A wave of people have been bravely sharing their stories of sexual assault by men in power, following an expose on Harvey Weinstein last month.
Now, the Director of Communications at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has written about why she believes the Fifty Shades series – starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson – is “glamorising… abuse as mere entertainment”.
In a column for Townhall, Katherine Blakeman said: “Women want and deserve healthy and consensual intimate relationships.
“So, Fifty Shades author E.L. James dressed up a sadomasochistic, abusive sexual relationship as just that – one that ended in true love, was based on consent, and was healthy for both partners.
“This unconvincing lie becomes all the more repulsive in the third part of the trilogy, when Christian Grey tells his wife, Ana, who suspects him of cheating, that he ‘made a vow to love [her] faithfully, forsaking all others, to comfort [her] in times of need, and to keep [her] safe.’
“Apparently Christian Grey’s definition of ‘safe’ doesn’t include physical, emotional, or psychological safety for Ana, just ultra-possessive jealousy on his part that keeps her ‘safe’ from other men.”
Elsewhere in the article, which can be read in full here, Blakeman added: “It is incredibly socially irresponsible to uphold Fifty Shades as mainstream entertainment, while at the same time we express our outrage at Harvey Weinstein and his ilk, and while we work to eradicate sexual harassment, sexual assault, and the rape myth mentality from our culture.”
Fifty Shades Freed’s trailer last week was a big success online, generating millions of views on YouTube in the space of a day.
However the box office revenue for predecessor Fifty Shades Darker, released earlier this year, showed the series’ popularity could be waning.
Critics’ reviews for the film were also overwhelmingly negative.
Fifty Shades Freed is out on February 9, 2018.