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Alys Marchand

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Alys Marchand

Monthly Archives: February 2015

Last night’s #50ShadesLiveWatch

18 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by Author Alys Marchand in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Consider this to be the notes I will use when I write a full review of this movie tonight. This movie also made crystal clear something Ana herself did wrong. It was nothing that justified the abuse, so don’t even start thinking that. Please pardon the typos in these tweets. I didn’t have time to proof-read them when I was trying to quickly tweet without going over the character-limit, and get screencaps.

I have it ready to watch at home. But am I ready? Can I get through this? Send in rescue crews if I'm gone too long. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

That's so clearly not Seattle. No Space Needle. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"I do have a GPA and a 4.0 GPA." But you've never had email. At 21. In 2011. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Overly-dramatic fall is overly-dramatic. Looks staged. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

This movie is so dull that I'm already considering giving up, five minutes into it. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

The stupid Inner Goddess and Subconscious would greatly improve this movie. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Whoever edited this movie did an extremely choppy job. The pacing is also dragging. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Eloise Mumford lacks the model looks as described by Ana in the books. I'm somewhat glad for that. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

STOP BITING YOUR DAMNED LIP ALREADY. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Oh, Jennifer Ehle, my favorite Elizabeth Bennet, how it kills me to see you lower yourself to this. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Yikes. Christian just suddenly being there at Ana's workplace with no notice is creepy. Tape, rope… Serial killer? #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

This movie has an excellent set-up for a thrilled about a psycho murderer, and his intended victim trying to escape. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Again, the cut of this movie is extremely bad. Whiplash. In ten seconds, three scenes pass. Literally. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Christian's already trying to control her, and even drunk, she's calling him out on that. Could be funny, almost. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Oh, look, once again he shows up OUT OF NOWHERE. Seriously, this would be a great psycho thriller. Norman Bates=romantic #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"My tastes are very… … …singular." Jamie's showing that he can't act. Ouch. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"Taylor has good taste." Unless you know the book, you wouldn't know who bought her clothes. Bad script-writing. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

That's an uncomfortable-looking kiss. That "hot" elevator one. Not hot. Very awkward. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

I genuinely LOL'd when a group of businessmen got on the elevator and side-eyed them. Not in the book, but funny add-in. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"Layers, Baby." Sounds just as stupid on the screen as it does in my head. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"It's just beyond my door." "What is?" "My playroom." "Like your XBox, and stuff?" HAHAHA! Yeah, that's what he means… #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"It's just beyond my door." "What is?" "My playroom." "Like your XBox, and stuff?" HAHAHA! Yeah, that's what he means… #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Edward and Bella's first time was soooo much hotter than this, and theirs was fairly dull. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Edward and Bella's first time was soooo much hotter than this, and theirs was fairly dull. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"You have no idea how delighted I am to meet you." His mom is relieved her son isn't gay. That's book-canon. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Ana knows the name of his playroom even though he hasn't told her in the movie. Bad editing. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

They just went to a meadow. Is this Fifty Shades or Twilight? #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

That Macbook he gave her wasn't available with those specs in 2011. It matches my current one. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

She gasped, shocked and scared. Running theme in this movie. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/J9hVwU5Wpd

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"'It was nice knowing you'? Let me remind you how 'nice' it was." His intention is clear. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

I heard this movie was boring, but this is blowing away how boring I expected it to be. So much worse. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

No real-life Dom would use cable ties. Those are dangerous, truly dangerous, and can easily cause permanent damage. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"You want to leave?" "Yes." "But your body tells me something different." Rapists use that to justify not stopping. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Doesn't matter, Christian, she said she wants to go home. It's clear he won't let her leave. This consent isn't valid. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"Replacing" her car without her permission is theft. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

She's close to tears after he left, and is confused. This is emotionally painful for me to watch. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/8tFhdlKxAz

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Her mom called, and she is crying. Someone please tell me how this is romantic. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/FFe0cWQ9iS

