50 Shades, a Long Car Ride, and Lots of Time to Think

*This blog post is a little more risque than most, you have been warned*

This weekend I made my first long road trip, just me and Little Miss. I don't know how people made such long car rides with kids before portable dvd players were around, between Dora and the Disney princesses my daughter was very entertained! This trip, I listened to audio books from my iPod. I cannot thank Alex enough for suggesting this, it made the trip go by so much quicker! 


I decided to be a little risque and I downloaded the first two books from the very much talked about "50 Shades of Grey" series. Before you get your panties in a twist (hehehe), my daughter had her own headphones on the entire time. 

After completing the first book, I have a few thoughts:

"Oh my!"

What is it about Washington state...with people like Mr. Grey, sparkly vampires, and muscled wolves as residents, why haven't I moved there yet?!

I will now refer to Hubs as "Mr. Jefferson" because it sounds alot sexier after reading this novel. 

I can see why this book has been so wildly successful: Its one of the few times a book with this subject matter has been so mainstream. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and practices when it comes to what they do in the bedroom (or in the elevator, or in the bath tub...). In my opinion, as Americans we are kind of prudish in comparison to the rest of the world. Did you know in our country, movies with sexual situations are given a harsher movie rating than movies with violence? That is absurd to me because, let's face it, most people will be involved in a sexual situation in their lifetime. 

This book also talks about BDSM (bondage/discipline, sadism/masochism) and the power roles that go along with it. Lets consider the typical housewife that reads this novel: They spend their days running the household. They shuffle their children between summer camps, school, and/or extracurricular activities. They do the grocery shopping, they prepare the meals. They make most of the decisions, they are in charge. Their husband comes home from a long day at work and they are exhausted as well. By the time the day is over, there is not much time or energy for passion between the sheets with their spouse. 

Don't get me wrong, I am not frowning upon this or trying to make is seem so mundane. To have a family, to be able to keep them healthy and happy, this is an ideal that most of us strive for. But wouldn't a story like "50 Shades of Grey" be a great escape from the monotony that this day-to-day lifestyle can bring? To have some millionaire sweep you off your feet and take away the stress of making the decisions, especially in the bedroom? To have someone tell you how much they desire you? I'm not all about some man telling me what to eat, when to eat, and what I can wear. But a man making all the decisions in the bedroom? Well that's an idea that may appeal to women out there that are willing to relinquish some of their decision-making responsibilities.


I bet when alot of you first married your husband there were plenty of passion-filled nights. I bet there was lots of flirting and suggestive innuendo. Remember? But as with most couples, over time we fill our lives with so many other things. Not that passion isn't just as important as it was before, it just takes a back-burner to our busy lives. The novel reminds us of those lustful beginnings and encourages us to rekindle them. This story plants a seed in our minds and opens up the possibility of trying new things, maybe not so "vanilla" as we may be accustomed to. But who better to try those things out with than someone you love and trust, like a spouse?


For all of those reasons and probably a few more, I believe is why "50 Shades" resonates so loudly with women. I don't think the book is spectacularly written and I find Ana's character annoying & immature. Though her innocence and insight are refreshing at times. I just find it hard to believe that someone who's had multiple stepdad's and a roomate who has obviously had men stay over night a few times can be so naive and not at least curious about sex. Overall, the book was an interesting read to say the least. I read it out of sheer curiosity, I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Besides the kinky sex scenes, the underlying love story kept me reading. They both show one another a side of themselves they didn't know existed. Who doesn't love a story where both characters save each other?


On the news the other day, they were talking about the "50 Shades" series and about the baby boom it has inspired. Here are my thoughts: Lots of lonely ladies reading these books plus a long deployment equals a HUGE baby boom after homecoming. Looks like the delivery rooms around here are going to have their hands full!