Young Women's Perceptions of the Relationship inFifty Shades of Grey

Abstract

Our findings point to the value of using popular culture, including the Fifty Shades narrative, to actively engage young women in productive conversation about characteristics of relationship health and un-health. Similar approaches could be used to engage young women in safe, relatable conversations about healthy and unhealthy relationships, including the warning signs of abuse. As a broader impact, our study contributes to an understanding of how young women interact with and make sense of relationships depicted in popular culture.

The Abuse Litmus Test: A Classroom Tool to Assess Power and Control in On‐Screen Relationships

“…In our experience as college instructors, some students struggle to name abuse in popular media, such as in the situation where Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna (Stephens & Eaton, 2016) and in popular film such as Fifty Shades of Grey (Bonomi, Nichols, Carotta, Perry, & Kiuchi, 2015), even when what is depicted meets legal definitions of sexual or relationship violence. We anticipate that the use of the Abuse Litmus Test will assist students with identifying when a relationship crosses the line to being abusive.…”

“…Given the associations between exposure to popular culture depicting violence against women and corresponding violence‐related risks (Bonomi et al, ; Coyne et al, ; Hernandez et al, ; Vandenbosch & Eggermont, ; Ward, ; Ward & Friedman, ), developing tools to facilitate college students' detection of power, control, and harm in on‐screen relationships may increase awareness and dialogue about relationship abuse and sexual assault. Indeed, some research has already shown that pedagogical approaches using popular film can open dialogue with college students about sexual violence, power, and control in relationships (Bonomi, Nichols, Carotta, Perry, & Kiuchi, ).…”

“…Fifty Shades of Grey (120 minutes; De Luca et al, 2015) depicts wealthy Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) controlling Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) through social isolation, intimidation, and coercion (Bonomi et al, ). Christian tells Anastasia she is not allowed to talk with anyone about their relationship, limits her social interactions, harasses and intimidates her about whether the men in her life are her “boyfriend,” sells her car without her permission, buys her expensive gifts (e.g., car, computer) to control her, and coerces her sexually (Bonomi, Altenburger, & Walton, ; Bonomi et al, ). Over time, Anastasia alters her behaviors (e.g., stops hanging out with friends), loses her identity (e.g., begins eating and dressing to please him), and experiences disempowerment.…”

Reality Check! Perceptions of MTV’sJersey Shoreand16 and Pregnant/Teen Momand Dating Violence Attitudes and Experiences

“…(for a review, see Jeong, Cho, & Hwang, 2012, for a meta-analysis of media literacy interventions), suggesting it maybe an effective component in DV prevention efforts. In fact, violence prevention efforts have acknowledged the importance of being critical consumers of media (Bonomi, Nichols, Carotta, Kiuchi, & Perry, 2016). The inclusion of media literacy in DV programming to help viewers understand how the media influences expectations about appropriate behavior and the acceptability of aggression in dating relationships to resolve conflict should be explored further, to help viewers become aware of the socializing role of media and distinguish between truthful and misleading media messages.…”

286. Australian Young Women's Perceptions of Dating and Dating Violence

“…Thus, a young woman faces pressure to behave as per her family's expectations and while this is a state of oppression, it is considered to be an acceptable and benign social norm. What we understand and practise as dating is also taught to us by movies, music, books and other forms of art and media that are consumed by society in the form of entertainment (Bonomi, Nichols, Carotta, Kiuchi, & Perry, 2016;Bowen et al, 2013;Ismail et al, 2007;Luft et al, 2012;Srdarov & Bourgault du Coudray, 2016). We are thus taught through entertainment and by society 'how' to perceive dating and related behaviours and 'whether' to acknowledge certain behaviours at all, therefore our individuality in attributing meanings to dating and dating violence, is severely limited.…”