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Still waiting for her to look anything but scared. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/cC6Gu2svRD

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

The glimpse of peen that has fans in a tizzy hardly counts. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/qoe8QA2luX

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

The lighting in this movie is terrible. That may be a blessing in disguise. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/wEODEsTgHZ

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

I'm getting to the point where I don't even know what to say. She's so scared, confused, and hurt! #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/ExJ5Q5JdPH

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

He replies by pushing the contract again. She asks, "Don't you like me the way I am?" The problem is, no, he doesn't. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"Of course I do." "Then why are you trying to change me?" "I'm not." He's a rotten, abusing liar. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/WSBsURUsqq

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Since he has no respect for her, he stalks her across the country and tracks her exact location. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/k1zdh4Mvnb

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

She left to get some space. He won't give it to her. How scary to be in her shoes, knowing there's no getting away. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"What are you doing here, Christian?" #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/um7YSlbcmk

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

She's finally had enough. Too back the break-up lasts only five days. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/12K21MxdS9

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"Don't you dare come near me." Oh, how I wish the break-up would last forever. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/ND2Ku4npNV

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

"Please don't hate me." "You'll never do that to me again." Oh, honey, he will. Repeatedly. And he'll guilt you more. #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

She wants her car back. Of course she can't have it, and he'll "send [her]a check." #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

The very last moment before the credits. #50ShadesLiveWatch pic.twitter.com/MPSL9bvR4f

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

My thoughts are summed up here. Caution: Lots of swearing. https://t.co/XS90casOTc #50ShadesLiveWatch

— Alys B.Cohen -Author (@AlysBCohen) February 18, 2015

Interview with a Random Twitterer: Cheryl

14 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by Author Alys Marchand in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Last night I was perusing Twitter, and decided to ask a random person who’d seen Fifty Shades if she’d be interested in an interview.  I wrote up a series of questions, trying to remain as neutral as possible in them, and will continue for a few days to seek interviewees.  I enjoy getting viewpoints from regular people rather than just professionals who all start to sound the same after a few articles.  I realize that, this early in the game, most people who will have seen the movie are fans who bought tickets in advance.

Right now I have Cheryl, aka @Nonofo_Chay_xD.  I would like to thank Cheryl for her willingness to participate.  I am extremely amused by the armpit stubble.  This is the kind of detail that professional reviews leave out, but that make for fun reading, whether or not you’re a fan of the subject matter. 🙂

As usual, when I do interviews, I leave all all wording, punctuation, etc., exactly as written, and do not “edit for space.”

Before we start, is there anything you’d like to share with the reading audience about who you are?

My name is Cheryl. And I love erotic literature. No not because I am a horny crazed lady. But because I enjoy the way authors can create human chemistry with just words, working our imagination to create the ideal situation with the paragraphs she blesses us with.

Fifty shades of grey was the first erotic trilogy I had read, so I have kinda a soft spot for it.

Do you consider yourself to be a fan of the books?

Yes I am a fan of the ‘books’

What are your favorite aspects of the books?

Well, though out all the books, we get Anastasia’s conscious thoughts, which makes her seem more authentic, she refers to it as her ‘inner goddess’ and although on the outside she may come across as weak and shy, her ‘inner goddess’ shows us otherwise

What are your least favorite aspects?

The epilogue of the last book, ‘fifty shades freed’, I wish it was longer.

What did you expect when you left to see the movie?

Well this movie took a long time to make. And with all the hype, the tasteful songs and sexy clips/trailers, we expected the best. Although I had not herd of the actors playing Christian and Ana I was very hopeful for the success of the movie.

Where your expectations met, exceeded, or not met?

You know when you walk into a movie, knowing you are going to like it. So you are expecting the best right? Then suddenly you realize 10 minutes into the movie how horrible it is, but you keep trying to suppress that thought. Cause COME ON, It’s fifty shades, the movie I have been waiting for months to see, and bought expensive ass tickets for! Then boom. It’s horrible.

