Fifty Shades of Immorality

Some might ask how I can write about this topic, considering the fact that I haven't seen the movie, haven't read the book, and plan not to ever see them.  Let's just say that I don't need to wallow in the mud to know that doing so will make me dirty.  And I have some thoughts about why you shouldn't either.

I was thinking about the title of the book, "Fifty shades of gray".  We all talk about "gray areas", and most people use this term to refer to things that are difficult to categorize as either good or bad.  I think the gray areas, in the judgment of our society, are growing, and the black and white areas are narrowing.  As our society continues to lose moral judgment, less and less things are deemed right or wrong.  In thinking of the book and movie, it occurred to me that even though they consist of some perversion, society today would hesitate to call it such.  In fact, I think the word perversion is on it's way out of our vocabulary.  Today's culture would say that nothing is perverted if it makes you happy.  There are those who would still say that child molestation is perverted, but that's about the only area I can think of that society would disapprove of, and label as perverted.  But in fact, there are many perversions in our culture today, and this book and movie highlight some of that.

I remember watching an Oprah show once, the topic of which was to do sexy makeovers for women.  Oprah ridiculed the women for wearing normal pajamas and nightgowns to bed at night.  She shamed them for not wearing negligees every  night to bed.  I think this is demeaning on so many levels.  For one, it is demeaning to men, and suggests that they can only get aroused if a woman is wearing a negligee.  Second, it demeans women by telling them that they need to be a constant sex object.

In December I was on a trip to California and was privileged to listen to a radio program of Michael Savage.  I love Michael Savage, he says things directly and doesn't mince words.  This particular program was about pornography.  He opened the microphone to any caller that wanted to talk about the subject.  I've never viewed pornography (outside of the filth we see on public television).  I don't even go to R rated movies.  I don't want to see the violence, nudity, and adult themes, nor do I want to hear the swearing.  So the subject of pornography is kind of foreign to me.  I was very interested to learn about it from a male perspective.  If you really want an education in the subject, download Michael's program from that day.  One of the callers said something that I have thought about so much ever since.  He said that the problem with pornography is that it doesn't show true intimacy.  He said that in pornographic films, you don't see couples kissing, caressing, or even talking.  He said that it sends the wrong message to our youth, that this is how sex is supposed to be.

I do think that our media is flooded with so many perverse ideas of sex that many young women think that in order to be viewed as sexy, they have to look and act like a prostitute.  In the 50 shades movie, it is taken to the level of abuse and bondage.  Is that really the message we want sent to our young women?  I don't approve of the modern feminist movement because some of their values veer drastically from my own, but surely the feminist movement would disapprove of a movie and book that laud bondage sex and physical abuse!    Our media seldom portrays anything but immorality, and it is causing a whole generation to lose sight of the joy of intimacy between couples, that includes, but is not limited to sex.  

I think there are some who would say that sexual purity is prudish.  They would say that everyone should live and let live.  But their moral compass is askew.  There is such a thing as right and wrong. There may be fifty shades of gray, but black is black, and white is white.