Here's how Superman inspired me to go to BDSM school.
Recently, Superman himself, Henry Cavill, essentially trolled “Fifty Shades of Grey” fans. Franchise Herald (via E! Online and USA Today) reports that the “Man of Steel” star initially indicated that it was a possibility that he may appear in the “Fifty Shades” sequel, only to later confess that he was just “messing” with both the media and the book and movie fandom.
This got Donna Dickens and myself on the topic of the popular E.L. James book series and subsequent movie adaptation. We”re not here to debate the relative merits of either, though. I wrote a piece for HitFix some time ago outlining my take on why some women were responding to the “Fifty Shades” mothership — “Twilight.” For those who don't know, the “Fifty Shades of Grey” novels began as “Twilight” fanfic. You can read that here: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” vs. “Bellflower.”
Today, we're focusing on the strange side-effect of the “Fifty Shades” phenomena: sex-related injuries.
The Washington Post reports that the incidence of emergency room care involving sex toys has doubled since 2007, with the bulk of the surge happening post the release of the “Fifty Shades” novels. The large majority of the injuries involve “foreign body removals.” So, let that take your imagination where it will. We certainly did.
On a far more alarming note, The Huffington Post reports that a suspect in an alleged sex crime claimed that he was reenacting a scene from the “Fifty Shades” movie and didn”t understand that he”d crossed a line.
Obviously, we can”t draw a definitive correlation between these incidents and “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It seems that many have been inspired to tread into waters they are ill-prepared for, though, and were guided there by a novel that is painfully ignorant of its own subject.
So, we are able talk about the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series' most dangerous misrepresentations of BDSM…from personal experience.
Take a look in the video above.
Let us know what you think in the comments and follow us on Twitter for more discussion:
Roth: @RothCornet
Donna: @MildlyAmused