1

Cheryl’s photo

In what way(s) were any expectations at least met?

The sex scenes. The hype for then was well deserved, they where basicly the only highlight of the movie.

In what way(s) were they not?

1. The details – when you are making a movie for a trilogy with a fan base as big as Harry Potter or Lord of the rings, attention to details are suposed to be met, especially with the first movie. For example, no where in the book did it say Ana had bangs? When Ana first met Christian her skirt was brown not blue, and when they had sex for the first time, it was on white sheets not blue. Ect…

2. Awkward stares though out – I think they where trying to come across as sexy but it was just odd

3. Important dialog cut out- the conversation Ana and Christian where supposed to have after sex, when Christian was playing a melencony tune, was supposed to be the conversation that brought out their emotional connection. And they cut it out, rather they continued to have sex (which according to the book is not true as Christian was aware that ana would be sore.

4. Too much grey- we get that he is Christian grey, but no, we don’t need that much grey.

How do you think the intended-romance came across?

Awkward and forced

And one could see that during the scenes they where supposed to be having a moment but it just seems like awkward staring

How about the chemistry between Dakota Johnson and Jaime Dornan?

They tried. Not that it worked well, but they really tried

Were the sex scenes what you’d hoped, more, or less, and why?

Yes, surprisingly the sex scenes were what I hoped for; as the were very intensely intamite.

I think also being a lady, and seeing a sexy guy with his shirt off does pose a distraction to the actual quality of the acting .But from what I remember they were hot, from tits to pubic hair on Ana we saw it all.

Being an R rated movie it wouldn’t have killed then to show more than a peek of Christian’s dick

Do you have any concerns about anything you saw?

Why does Ana have armpit stubble?

Would you recommend this movie to your friends?

Well, if they have read the book, I would tell them to watch it with an open mind.
However from research, those that haven’t read the book did enjoy it, so I guess I would fully recommend it to my friends who haven’t read the book.

Do you plan to see the sequels?

I actually do wanna see the sequels. I just hope the whole ‘acting’ thing Improves

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

They should add Ana’s ‘inner goddess’ voice some how.The movie seems wildly fast forwarded with out it.

Forgive any spelling and grammar errors haha

However Thanks for finding me to interview, I love it when someone appreciates my point of view.

I hope I helped you with what you needed. Would love to do this again.

How would you feel?

12 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by Author Alys Marchand in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Let’s play a game!  How would you feel on the receiving end of some of Christian’s “romantic” gestures?  These are only some.  There are many “romantic” gestures that are left out, and none of them involve Christian respecting Ana’s personal space.

To begin this game pretend that you are Ana, for good or bad.  Write, or type, what you feel about Christian Grey.  He is sweet?  Sexy?  Scary?  Jot down a few words to describe him, and see if you feel the same after going through several scenarios starting the night before you start to date, through the first 14 days of dating.  Since this is a game with just one player, you don’t need to worry about who goes after you.

Now that you’ve taken care of the pre-game step, let’s start the party of one!

1) Christian stalks you so severely that you “fondly” calls him an “intimidating stalker.”  One night, you drunk-dial him, and manages to track your exact location via her cell phone, which is illegal without you consent.  You never gave him permission to use technology in a way that requires a court order.  But you don’t have the time to wonder who he had to pay to access your private phone information.  How would you feel if this happened to you?

1b) And there’s a bonus to this one!  How would you feel if you woke up in the bed of a man you aren’t even dating, without your clothes on and without recollection of how you got there?  That capped off that night.

