Film accused of degrading women

#1023 for broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 18 Jan 2015.

An erotic movie set for release next month is predictably attracting criticism for its steamy content, with critics claiming it sends the message that it’s okay for men to stalk and humiliate women, and that torture may be sexually gratifying.

The film, based on E.L. James’ bestselling 2011 novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, is said to glamorise and legitimise violence against women. It scored an R rating in the U.S.

As my colleague, the Reverend Scott Higgins, observed in a blog post last week:

Rather than seeing pornography as problematic because of sexual desire, it is more accurate and I suspect will be far more powerful to see it in terms of its degrading of those who act in it, particularly women porn actors; its potential to be destructive of sexual intimacy and tenderness in our own real-world relationships; and the possible impact it is having in creating a culture that tolerates violence towards women.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.