Reblogged from Evangelicals for Social Action blog – Guest post by Kristyn Komarnicki.
Mennobytes is sharing this blog post because of its strong connection with the Herald Press book, Fifty Shade of Grace: Stories of Inspiration and Promise, published in early 2013. Our ebook versions are on sale currently for just $4.99. Sale price will show up in cart.
Evangelicals For Social Action 50 Shades of GRACE Campaign
by Kristyn Komarnicki
“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” I share that quote every time I do pornography education. That’s because telling the truth about sex and intimacy, about what our bodies are designed to do and be, and about the inseparability of sexuality and spirituality is indeed revolutionary. In a society that systematically and aggressively commodifies the human body and short-sheets relationships, we can easily lose sight of what is real, what is true.
The film version of E. L. James’ blockbuster trilogy 50 Shades of Grey, scheduled to be released on Valentine’s Day, does not portray truth. Like the books, the film will enrapture women and men of all ages with its slick, fairy-tale fantasy of a dashing young billionaire whisking a recent college grad off to his world of penthouses, private helicopters … and torture chamber. Although the leading man, Christian Grey, is presented as someone to be pitied for a loveless childhood defined by sadomasochistic sexual abuse at the hands of a woman, the story puts a seductive veneer on his proclivity for sexual violence. While he possesses virtually all of the potentially dangerous characteristics of a domestic abuse perpetrator—jealous, controlling, sadistic, hypersensitive, moody, power-wielding—he is presented as an attractive lover. And although he “can’t make love” (his words—he prefers something “harder”), we are expected to believe that his love-interest, Ana Steele, will eventually cure him of his abusive past. By taking him to therapy? By encouraging him to surrender to a Higher Power? No, apparently it’s much simpler than that—by submitting to his sophisticated brand of sexual torture.
Domination and submission; master and sex slave, an arrangement sealed by a legal contract: These are the elements that form the core of the story. 50 Shades of Grey takes the childhood sexual abuse of a boy and the vulnerability of a fatherless girl and serves it up as erotic romance. One human in complete control of another, a “red room of pain” equipped with chains and horsewhips: In reality, this is the stuff of nightmares (and crime reports), yet the publishing house and film studio present it as a Cinderella dream.
A number of wise people have invested in exploring why it’s such a powerful fantasy (the popular success—and influence—of the 50 Shades phenomenon cannot be overstated), and I recommend that you check some of them out (start with Pulling Back the Shades and The Fantasy Fallacy), so I won’t go into that here. But as someone who advocates for healthy sexual expression and the joys of true intimacy, I am deeply concerned about the Kool Aid we have been drinking in our society, as well as in the church: A 2013 Barna studyannounced that 9 percent of practicing Christians have read the novels (dubbed “Mommy porn” by some news outlets), which is the same percentage of all American adults who have read them.
At ESA we want to tell a story about how relationships really work, about “what women want” and what truly satisfies men. We may be in the minority, but we don’t believe we are alone. We believe there are lots of folks who long for a better story, one that offers real hope, depicts healing, and maps the road to true intimacy.
We believe there are lots of people, like you perhaps, who want to know the truth, and want to tell the truth, but don’t know where to start. How can we share our concerns about the falsehoods depicted in 50 Shades of Grey without coming off as gloom-and-doom culture critics? How can we engage those around us with something better, something joyful and true? How can we share the source of the hope that lies within us? Hollywood and E.L. James have presented us with a huge opportunity here for dialogue and discussion of important issues—how can we take advantage of this?
In an effort to provide some tools for reflection and engagement, we are launching a 50 Shades of GRACE campaign. Every day for the 50 days leading up to the film release of 50 Shades of Grey—from December 27th to February 14th—we will post a meme and/or article link that you can share with your circles of influence. These 50 Shades of GRACE will help you wreak revolution by helping you reflect on and share the revolutionary truth about God’s life-giving, joyful purposes for our sexuality and relationships. Our hope is that you will focus on them in your prayer time, find fodder in them for conversations with your friends, and share them far and wide through your social networks. We are praying for you—why not start right now?
—–
The 50 Shades of Grace Campaign from ESA is featuring one story from our Fifty Shades of Grace Herald Press book: “Lost Boy” by Gareth Brandt. Gareth is also author of another Herald Press book, Under Construction: Reframing Men’s Spirituality, and the recently released Spirituality With Clothes On, published by Wipf & Stock.
Recent Comments