2) Two days after starting to date, you are overwhelmed, and send him an e-mail saying you are breaking up with him.  She mean it as a joke, but Christian doesn’t know that.  You’re in your room, packing, getting ready to move.  You just sent a guy a email saying it’s over.  You look up, and there he is in the doorway.  You’re stunned.  He’s the last person you expected to see, but there he is.  Your heart is racing, like Ana’s.  You’re looking for an escape route, like Ana was.  (“I glance around [my bedroom], plotting an escape route, no – there’s still only the door or window.”)  You’re panicking, like Ana.  He tells you he’s going to tie you up.  Shit!  This is the guy you just told was no longer your boyfriend!  But he strokes your ego. Tells you you’re beautiful.  He wants you.  And you’re still scared.  You can’t get away.  You know he likes to hit.  So you get on the bed, panicking, and he ties you up.  He pulls your shoes off.  You don’t want that, and tell him No, but he threatens to humiliate you.  (“No,” I protest, trying to kick him off.  He stops.  “If you struggle, I’ll tie your feet too.  I you make a noise, Anastasia, I will gag you.  Keep quiet.  Katherine is probably outside listening right now.”  Gag me!  Kate!  I shut up.)  He has his way with you, since you must be consenting since you aren’t protesting now, and you get an orgasm out of it, since voluntary physiological responses only happen in the form of spontaneous erections for teen boys, right?  Afterward, he lets you go, gets you a cup of something to drink, and leaves.  You go to the living room, and your roommate’s first response is to panic and ask you what’s wrong.  You’re crying, and you never cry.  But you’re crying.  You tell her what happened about the email and he showed up and threatened you.  Her response is to tell you, “He’s smitten with you,” reaffirming that what just happened is okay.  How would you feel right now?

3) The next days, he decides you aren’t allowed to keep your car.  Kiss your car good bye.  It’s gone, and you’ve got a new one.  It doesn’t matter that you wanted to keep your old one.  He didn’t want you to have it, and so took it away.  This isn’t the first time he’s given you what he insists is a gift, though he knows you don’t want it and aren’t comfortable with it.  How would you feel knowing that someone you just met could so easily take away something you value and have some pride in, to replace it with something you don’t want?  (Oh, and for some good measure, you have to get permission to drive that new car.)

4) Eight days after starting to date, on a Sunday morning, you wake up at his place to find he had called in a gynecologist since he thinks it’s time you went on the birth control pill since he hates condoms.  You weren’t consulted.  You go along because you don’t know what else to do.  How would you feel waking up to find a gyno you don’t know is there to put you on a medication you didn’t care enough about to seek on your own?

5) The very next day, you tell him you need a break, just nine days after you first had sex with him, and so you’re  flying to see your mother.  He promises to give you space, but gets your confidential flight info and upgrades your ticket, just to show that he can.  Two days later, while taking a break from that boyfriend you call overwhelming, you turn around to find him a few yards away from you.  He shouldn’t have known what restaurant you were in, or where you’re sitting, and yet there he.  So much for that break you said you needed.  How would you feel thinking someone was thousands of miles away, then turning around to find him right there?

Three days later, just 13 days after starting to date, you break up with him.  (and cue the end of the first book)

6) Five days later, he’s not having it.  You’re back with him because he says so.  How do you feel?

7) The very next day, after just 14 days of dating, 19 days after first having sex with him, 4 days after you start your new job, he tells you that, in the last 4 days, he bought the company.  He’s your new boss.  How do you feel?

So you know he can access your personal information, track you down to your exact location across the country, won’t take NO as an answer to the sex he wants, you know he’ll humiliate you and force you anyway, he is willing to buy where you work so he can control your career.

Tell me something.  How likely are you to consent to sex out of a genuine desire, and how much of that consent is because you’re scared of what he’ll do if you don’t?  Are you consenting because you want to, or because he may as well have a gun to your head, and it’s easier to just do what he says?  What are the chances you may be experiencing Stockholm Syndrome?  If you aren’t sure what that is, scroll down to page 10 of this FBI monthly bulletin.  For more information, read Love and Stockholm Syndrome: The Mystery of Loving an Abuser.

Does being into submission mean being into abuse?

10 Tuesday Feb 2015

Posted by Author Alys Marchand in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

I think I cracked the WHY.  Why do so many women fail to see the abuse in Fifty Shades?  Yes, I think I cracked it, thanks to a comment on another post by a Miss Luna Sol.

