Bad News For All Women Who Found Fifty Shades Of Grey A Good Read
Attention to all young women planning to read 'Fifty Shades of Grey' this weekend. Reading this bestseller can lead to proximity towards negative traits like abuse in relationship, binge drinking and multiple sex partners.
In a recent study conducted by Michigan State University, women who have read the book are more likely to suffer from an abused relationship than those who have not read any book from the trilogy.
A study was conducted on 655 women ranging from 18 to 24 years old. The study was focused on younger groups as they are more likely to be influenced by the material than their matured counterparts. Moreover, these women are at the stage of exploring their sexual life.
Amy Bonomi, who led the study, feared that the book will increase the acceptability of violence against women in society. "The book is a glaring glamorization of violence against women," Bonomi said in an interview with U.S. News & World Report. "The protagonist begins to manage her behaviour to keep peace in the relationship, which is something we see in abused women. Over time, she loses her identity," she added.
Among the sample size of 655 women, 219 had read at least the first book of the series while 436 never picked it up. An online questionnaire was used to ask these women whether they were ever exposed to verbal or physical abuse, extreme dieting or have multiple partners.
The survey came out with shocking results, which revealed that 25 per cent women who read the book were more likely to be in an abusive relationship while 75 per cent have done extreme fasting for more than 24 hours. If the respondent has read the whole series, she has 63 per cent chances of having slept with five or more people.
It is yet not ascertained whether reading this book led to these tendencies or those who faced these situations feel more attracted towards reading it. However, Bonomi insisted that there is surely a link somewhere.
This study has been a first of its kind to examine and scrutinize a book for its effects on society and human behaviour. The study is not aimed at defaming or banning the book. According to those who conducted the study, their experiment is just a way to highlight how society gets affected by movies, TV shows, ads and pop-culture novels.