Just a book? Just a movie? Could Fifty Shades of Grey inspire real-life violence?

(Trigger Warning: The following piece contains descriptions of sexual violence)

Back in high school, I remember a few classmates going on about a book and film called Nine and a Half Weeks; the chronicle of a woman who becomes embroiled in a violent, obsessive sexual relationship. As much as teen-aged me loved a good romantic story (well I did grow up to become an erotica author, after all), I was appalled at the idea of a book and film that glamorized sexual violence. When I learned that the book had been written by a woman and its film adaption had been co-written by another woman, I felt a deep sense of betrayal and hurt.

Then one day in class, I overheard a male classmate discussing the authorship of Nine and a Half Weeks; grinning broadly as he said something to the effect, “The book was written by a woman — so this is proof that women like this sort of thing.”

OK, forget the betrayal and hurt; now I was frightened. Was it possible, I wondered, for this book and film to influence the way that males might treat me on dates?

A relative flop in movie theaters, Nine and a Half Weeks never caught on that much among the people of my generation; save for a group of males that salivated over Kim Basinger’s nonviolent striptease scenes. And couples were known to replicate the nonviolent sequence in which Basinger and Mickey Rourke eat fruit in what I guess was supposed to be an erotic manner.

I was heartened by the critical beating that the film took from a variety of sources. I was even more heartened by the many wonderful and empowering erotic works that I discovered in the years that followed. Kathryn Harvey brought us a bordello of men ready to pleasure women in the Butterfly series, while Robin Schone brought us a Victorian male companion trained to please and seduce women in The Lover; and Laurell K. Hamilton and Sherrilyn Kenyon brought us fearless female vampire hunters aided and abetted by sexy, sensitive heroes. I rejoiced that the days of Nine and a Half Weeks, The Story of O, etc., were well and behind us. Today’s independent, liberated women now could feel free to embrace and enjoy a more empowered sexuality.

Then along came a little tome called Fifty Shades of Grey; a chronicle of abuse that has been passed off in the guise of erotic romance. Those who may believe that I’m being a bit too hard on the book should take a closer look at its content. What is a man who threatens to bind and gag his lover into submission, who traces her whereabouts via her cell phone, who draws blood and causes her actual physical pain, who ignores safe words, etc., if not an abuser? When I realized that the book was written by a woman, and that its film adaption was going to be directed by the brilliant Sam Taylor-Johnson — the woman who directed the excellent short film Equals for International Women’s Day — I felt the same sense of shock I’d experienced years before, in response to Nine and a Half Weeks.

This time, though, the unhealthy portrayal of women’s sexuality just wouldn’t go away. Everywhere I turned I saw copies of Fifty Shades in every store, on every shelf. Soon, every film site and magazine was abuzz with details of just who would play the abuser and his victim in the film adaptation of the book.

While debating with someone over IMDB about the movie Magic Mike (which he asserted was degrading to men), I asked how he could possibly object to a male stripper movie when there are torture porn films that revel in the harm and degradation of women. His response? “The success of Fifty Shades of Grey proves that you ladies like that sort of thing.”

And so returned the fear.

This feeling intensified late last year, when — faced with multiple charges of sexual assault — radio host Jian Ghomeshi characterized his relations with one alleged victim as “being like a mild form of Fifty Shades of Grey.” And, as Hayley Macmillen reports on the Refinery 29 website, “Over the past eight years, hospital visits necessitated by sex-toy injuries have about doubled, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, with a huge increase following the release of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy over 2011 and 2012.”

Amy Bonomi, professor and chairperson of Michigan State University’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, “did a study of college women which showed that women who read the books were more likely to suffer from eating disorders, have verbally abusive partners, engage in binge drinking…,” says The Detroit News. And immediately following the release of the movie, several YouTube videos popped up claiming that the success of Fifty Shades was proof that “women love rapists.”

And so the fear rises.

Then this week comes the story of something else allegedly inspired by the 50 Shades phenomenon; but this time it’s not a book, a film, or merchandise.

It’s a rape.

According to Jezebel.Com, 19-year-old Mohammad Hossain is accused of attacking a woman “with tricks he picked up from the S&M-driven film.” Hossain is accused of forcibly tying her up with a belt and filling her mouth with a necktie; then using a knit cap to cover the woman’s eyes before repeatedly striking her with a belt and later with his fists, allegedly ignoring her tears and her claims that he was hurting her.

Continuing to allegedly ignore her pleas to stop, Hossain is accused of then sexually assaulting her.

“On Saturday night, Hossain was arrested,” the Jezebel report continues, “(He) admitted ‘doing something wrong’ and allegedly that he got the idea of the assault from Fifty Shades of Grey.”

And so the fear becomes rage.

I’ve always believed that, if someone commits a rape, then the rapist is the sole guilty party — not the mini skirt the victim is wearing, not a movie he just saw, not the drink he consumed before, etc. Assign blame where it belongs, squarely on the assailant’s shoulders.

At the same time, as an author myself I feel a sense of protective responsibility over my readers. If I had included nonconsensual sex acts in any of my books, like James did, and I heard about a case like this one, the pain and grief I would feel would be beyond compare. Why not just err on the side of caution and write responsible material?

I am fully aware that the author, director and stars of Fifty Shades were not the culprits in this woman’s assault. Yet at this point we have to ask ourselves, how many steps exist between statements like “The book was written by a woman — so this is proof that women like this sort of thing” and “The success of Fifty Shades of Grey proves that you ladies like that sort of thing” and actions like the one just described? And if these works do not elicit these actions, do they at least supply easy excuses for those who commit them?

When I write my own erotic fantasies, I’m always mindful that the heroine in my pieces is loved and respected; the way that I want to be treated, the way that I want my friends and sisters and nieces to be treated, the way that I’d want my beloved mother — a spry, brilliant, beautiful 84-year-old — to be treated.

And speaking of Mom—not someone I generally mention in pieces that concern erotic fiction, but ah well—about a week ago, she asked me, “Why are people getting upset about this Fifty Shades of Grey? Is it raunchy?” I replied, “That’s not the problem. The problem is that Fifty Shades depicts domestic and sexual violence.” “What?” Mom exclaimed. “When there’s so much news about domestic violence on our TV screens, they put something like that on the movie screen? Phooey!”

Phooey is about the strongest word my mother ever uses, the one she uses when she’s good and mad.

And in this case, so am I.