What is boils down to is this:

If so many of us women enjoy being dominated in bed, and there’s no difference between abuse and submission because we’re not taught there is any difference, then admitting that Fifty Shades is full of abuse means having to admit that we like being abused, but since we don’t like being abused, then what’s in those books can’t be abuse!

My point, in this very long answer (which perhaps I’ll post in my blog as well), is: is there some kind of unmet need that is being perverted into this crave for abuse? what is happening in the collective consciousness that we are veering towards these types of desire?
Is there some kind of instinctual urge for violence? what is this divide between body and rationality? All rethorical questions, of course, for which I have no answers. I’d like to end my self imposed celibacy, but not if it means losing my dignity.

I came to realize that there is a misunderstanding about the dividing line between being abused, and liking submission.

Allow me a moment to give some of my own background.  Right now is the time to move on to another post if you don’t want to hear anything about an adult’s sex life in a post about a book trilogy and movie that is nothing but sex.

I’ve experienced abuse. My first relationship was an abusive one. I didn’t see it at the time, and didn’t realize that saying No when in a relationship was a valid choice. I met him when I was 17, and finally broke up with him when I was 22, when I was ready to kill myself to get away from it all. That was the wake-up call to leave. I still ended up in a psych ward because it was so unhinged from when I went through. I never want to go back to abuse.

It’s powerless, and genuinely frightening (fear and excitement both cause an adrenaline rush, which is why fear can be mistaken for excitement). I am almost ashamed to admit that I had to figure out how to make it all a game just so I could feel some control. I knew he’d do what he wanted anyway, even if he had to break down the door again. But I appealed to his competitive side, and tried making a points system. If he did certain things, he got points he could use to do what he wanted. It worked. He competed against himself to get enough points faster and faster. It didn’t end things, but it gave me some power, and made it so I could sleep some nights since I knew he wouldn’t hurt me that night.

To be frank, that’s all Ana does. She learns to manage Christian. He would have his way anyway, but she, like I, found some measure of control in an otherwise uncontrolled situation. It’s still abuse. All too often, victims are blamed by people who don’t understand how powerless you otherwise are. Ana was powerless to get away, even at work. How could she leave when Christian showed he’d buy wherever she worked so he could control her? My ex also controlled money. It’s a way to trap people, and all we feel we can do, sometimes all we literally can do, is try to find a way to take a little control.

From there, I went on to having more partners than I have fingers. I can’t even count the one-night stands. And in all of it, I did enjoy, and still enjoy, submission. But how can this work if I don’t like being abused?

Here is the crux of the matter, where I think a lot of women are misunderstanding.

Being abused always means being submissive, BUT being submissive doesn’t always mean being abused.  In a clearer comparison, beef hamburgers are always made from meat, but meat isn’t always hamburger.

When I was acting out as a submissive, I had the control. I had the power. I loved being submissive. I looooooved going to San Francisco’s Power Exchange.  Do you know why? It was fun, but it wasn’t abusive.  One simple NO from me (or whatever word my partner and I decided on), and it was over.  Full-stop.

When Jeff did what he did to me, saying No was futile. I could cry my heart out while he did the things he did, but why bother saying No when I knew he’d ignore me? Every encounter with him was stressful and filled with fear. I wanted to run away. I wanted to die.  I had no value when I couldn’t even control what happened to my body.

Both situations have submission.  Can you see which one has abuse, and why it’s abuse?

After we broke up, I ended up in a position of having to be That Strong Woman who needs to be capitalized. I became a family court advocate for children in the juvenile system. I was strong every time I went to watch a court case, or talk to another parent, or another social worker. In addition to that, the new man I was dating and I were working on starting a real estate equity investment trust (REIT, for short), and let’s say we dodged the proverbial bullet by pausing before plunking down money for a complex in New Orleans the week before this hurricane called Katrina. On the outside of the bedroom, I was constantly ON. Even in our own home, we often met with investors, and when out and about, I always had to be primped and ready to talk to someone who showed interest, since we did hob nob with a lot of people like that. Welcome to life in Silicon Valley during the tech boom. It was great in some ways, but my god, it was stressful. So much wasn’t in my control, but I had to try taking control anyway. When I went into the tech industry, not much changed, aside from being single for a while and while having 100% of the cost of living in the Bay Area fall on me. That’s an area that isn’t price-friendly to people living alone, let me tell ya.

