Fifty shades of distorted, objectifying, dysfunctional sex

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James was published over a year ago in June, 2011. More than 40 million copies have been sold worldwide since. And recently I thought, I’m probably a little late jumping up to tell women to avoid getting sucked into this mess of a series.

But in exploring this pornographic epidemic that’s hit American women like a ton of bricks, I found out that Universal Pictures has secured the rights to create a movie trilogy.

Trilogy?! This news made me sick and it has lit a fire under my behind to stand up to readers of this series & remind them of the horrific effects of porn on women, their husbands, and their families.

There is absolutely no denying that Fifty Shades of Grey is pornography.  If you care to debate that, I invite you to comment. Even a single paragraph justifying its definition is completely unnecessary. You’re kidding yourself if you want to think otherwise.

So what’s so bad about hopping on this bandwagon?

From The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family, and Community:

• Pornography changes the habits of the mind, the inner private self. Its use can easily become habitual, which in turn leads to desensitization, boredom, distorted views of reality, and an objectification of men & women alike.

• Viewers (readers, in this case) of pornography assign increased importance to sexual relations without emotional involvement, and consequently, married readers experience decreased intimacy with their spouses.

• Exposing a child to pornography within a family setting causes stress and increases the risk for developing negative attitudes toward nature and the purpose of human sexuality. Their sexual expectations and behavior are shaped accordingly and their sexual self-esteem is lowered.

• Pornography users increasingly see the institution of marriage as sexually confining, have diminished belief in the importance of marital faithfulness, and have increasing doubts about the value of marriage… leading to increased infidelity, separation & divorce.

• Research shows that emotionally arousing images imprint and alter the brain, triggering an instant, involuntary, but lasting, biochemical memory trail which forever negatively impacts a person’s perception of sex.

So…

Wives, what are you saying to your husbands when you would prefer to read about and be aroused by dysfunctional, unrealistic, objectifying sex than spend time having authentic, intimate, loving sex with your spouse?

Mothers, what are you teaching your sons and daughters about sex and love when they see you reading this, and worse, when they pick it up to read themselves?

Young women, what are you telling men about the value of your dignity and the respect you deserve, when you read “literature” that glorifies sexual abuse and surrender of self-respect?

Beautiful women of God, what are you telling your Creator, who made you holy and perfect, by submitting to your base pleasures and drugging your mind to objectify yourself and others?

Fifty Shades of Grey is a real problem. And the solution is recognizing and restoring the real dignity of sex.

Sex is a God-given gift designed to bring new life into the world! Sex is our hope for future generations. Sex is for marriage, a bond which protects children who are the fruit of intercourse. And faithful, conjugal sex channels the giving and receiving of sexual pleasure in a way that builds up rather than tears down society. It is good and it is sacred.

It is not meant to be disgraced by books like Fifty Shades of Grey.

So my challenge is this: destroy your copy of this book. Don’t donate it to plague another woman’s life. Burn it, trash it, shred it.

Then, stand up to other women reading it and share the truths about pornography and the pain it causes.

Then, pray for every failure of the movie trilogy and do everything you can to prevent its success, at least among your own girlfriends…

Because sexual integrity is precious to protect.