50 shades of yummy mummies
Why are so many moms reading 50 Shades of Grey?
Scott Dunlop
Pic: Shutterstock
Parenting. Perhaps the least erotic activity you can imagine. A world full of crusty stains, wrinkled old sweatshirts and days spent without a thought about the make-up in the drawer now drifting toward its expiry date. For many moms, an escape into literature is the closest they come to maintaining the part of them filled with dreams and hopes. These moms have also contributed to the globally successful phenomenon, 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James an erotic novel which has become the fastest adult paperback novel to sell one million copies. What is it that makes it strike a nerve?
“Mommy porn”?
The story is one of passion between a self-made millionaire and a college girl, who push love-making boundaries to the limit. Internet reviews written by moms have included words like “tingling” and “smoking”, and confessions that they couldn’t wait to make love with their partners when they came home. Some have even ascribed the book curative properties after it has restored a love life rendered defunct by the “drudgery of being a mom”.
There have also been extensive debates amongst religious groups as to whether or not it makes appropriate reading (it has even be labelled “mommy porn”) and furtive whispers from shy moms who want to track down a copy without going into a store.
It’s fantasy. When you’re caught up in parenting routines and your lovemaking has dwindled to a hushed fumbling once a month, it’s almost easy to see why women are demanding to be able to read it: They’re adamant that it’s their right- “don’t mess with us, you prudes, we WANT to be yummy mummies”, they’re saying.
There are probably far more explicit works out there, and, despite 50 Shades having themes of domination and bondage, it’s hardly likely that the suburbs are turning into fetish parlours after dark. These are just moms who want their sexuality back; who want to feel in control of their bodies, who want to escape from the routine for a couple of hours.
Maybe the domination is relevant- as one reviewer commented:
"But when you're a young mom and everyone depends on you for everything -- your husband your mother -- the idea of having someone take care of you and telling you what to do, even in twisted sense, it rocks their boat."
Why do you think 50 Shades of Grey is so popular with moms?