So when I could let my hair down, it was behind closed doors, and sometimes it was behind locked doors where you needed an ID and an entrance fee, and to agree to a bunch of rules. On the outside, I always had to be in control. But in relative privacy, it was nice to just kick back and let someone else do the work of making me feel good. It was amazing to let someone else be in charge of me, and yet, despite that control, I knew it was safe for me to say No. My limits weren’t ignored. I was respected, despite being in a position of submission, which just might happen to include a rack with leather straps. I still retained the power. There was no loss of dignity.

Luna also said,

I don’t understand what this is. This urge, that I’ve never given into, ruined a beautiful relationship I had with a perfectly respectful man. How could I possibly ask him to abuse me? I knew that it would undermine and ruin our relationship and our dignity. I don’t think he would have done it either, he doesn’t have a violent bone in his body (sweet sweet person that he is). And, more than anything, I didn’t want to pervert him like that, I admire the man that he is.

Just as a strong career woman can be submissive in the bedroom as a mental and physical break from always being On while outside, a man can be meek and mild in the workplace and in the living room after dinner, afraid to make waves, and turn around and be a firm Dom in a place where he knows that what happens there stays there. There seems to be this understanding that, when the clothes come off, what happens between two (or more!) people stays private between those people. If you do something that ends up making you feel foolish, well, it’s not going to be the talk around the water cooler. So there’s freedom, and a lot of people act out the way they feel inside, but are afraid to act in the open world, just as a lot of people who feel they always need to be one way while out and about (like that strong, always-in-control career woman) find a night’s relief from the stress by relinquishing control to someone they trust.

Now, a lot of women like to be dominated in the sack. Let’s face it. It’s not easy being a woman. We’re supposed to want and maintain careers outside the household, or else we’re setting the feminist movement back a generation and setting our daughters up to lives of being nothing more than broodmades for a fundamentalist somewhere. But if we have a career outside the home, what about the children? Don’t want any? No? What’s wrong with you? Already have some? Why don’t you have more? Or why did you have so many? Whether you work outside the home or at an at-home mom, why didn’t you pull a June Cleaver and have dinner on the table at 6 with some fresh pearls and lipstick on your smiling, perfectly-made-up face? What? Your husband isn’t home until 7? Why not? Why aren’t you this or that or… We can’t win. Someone will always say we’re doing it wrong. Even when your life is as relatively easy as mine (writer, small-business-owner, husband who works a great job with lots of time off, one child who is generally a joy, family nights at the opera or ballet, pretty comfortable life, even if we’re not rich), there are stresses. It’s hard to escape the expectations that are put on us by society in general. Even when we’re more or less housewives, we still are societally expected to be in control of things. And it’s tiring!  And letting someone else take charge can just plain be a relaxing change.  And if it ends up not being such a fun night, someone else can take the blame. 🙂

Likewise, a good, caring, loving, gentle man can be a dom in the bedroom just as easily as the woman in a power suit can enjoy letting someone chain her up. It doesn’t mean that good man isn’t good, nor does it mean that powerful woman is weak. Just as Power Women can enjoy letting their opposite side some out in relative privacy, a meek, shy man can act out his fantasy of being the brute, the tough guy he doens’t feel he can be out in the open world.  And if he looks a little foolish for it, well, to some degree, sex makes us all look foolish, but since it’s in private, who cares?  We’re too busy having a good time to critique everything.  But as long as there is respect and care and listening to what the other wants, there isn’t abuse.

