‘Fifty Shade Of Grey’ More Self-Help Than Porno Book? E.L. James’ Book Blamed For Rise Of STIs
"Fifty Shades of Grey" is more of a self-help book than pornographic, an academic treatise from a sociology professor at the Hebrew University has claimed. In another development, the president of a medical association accused E.L. James' trilogy of perpetrating wrong practices which led to rise in STIs.
Prof. Eva Illouz, also president of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, said in her book, per The Guardian, that "Fifty Shades of Grey" is "less pornographic than it is a self-help book."
Elaborating on her treatise, she wrote that "pornographic texts are intended explicitly to arouse sexually, usually, a male and solitary viewer, 'Fifty Shades,' on the other hand, is written assuming the presence of a partner. The sexual scenes are not written to arouse the eye but meant to instruct men and women on inventive and efficient ways to improve their sexual pleasure."
Eva Illouz-who also authored seven books herself-wasn't too keen on the literary prose of "Fifty Shades of Grey" claiming that it "contained some of the worst writing I have ever seen and a plot that made my toenails curl."
However, the sociology professor does have an explanation for why "Fifty Shades of Grey" did so well in the book sales because it was able to integrate a romantic fantasy, comment on the "deprived condition of love and sexuality" and provide instructions on improving lives.
"This threefold movement of the narrative explains, at least partly, why it became a far-reaching bestseller," she wrote in her treatise.
Meanwhile, Dr. Charlotte Jones, chairperson of the British Medical Association's General Practitioners Committee coined the term "Fifty Shades of Grey" effect to explain the rising cases of STI.
"When it comes to forgetting about safe sex we always think of the vulnerability of young people, but there's the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' effect where older people are being more explorative, but not necessarily remembering to use a condom," she said, in a report by the New York Daily Post.
