Passage #1 (Page 279):

"Ana, please, you’re worrying me."

I take a big breath. "I've kind of fallen for this guy, and he's so different from me, and I don’t know if we should be together."

“Just take it easy with him and keep him at arm’s length until you decide whether he’s worthy of you.”

Wow…it’s unnerving when my mother is so insightful, but she’s just too late on this. Is he worthy of me? That’s an interesting concept. I always wonder whether I am worthy of him.

Passage #2 (Page 418):

[Christian] turns to greet my mom. “Mrs. Adams, I am delighted to meet you.”

How does he know her name? He gives her the heart-stopping, Christian Grey-patented, full-blown, no-prisoners smile. She doesn’t have a hope. My mother’s lower jaw practically hits the table. Jeez, get a grip, Mom. She takes his proffered hand, and they shake. My mother hasn’t replied. Oh, complete dumbfounded speechlessness is genetic—I had no idea.

. . .I've noticed that Fifty Shades of Grey seems to follow the same pattern of Twilight (virgin female protagonist with "sexual desires," who defines her entire sense of self-worth, self-identity and self-esteem according to "her man" who comes in the form of the "rich, handsome" piece that's part of the whole fairy tale syndrome).

That's fine for "commercial fluff."

But in the case of Twilight, it gets dangerous when mainstream tween fiction teaches girls to define themselves solely by their relationships.

What's Fifty Shades of Grey teaching women? That the holy trinity of obsession, low self-esteem, and abusive behavior packaged as "mommy porn" is the new love story?

As a person who's had a long-time interest in the psychosexual themes of both BDSM and the erotic life in general, I thought I'd share with others some of the deeper perspectives that aren't covered by a mainstream mass media that's only interested in reaping in profits via the next cash cow franchise.

No matter how much I might loathe many commercial franchises, I do care about the people that these franchises exploit (or "seek to appease," to put it more politely).

"Mommy porn" is just like any other type of porn--it's an adult fantasy that's designed to titillate and/or arouse the reader/customer (and generate profits for the supplier).

Is porn really how we should define our sex lives?

-- from Introduction to PLAY / BDSM: Walkthrough, by Jess C Scott / jessINK (2012)