Proper domination and submission requires mutual respect for each other as individuals.  I can’t stress this enough.

Abuse lacks respect from one, and demands respect out of fear from the other.

Yet all we’re taught is that any form of control is abuse. Any hitting, regardless of enthusiastic and freely given consent is abusive. Being a woman who wants to let it all go and let someone else be in charge sometimes must mean not being a strong woman and feminist. But this is wrong. Genuine BDSM requires open and non-coerced consent, and it doesn’t remove the right to say No.

Submissives ARE in control. We are the ones who get to set our limits. We are the ones CHOOSING to let someone else act within the parameters we set.

Abusers don’t care about our limits. That’s why they’re abusers. Genuinely Dom men respect the boundaries that abusers ignore.

Many of us enjoy being submissive.  That’s in the open.  A lot of us enjoy it.  But how many of us want to be abused, hurt and humiliated against our will?  None of us.  If we have the control to stop a cropping, it’s not against our will.

So what this all comes down to is either admitting those of us who enjoy being dominated secretly want to be abused, or forcing ourselves to see Christian’s actions as acceptable so we don’t wonder what’s wrong with us for wanting abuse.

“I like being submissive, so Ana can’t really be abused.”

And that is clouding the rest of the story, resulting in women trying to justify why Christian can’t really be an abuser.  They like submission, don’t want abuse, so Christian’s dominance can’t be abuse.  If we asked a lot of defenders what they’d say about a man following their best friend across the country after she asked him for a break, they’d threaten to break his balls off, yet when it comes to Christian, if they don’t defend him, then maybe he’s an abuser, and maybe Ana’s abused, and maybe they really want to be hurt.  But that can’t be!  They don’t like abuse, so Ana can’t be abused, so Christian can’t be an abuser, so what he does has to be okay somehow!

The saddest justification I saw for the rape scene in chapter 12 of the first book, when Christian thought Ana broke up with him and his response was to force her to have sex to “remind” her of what she liked about him (this is rape, folks), is that, well, Ana wanted sex earlier, and thought about going to the hotel to get some.  Guess what.  The right to say No never ends.  Even if sex has started, either partner has the right to say No.  Right before the first time my husband and I had sex (and I’ve cleared this post with him), at the proverbial point of no return as far as first times are concerned, he asked if I really wanted to do this.  He respected my right to refuse, even when millimeters away, because the right to say no doesn’t end.  Ana wanted sex earlier, but that didn’t obligate her to have sex after she said no, after Christian threatened to humiliate her in ways she didn’t want.

But again, if they don’t like abuse, but like some mild bondage, then what Christian does has to be justified somehow or else it must mean they like abuse.  There is a lot of projection going on here, and it’s dangerous.  And as long as women are told that there is no difference between wanting to be victims of abuse and enjoying sexual submission, then nothing will change.  We’ll still tell teenagers that Christian is just fine, and ignore Ana’s lack of freely-given consent.  Education is vitally important, and I’m just plain not sure where to start when it comes to reaching people who need to learn the difference.  All I know for sure is that the line is blurred since we’re not told it exists, and are telling our children that this is acceptable, instead of teaching about the existence of consent, and the role it plays in making all the difference between willing submission and abuse.

I do hope that experienced, genuine kinksters, regardless of experience level, will be open to discussing how kink isn’t the same as abuse, and why.  We need to get this sort of discussion out into the open.  Another commenter said she’d like to see abuse and consent being a part of sex ed classes at school, but as long as even showing a condom is strongly disallowed, there’s no chance that abuse, and the role willing consent plays, will be a topic of discussion.  That leaves it up to the larger world to try to give some extra education on this.

Maybe, if that can happen, more women can see Christian for the abuser he is, and not think that their own enjoyment of submission it as all related to what he does.

