WESTFIELD – From the advent of “the pill” and “free love” to Roe v. Wade and the fight for gay rights, human sexuality has become as divisive a social wedge as there exists in America today, one that’s likely to become even more politicized after this weekend.
That’s because the film adaptation of “50 Shades of Grey”, the first installment in British novelist E.L. James’ best-selling erotic romance trilogy, which has sold over 100 million copies since it’s release in 2011, will be arriving in movie houses worldwide tomorrow.
The film, which is expected to clear over $60 million in the U.S. box office alone this Valentine’s Day weekend, follows the story of a naive, nubile college student who falls for a wealthy Seattle businessman who introduces her to the deviant world of BDSM, an acronym for the sexual subculture that incorporates bondage and discipline, themes of dominance and submission, and sadomasochism.
While “50 Shades of Grey” isn’t the first film to explore such kinky subject matter, it is among the first major studio releases to do so and it has garnered considerable controversy since the premiere of the trailers and receiving an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, as opposed to the MPAA’s most restrictive rating, NC-17.
The release of a film that many see as eroticizing sexual violence is troublesome to some, as it is arriving during a crucial juncture in America’s conversation about sexuality, as awareness for and campaigns against domestic violence, rape and sexual assault are gaining a full head of steam nationwide.
At Westfield State University, attitudes toward sexual violence have reached a tipping point, with the school implementing mandatory HAVEN (Helping Advocates for Ending Violence Now) and AlcoholEdu training for students late last year, as well a bystander intervention training for students who attended an orientation session this summer.
During the University’s Welcome Week, over 700 first-year students also attended a “Sex Signals” workshop.
“Despite ongoing efforts to prevent their occurrence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking remain very serious public health concerns, impacting both individuals and the larger community,” said University President Dr. Elizabeth Preston in October. “The statistics are shocking. Nationally, one in five women are sexually assaulted while in college.”
So at a time when awareness against sexual violence is at an all-time high, will the arrival of this controversial film, whose target audience includes college-aged women, change the landscape of sexual norms – and safety – at a place like Westfield State?
Lawrence Johnson, director of Non-Descrimination and University Compliance at WSU, was hired in the fall and tasked with working with campus offices on complying with the provisions of the Clery and Violence Against Women Acts, and has experience both facilitating training about, developing campus policies against, and investigating complaints of sexual assault and harassment.
When asked whether BDSM, once the domain of a small subculture governed for the most part by its own rules and safety guidelines, could possibly give rise to increased incidents of sexual assault and have an effect on student safety, Johnson was succinct in his response.
“The message to our campus community has always been and will continue to be that non-consensual sexual conduct is never acceptable,” said Johnson, a former associate dean of students at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and dean of students for Rider’s Westminster Choir College. “We need to challenge any ideas that jeopardize personal safety, dignity, inclusion and equality.”
The main concern of many sexual violence advocates is that the acceptance of BDSM by the body politic as a new normative sexual behavior will occur without the knowledge of the rules that govern its practice and ensure the safety of participants.
Samantha Kendall, a senior communication major from Sharon, formed Westfield State’s “Revolution Against Campus Sexual Assault” last year as a means to raise awareness against sexual misconduct, and advocates that anyone interested in experimenting with BDSM should search for websites that can connect them to others in their area who are active within that community.
Kendall admitted that she has concerns about the timing of the film’s premiere.
“Movies are meant to inspire the population, which is why I have some fear of a movie about this sexual nature being released during this time period where sexual misconduct is at a high warning,” she said, adding that she has not read any of the James novels.
While she doesn’t plan on seeing the film, Kendall said she isn’t necessarily ready to condemn it either.
“If percentages of sexual assault do increase rapidly after the release of a movie promoting sexual dominance, that’s a fault stemming from our society,” she said.
As to whether she anticipates the film influencing students to engage in the sorts of deviant sexual behavior it exhibits, Kendall said that the books have been out long enough for people to have already explored their curiosities about BDSM, a concept she does believe could be dangerous if perpetrated by the wrong people.
“I do not fear the BDSM culture. I fear our generation, especially those that go to extremes and have illnesses or instability,” she said. “We are curious beings, but it takes a person of mental instability to go so far as to take advantage of another being that does not wish abuse, or physical or mental harm upon them.”
