LET'S TALK ABOUT THE 50 SHADES OF GREY CONTROVERSY.

It’s time to talk about the controversy surrounding 50 Shades of Grey. I’ve taken my time, listened to podcasts, watched a lot of people on YouTube talk about it, and plenty of this type of research before coming to my own opinion regarding the statement people love to throw around lately: 50 Shades of Grey supports rape.

Before I get to this statement though I want to talk about why I refuse to buy the books, even though I’ve read the first one, because it has nothing to do with it.  When the books came out, it eventually came out that 50 Shades of Grey was a Twilight fan fiction, and EL James not only took the idea for a book from something that already existed, but took all the characterizations that weren’t her original ideas, and used them, only changing names in her story.  There are people who have claimed she stole parts of their stories on fan fiction websites, and used them in her book.

So I have a problem with EL James making money for an idea that wasn’t anywhere close to her own.  That is why I won’t buy the books, and when the movie came out it took a lot of thought to decide to go see it; eventually I decided to go because realistically very little of the $12 I spent on a ticket is going to EL James’ royalties.  My opinion is that Stephanie Meyer should be getting royalties for these books.

Okay now that that part is out of the way, we can get into this idea that the books/movies support rape and an abusive relationship. I want to put a disclaimer here that I have only read the first book, and I have seen the movie, so that’s what my opinion is based on.

I agree that Christian and Ana do not have a healthy relationship.  They don’t. He’s emotionally abusive, he sometimes stalks her, he belittles her with words, and when he gets mad he will at least say that he wants to hit her/spank her/etc.  There are scenes in the book that made me uncomfortable, reading Ana’s thoughts and knowing she wasn’t always okay with what was happening (i.e. the scene at his parents house after he makes her go outside and away from his parents).

All of this can be true without the story saying THIS IS A GOOD THING YOU SHOULD ALL ASPIRE TO BE CHRISTIAN AND ANA. 

Never has EL James claimed that this is a perfect relationship or that every girl should envy Ana or anything else of that sort. Yes Ana wants to change Christian, yes she wants to fix him.  This is problematic too, and we’re getting there, but this does not mean the book supports this relationship as perfect or healthy. Now, there are people who read a book, romanticize the situation in the book, and wish they were Ana and had a Christian. But that can happen with any book. There are books about serial killers and women who run away from their abusive partners and people do that with those books too; that doesn’t mean a book shouldn’t be written, it means an individual may need personal help getting through something they’re dealing with on their own.

So let’s talk about BDSM and the community.

The big thing people are mad about is that this book claims its showing BDSM, but its not really BDSM and its showing the general population wrong information.  I understand this feeling, and I think anyone who reads this and becomes interested in the BDSM aspect of it should then do their own research before tying themselves up at home.  There’s plenty of information out there, WE LIVE IN THE WORLD OF THE INTERNET PEOPLE.  In fact here’s a nice video about BDSM and it even talks about 50 shadesof Grey as well.

This all being said, this book never claimed to be the Guide to BDSM, or a how to on a BDSM relationship.  It’s an erotic novel written by a woman who loved Twilight and wrote a fan fiction about it and somehow managed to make a shit ton of money doing it.  The book, and author, shouldn’t be deemed as solely responsible for people mistaking this fictional erotic novel as a guide to a particular type of sexual kink.

BOOK REVIEW | More Than This by Patrick Ness

SPOILER FREE

First off let's get it out of the way that I gave this book five stars on goodreads.

I have never read anything like this before.  By the end of the first chapter I was already hooked, that's really all it took.  You watch the main character die in the ocean from his perspective.  With him you experience the freezing water, the absolute terror as he tries to get his face above the water to take another breath, and then the pain from both the cold but then later from crashing into the rocks under the current. It’s shocking and poetic and a completely new experience, reading that first chapter.

PLOT

The plot is very murky.  You spend a lot of time not knowing what’s real and what is really going on.  The main character woke up after his death in what seems like the post apocalyptic world.  Is he in limbo? Hell? Is this the actual world? We spend most of the book not having answers.  For this reason I can't really talk about characters or specific scenes in the spoiler free portion of this review.

PACING & WRITING

Because of the air of mystery, the pacing of this book was very quick; you just want to know everything! I really loved that the writing goes back and forth between the present, which is the main character in the new unrecognizable world, and then back to the past, showing important moments in the main character’s life.  That’s where you get all the information in the first third of the book.

Without giving anything away, all I can really say is that this is a definite must read.  Patrick Ness is a god, and I can't wait to get my hands on another of his books.

********SPOILERS BELOW********

CHARACTERS

For the first 25 pages of the book, you are not even aware of the main character's name - Seth - and then it takes all the way up to Part II before you find out he's not alone in the new world he's woken up in.

Enter Regine and Tomasz, the unlikely duo who not only will finally make you laugh while you read this great book, but also finally help Seth and you get some fucking answers about what's going on!  These two were the most heartwarming part of the story; after all without them what does Seth have to live for?

SCENES AND FAVORITES

In the early page 80's we get a surprising fact given to us about Seth before he died: he's gay, and part of the reason he killed himself was because of isolation after the whole school finds out about this.  I was so disappointed that the love interest, Gudmund, wasn't a happy ending in his story from his life; I really rooted for them as I got bits and pieces of their relationship throughout the story.

I wasn't surprised that Seth had killed himself; I remember as I read his point of view of him dying in the ocean that it was a shitty way to choose to go.  So when he then tries to kill himself again before he meets Regine and Tomasz, and then later when he admits it out loud, I was not surprised either time.  But it made me aware of how he might be feeling even when he wasn't explicitly thinking about his depression or feelings of helplessness.

I also was relieved to find out I was right in thinking that the situation surrounding Owen and the convict DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, and it was explained because the computer system couldn't completely fix it.  It made the anger towards Seth and the weird "oh Owen isn't right in the head" make sense because Owen isn't real HES DEAD.  I was very happy they made the confusing parts of that part of the story make sense.

MY ONE DISAPPOINTMENT

I didn't completely love the ending, or what the being all in black ended up being.  I felt like it was a bit of a let down after an entire book searching for answers to just end by going back into the system of false reality.  I don't think I would want a sequel, but I do wish the ending was different.  I don't know how I would prefer it I just didn't really like it. It felt so... flat. I don't know, I guess there's not really much you can do when the computer generated world is shit and the real world is shittier.

Comment down below your thoughts on More Than This by Patrick Ness and make sure to check out my Youtube Channel for more regular book talks :)

A MAKEUP HAUL | Target & Forever 21

I went to Target and Forever 21 recently and decided to buy some makeup!

Here's what I got:

There is a product I missed in photographing on it's own: the Neutrogena Primer. It's the gray package on the left. It doesn't have any spf in it.

I got a translucent powder from the Maybelline Fit Me line. 

As well as a lightly colored powder from the Physician's Formula line.  I have been loving this product lately. 

The second primer I got is from the Rimmel Fix & Perfect line, and it does have an SPF 15 in it.  I wanted to have both so I could decide when and when not to add SPF.

This is the only product I bought from Forever 21.  It's basically a knock off beauty blender. I haven't tried it yet, and I've never bought a beauty blender so I won't be making a comparison post on the two.

I also picked up the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara.  I love the packaging, it's so classy!  I also loved a curved brush. 

 Lastly I picked up two Rimmel by Kate lipsticks.

This last picture is not in focus, but I wanted to post it anyway so you can see the colors. The pink is #20 and it has a slight sheen in it.

The orange is #12, and it is an exact dupe for Mac's "so chad" lipstick! I absolutely love this color, this is a repurchase.

And that is everything I bought in regards to makeup!