The Fifty Shades of Abuse movie is upon us, and it’s involving kids

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by Author Alys Marchand in Uncategorized

≈ 11 Comments

This movie is being marketed to kids. Frankly, anyone who approves of marketing this to kids needs to be examined to make sure they aren’t harming kids themselves. In the US, aside from Texas, showing porn to kids is a sex crime.  The specific law codes vary by states but you can search for the laws of your state by looking for the laws related to unlawful display of pornography to minors.  That’ll help weed out the laws discussing making, viewing, selling, or trading porn that has children as the subject matter.

This isn’t stopping the movie from being advertised to children.

A few days ago, my little girl was watching com very popular children’s videos on YouTube, and I am not talking about MLP or Hello Kitty or other things that have their sex-fandoms on Deviant Art. She was watching videos by a couple popular uploaders that operate as long ads for toys more than anything. Nothing adults would find sexy unless you’re turned on my watching someone’s hands make PlayDoh food and feed it to a plastic Cookie Monster.  If you’re parent, you may be familiar with the incredibly popular videos by DisneyCollector.

So a few days ago, I let my daughter have the iPad as a temporary babysitter since I was not feeling well, and needed to sleep a little more. After a while, she came in and asked me, “Mommy, what’s the man going to do to the lady?” I looked at the screen, and OH MY GOD it was an ad for the Fifty Shades movie, and it wasn’t skippable! The ad had Christian whipping Ana, and it had been playing as THE ad all morning! My daughter had seen it several times, and was very upset.

I took to Facebook and found out a lot of other parents also saw the ads were playing before kids’ videos.  One memorable comment was from a mother whose young son asked, “Why is the pretty lady crying?”

My daughter loves musicals, like RENT, that have serious subject matter, and I can answer her questions to her satisfaction. How the hell do I explain to a pre-kindergartener why a man was hitting a woman who was tied up in an honest way that won’t get into things she isn’t developmentally ready to handle?

Here we are, days later, and she’s still asking why the man was hitting the lady. She’s still upset by it.  I don’t know how to explain to her what she saw.  This movie shouldn’t be advertised to children, especially using scenes with whips, yet she’s not the only one.

A theater in the UK is being slammed, rightly, over their plans for a mommmy-and-me showing of the movie.  This movie is rated 18 over there, which is equivalent to the US’s NC-17.

We know that violent or sexual images can also have a negative impact on a child, especially as they don’t understand the context.

Exactly.  That is what the ads alone did to my daughter.

Sadly, there are a lot of people defending mommy-and-me showings of the movie, claiming that mothers have every right to see it too.  But with children in tow?!  I am obviously a mother, and if I want to do something that isn’t child-appropriate, guess what.  I either find someone to watch her, or I do the responsible adult thing, and don’t go.  Sometimes being a responsible parent means not doing something since it would be detrimental to our children, and dragging a child to a porn movie that glorifies an abusive relationship falls into that category.

How can we avoid our children seeing this stuff when it’s right next to toothbrushes at Target?  CHILDREN’s toothbrushes?Target

From Twitter

The only way to truly protect our children from this crap is to sequester them inside our homes with videos not connected to the internet.  One friend said she’d tell her kids that “some people like having rough sex,” and hoping that suffices.  That sort of explanation won’t work on a child who doesn’t yet have a firm grasps on the mechanics of any sort of sex yet, which is necessary before starting to teach variations of it, and issues of consent.

The filmmakers, websites, and retailers don’t care that parents are the ones left holding the bag on this, having to find ways to tell our kids what cock rings are when we go to buy them toothbrushes, or trying to figure out what to say about a man hitting a woman in an ad that plays right before they watch a woman make a Play-Do cake.  Something is wrong when parents can’t ensure that our children won’t be subject to marketing, complete with film clips, for a movie they can’t even legally see in every first-world country.  Something is severely wrong with the people who have no problem putting Fifty Shades sex toys, or any sex toys, literally 2″ inches away from Disney Princess toothpaste and an Angry Birds toothbrush.

Maybe some sick freak likes the “oral” on the left, and “sex” on the right.  These decisions are being consciously made.  As a parent, I’m furious.

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