Fifty Shades Of Dissertation Research

So here's what I've decided on the dissertation front: I'm going to compare Fifty Shades of Grey with the movie Secretary in their portrayals of BDSM and in the responses each got from the public in an effort to determine whether mainstream portrayals of BDSM relationships are creating a more relaxed attitude toward it or just reinforcing negative stereotypes that already exist. I also thought you'd like to know that you all got a big mention in my dissertation proposal as my justification for undertaking this particular research project so thank you SO MUCH for being awesome.

Now that the dissertation proposal is done and I don't have another thing due until July, I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging including writing the last two or three Fifty Shades Freed reviews so I can get that off my docket and light the book on fire. I started writing one many months ago, but it's been so long I might have to actually go re-read those three chapters which is a special form of torture and TOTALLY not fair, but all I can remember about them is being upset with myself for having gotten more angry that E.L. James doesn't understand how a bank works than I did about a man explicitly threatening to rape his wife. Apparently E.L. James has turned me into some sort of horrible rape culture reinforcing monster, you know, like UKIP*.


*Dear Americans, hi. If this reference doesn't make sense to you, it is because our country's major news outlets are crap at covering international news unless it's too sensational to ignore. UKIP is a political party in the UK based on racism and reactionary conservative values, such as that it should totally not be illegal for a man to rape his wife and Romanians are like a plague of locusts and are going to come to the UK and eat all our food or something. I'm not sure exactly, they don't really make any sense and when they open their mouths a pile of bigoted diarrhea sprays out so I try not to stand too close to any of them. Anyway, that's what I was referencing. Straddling two cultures is hard y'all.