Fifty Shades Stripped Bare
Fifty Shades of Grey has come a long way since E.L. James first wrote it as Twilight fanfiction, but its cultural impact has been just as sensational. Best known for its explicit forays into sexual power play and BDSM, the erotic romance novel has birthed two sequels, a Hollywood film and seemingly endless commentary.
Despite criticisms of its prose – and countless parodies – Fifty Shades has also brought erotic fiction a renewed profile, and broadened mainstream discourse around kink, gender dynamics and what ‘acceptable’ sex looks like.
Perhaps most tellingly of all, it seems that everyone has an opinion – but especially those who might not have read the book or watched the film.
If this is what mass erotica looks like, what does it say about us? Is it good or bad for the erotic fiction genre? What do the books (and film) symbolise or endorse – and has pop culture truly judged this book by its cover?
Join us for a frank examination of the Fifty Shades phenomenon, with speakers including critic Helen Razer, sex educator Maureen Matthews and media scholar Patricia Edgar in conversation with gender researcher Hannah McCann.
Featuring
Helen Razer was a broadcaster and is now a writer. Her appointments in radio were at the Triple J national network and ABC Melbourne. Her books include A Short History of Stupid, co-authored with national affairs correspondent Bernard Keane, a 2015 work on the history of bad Western thought shortlis... Read more
Patricia Edgar is a sociologist, educator, film and television producer, writer, researcher, and policy analyst. Through a career spanning four decades she has been at the forefront of media for children nationally and internationally, winning multiple awards for her achievements and programs. ... Read more
Dr Hannah McCann is a Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her research is located within critical femininity studies and she writes on queer identity, beauty salons, queer fangirls, and more. You can find her work in the Conversation, Feminartsy, and Overland, as well as jo... Read more
Maureen Matthews grew up an English Vicar’s daughter. At 23, she was diagnosed with the degenerative eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa, and is now legally blind. In 1996, Maureen opened Bliss for Women, Melbourne’s only adult store and bookshop for women. Next year, bliss4women.com ... Read more
Watch, Listen, Read
Read
Reality bites back
30 May 2023
Read
A coming-of-age reading guide
29 May 2023
Listen
Finding the Heart of the Nation: Thomas Mayo in conversation with Catherine Liddle
27 May 2023
Read
Hot Desk Extract : Quantum Entanglement
26 May 2023
Read
Creating harmony between book and place
18 May 2023
Read
Seen and heard
17 May 2023