About Shades of Grey

(I posted this on facebook last week, so this is a re-post)

I know this isn't going to make me popular but I really don't care.  I can't keep quiet anymore.

I will not be reading Fifty Shades of Grey.  I've read enough reviews and blogs to have a solid understanding about the storyline.  I could cite dozens of reasons for why I'm not going to read it, such as I'm trying to teach my girls about respecting themselves, I want to protect my marriage, etc. etc.

But the most compelling reason is this:  There are actual women in our world who are actually being sexually exploited.  Why do we, in America, think it's fun and harmless to read about sexual bondage?

Yesterday I listened to a speech given by Pranitha Timothy - a woman who risks her life every day to rescue men, women, and children who are being exploited through modern day slavery.  Every day when she kisses her husband and young daughter goodbye, she knows it could be the last time.  She has participated in 50 rescue missions in some of the most dangerous parts of India. Check out her work here: http://www.ijm.org/content/message-pranitha-timothy-ijm-director-aftercare-chennai

How about some real life statistics?

- An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labor (including sexual exploitation) at any given time as a result of trafficking.
- 1.2 million are children, some as young as 7 or 8 years old.
- 95% of victims experienced physical or sexual violence as a result of trafficking.
- 43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation - 98% of those are women and children.

(Statistics borrowed from http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf)

These are real people, real victims -- this is an atrocity and a very real problem in our world.

And again, I ask, why are we entertained by a story that portrays sexual bondage as harmless and fun and erotic?

How about one more real life statistic?  This book has already sold 20 million copies.  At $10 a copy, that's 200 million dollars.  How would this world be different if we had spent that money on rescuing the real life victims of sexual slavery??