrayed as the consequence of a fucked up background and something to be "cured" by true love, but at the same time a super naughty thing tee hee hee.

The book is mostly about abuse, but there is also rape. As in, "repeatedly says no and gets fucked anyway, ends up liking it so that makes it okay" type. You know. Just like yaoi. There's also domestic violence disguised as BDSM (he beats her with a belt, she does not find it arousing at all and cries, then he says he thought they were doing BDSM so she forgives him because he's "fifty shades of fucked up" but she ends up thinking BDSM is about being restrained or beaten up while not enjoying it in the slightest) and constant (and clear) displays of abusive behaviour (at one point, he gets angry that she goes topless at a topless beach in Europe, so he makes sure to bruise most of her body during sex so that she won't be exposing her body anymore), and all the things we've accepted as "romantic" from Twilight (stalking, making decisions for her, controlling her life, having her entire life revolve around him) and even one-ups it by having her constantly afraid that she will upset him somehow and he will turn violent. But she excuses this because of his fucked up background.

I could go on forever. Jenny Trout has been doing excellent snark-recaps of the entire trilogy (currently beginning book three) and really makes sure to point out every time the writer engages in abuse/rape fetishisation. Most of the recaps are linked here. but a lot of the links got broken in the blog transition. She's fixing them lately, but if you can't get to one of them, just copypaste the title of the post on google and you should find it.