Fifty Shades of Feminism

Daytime telly is a vice of mine. Currently in-between jobs, I have fallen into the trap of a lack of routine and my days are now filled with job applications, going to the gym and composing tweets about wanting to steal Holly Willoughby’s wardrobe. Still, whilst most daytime telly is mundane and brainless (read: Jeremy Kyle), I am clearly interested in anything that promotes debate. Today’s dose of This Morning featured a debate on popular erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey, with Samantha Brick arguing that the book should be regarded the same way as most pornography- (ie: keeping it stocked on the top shelf rather than next to the latest biopic featuring Peppa Pig.) Erotic writer Emily Dubberley took an opposing argument, stating how many women have been enticed by the trilogy since its launch and basically brandishing it as a bit of fun.

Admittedly, I have not read Fifty Shades of Grey and therefore cannot really comment on the book itself. The plot is fairly original it would seem- a virgin graduate embarking upon an affair with a manipulative billionaire who has a penchant for bondage, domination and sadism. So far, so creepy.  As someone who composed a dissertation chapter on violence in Angela Carter’s modern fairytales, it sounds to be almost like a re-telling of her version of The Bloody Chamber with some light pornography for good measure. Perhaps this is just my inner Literature student eager to analyse and I should shut up and get on the Erotic- lit bandwagon. Still, I am increasingly put off in reading the book- be it from excerpts, the ongoing comparison to fantasy series Twilight, or the warnings from friends of the apparently appalling writing. Still, rather than a potentially damaging sex manual, Fifty Shades of Grey sounds to me like a light-hearted and fun way to spend a rainy afternoon. Surely women (or men) reading this book will be aware that it is a fantasy? Surely they will know that they still have the choice to mould and shape their own sexuality rather than be dictated to by fiction? Surely they are simply not that ignorant? Oh, but Samantha Brick doesn’t think so.

‘Degrading to women’ was the phrase that Brick used carelessly in her argument, perhaps unaware that she was making a very bold statement indeed. I scoffed into my cornflakes in disbelief. This is the woman that declared just a few months ago that ‘women hate me because I’m beautiful.’ In a double page spread in the Daily Mail, she harped on about her ‘perfect features’ and how her friends had dropped her ‘in fear that their husbands fancied me.’ Her article was a poisonous and arrogant rant about how what she considered to be her own pleasing appearance had an awful effect on her life- leaving her with no friends and jealous women at every corner. As I have said before, the ‘sisterhood’ she talks about is non-existent in her world. In fact, by labeling every woman in England as unattractive and jealous, she has degraded women more than Fifty Shades of Grey ever could. 

Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey and agree with Samantha Brick's argument? Do you think erotic fiction empowers or degrades women? 

The ugly face of Beauty: Samantha Brick

I'll go ahead and say it. I was an ugly child. I improved a little, as you can see- still a bit rough around the edges and carrying a few extra pounds I'm desperately trying to shift- but a vast improvement on my teenage self. If I'm honest, my own appearance has always been something that consumes me- I think, however, that this is true of most women. If we're not tanning ourselves, crash dieting and moaning about the size of our calves, we're taking more serious measures in the form of plastic surgery or gastric bands. Admittedly, the media's portrayal of celebrities has a lot to do with it. Has anyone ever noticed that newspapers such as The Daily Mail and The Sun describe women more often that not by their dress sizes? Usually regardless of what the article is about. With celebrities plastered on the front of magazines, slated for being 'too fat' or 'too skinny', it is clear that a woman's appearance has never been more discussed.

Which is why I was shocked on Monday morning to be faced with this article. Entitled 'Why women hate me because I'm beautiful', the sensationalist headline spoke for itself. Written by Daily Mail journalist Samantha Brick, the article read like a life story one might find in the 'Tragic lives' section of WHSmith. Only Samantha wasn't claiming to be psychically abused or reviled, instead she was expressing her heartache at what she considered to be her 'pleasing appearance' and how this had affected her life- i.e: it had caused her no end of hardship.

Inexplicably, this woman seemed to think that it was her 'attractive' appearance that led her to have little or no friends, rather than her unpleasant manner and shocking arrogance. It is not surprising that the feature was inundated with comments- most harshly directed at her- and that even twenty-four hours later, her name is still trending on Twitter. Even celebrities and well-known names have directed their anger at her- with Lauren Laverne tweeting ' Why do people WRITE articles like this?'  and Derren Brown stating that 'I wish I had such an inflated view of my looks!' 

I think it is fair to say that British women are notoriously self-deprecating. Tell the most beautiful woman in the world what she really looks like and she'll refuse to take the compliment, muttering away about her imperfect thighs or the fact her eyelashes are shorter than she'd like. From this angle, it could be thought that Samantha Brick's perception on her own appearance is refreshingly positive. She works out, looks after her body and is confident in herself. However, whilst confidence is attractive in anyone- arrogance is not. Whilst Samantha is entirely obsessed with her own appearance, she seems to have a very low opinion of others. Yes, she is delusional (for someone claiming to be the most beautiful woman in the world she leaves a lot to be desired), but that is by the by. What is really important is that the 'sisterhood' that she so frequently rants on about is almost non-existent in her world. Because she doesn't behave in a sisterly manner whatsoever. Perhaps instead of harping on about her perfect appearance, she ought to gain a sense of perspective and become a little more down-to-earth. If she's lucky, she might even gain herself some friends.