I was surprised to see a new BDSM novel called "Fifty Shades of Grey'' being written about on page one of the New York Times today. It says it is the book everybody is talking about but I'd never heard of it.
I have included a link to that story as well as two other stories on it. You can google it for more.
As you may know, BDSM mainstream fiction is somewhat limited. There was the classic "Story of O'' written by a French submissive written for her Dom. A documentary called "Writer of O'' has been done on her. Then there was Nine 1/2 Weeks by a woman whose real identity was never revealed. The film version cut out out most of the BDSM and the novel was spoiled by the ending in which she ends up in a hospital.
Then there was Laura Reese who wrtote two very good books called "Panic Snap'' and "Topping from Below.''
And the Sleeping Beauty series written by Anne Rice under the name A.N. Roquelaure.
And The Marketplace, a series of novels by Laura Antoniou.
If you google BDSM fiction, there are many more but the ones I mentioned have gotten the most attention and I find it interesting that this latest one made the front page of the Times. Maybe it shows more women are willing to admit they are intrigued by BDSM although there are male subs, too. Anyway, here's the links to three stories about it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/business/media/an-erotic-novel-50-shades-of-grey-goes-viral-with-women.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/03/the_new_smutty_novel_fifty_shade_of_grey_.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-logan-levkoff/fifty-shades-of-grey-bdsm_b_1318169.html
Have any of you read the book?
FD
Virtue
1 hour ago
No, I haven't read the book. However, BDSM is becoming more mainstream. It is PC to say you are in an "alternative lifestyle". Admitting to be a conservative christian is the fastest way to end up on the Black List.
ReplyDeleteSo what am I? A conservative christian who is in an alternative lifestyle. Yep. I like to have my cake and eat it too.
I first heard about the book this past week on the Today Show. Interesting juxtaposition: Women raving about their "awakening" in the bedroom after finding their inner triggers within the pages of this book--running right up against the recent "Republicans against women"
ReplyDeletecontroversy. Around here, we all know where the real misogyny resides, and it isn't within the realm of consensual BDSM !!
Florida Dom,
ReplyDeleteI am often puzzled when I hear people making comments "BDSM becoming mainstream" because for me it never was anything else. Of course I do not generally address my relationships as kink or BDSM or even "this thing we do". I am in a relationship. In said relationship we have a dynamic that works for us and one that is discussed openly and honestly and has been since the beginning. Do we do a few things that not everyone does? Absolutely. But doesn't everyone? I know I am not the "norm" when it comes to kink or this "lifestyle" because I do not think of my relationship as a lifestyle, I think of it as a relationship.
Does Master spank my bottom from time to time? Yep. But every friend I have has had her bottom smacked by their spouse. Granted it was while having sex in the doggy position nevertheless they were spanked and they would never call themselves kinky.
Is Master the head of the household? Absolutely. Again, I know of many relationships where the man is the one in control. I also know of ones where the woman is in control and no they do not consider themselves submissive and their partners dominant. They simply call it "their relationship".
I am not a person of labels. I find they often harm an exchange/conversation rather than positively add to it.
With all that said, yes I do find the media, movies, novels far more open about some alternative ways of living and I think that is a good sign that times are changing and people are becoming a little more accepting. With that said, I think there are numerous books, novels far older than me that depict, in their own way, a kinky, BDSM style relationship - they merely used different terminology.
I am still curious to read it though. Thank you for brining this to my attention.
~a
on the third one its great-the scariest part my boss picked it as our book club book in november-- this woman is very conservative- unreal.
ReplyDeleteI havent heard of this book i wander if this is perhaps it hasnt had the same coverage in the uk but then also i dont go looking for them either.
ReplyDeleteIs bdsm going mainstream? it would be nice to think it was accepted more and was without judgement but i think here in the uk thats a long way coming. I think people sometimes fear their desires and its easier to bash something rather than support it especially if in the minority and its controversial.
im going off on a tangent now but i am curious enough to want to check the book out.
tori x
I'm sorry for getting so excited i didn't finish reading your post! That book -or the trilogy- is newly published. It started as being written as fan fiction on the internet. All i can say is that that woman has kept thousands of women glued to their computers for hours. She's amazing. Ok i haven't actually written the published books but they are supposed ti be the same apart from the characters. And the big thing? THIS is what opened my eyes to ttwd and i can thank her for the life i lead today. Sound odd? I hear ya! Lol. Sorry for my rant just got so excited to see she's getting such recognition. I'll go hide now. :-P
ReplyDeleteOh side note for pp: she's British :-)
Deleteoooh well thats definitley a plus then lol i defintley will be checking it out!
DeleteIs BDSM "going mainstream"? I don't believe so, but the sexual revolt of the 1970's brought a lot of alternative lifestyles ideas into the open. Today we can openly discuss polyamory, swinging, BDSM, gay relationships...all because our "private" lives have lost the stigma of being somehow "wrong." It is possible to be a powerful woman and to scream out "Yes Master!" It is OK for a man to wish to be under a woman's heel. I think the interest in the book is due to several reasons...not the least of which is that it makes it OK to either explore BDSM or admit that you have an interest in it.
ReplyDeleteI am almost finished reading the 3rd part. Sooo hot. Told PK about them last week.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I quickly downloaded the samples to my kindle because I love, love, love reading D's stories.
ReplyDeleteI read a portion of each of the three books. The story's are good and I definately would enjoy reading them all, but they are a watered down version of other D's books.
My opinion was that these were geared towards the woman who read romance novels.
Melinda Barron, Cherise Sinclair, Dominique Adair, Anne O'Connell, Mc Kenzie Cooper, to name a few are so much better for my taste.
smiles
butterfly
Sorry i got so excited reading that she'd gotten on Page ONE of The New York Times today that i just ranted on before -my apologies! It's amazing though how huge it's gotten! The woman writing it is Vanilla, so yes i guess it can seem a bit "watered down" in some aspects. The story also goes more from D/s to Love as the story progresses. So it's more story than just hard core kink -although if the books are anything like the original (which they are supposed to be) they are HOT.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, i was supposed to answer Is BDSM becoming mainstream?
No i don't think so. Slightly more socially acceptable yes, slightly.
yes i think it's more available, not mainstream. The fact that pop artists use it and ppl like it don't make it "normal".
I havent heard of it but i have read the trilogy from Anne Rice....its not bad...
ReplyDeleteHave just finished reading this book after downloading it on my kindle. It started off really well and then just seemed to come to a halt, almost going around in circles with no progression.
ReplyDeleteI didnt in my opinion see it as being about a D/s relationship, its like she wanted to go there, gave a brief glimpse but then backtracked. I wont be reading the follow ups.
I prefer Kitty Thomas who has a very good insight into the physcological interactions between dominants and submissives but then she is in an alternative dynamic so has that to her advantage.
sorry for going off on a tangent and writing a book review lol
tori x
I agree with what painspleasure said about how the book gave a brief glimpse but then backtracked. But on the other hand, the brief glimpses were so good in my opinion, that I kept reading the book and turning every page hoping there'd be more, so it did keep my attention. I think it's called a d/s book a lot more than it should be, but I still think it was a very interesting read.
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Read all three of the Gray books, good as an intro. I am writing a paper for school about BDSM going mainstream. 65m copies sold is strong interest in the subject. The Anne Rice "Sleeping Beauty" trilogy is more intense and in a medival setting. Enjoyed them more. But then I am more intense in my personal lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteMaster KSK, Honolulu