Fifty shades of abuse?

Women who read “Fifty Shades of Grey,” are more likely to have abusive partners, a study says.

A study by Michigan State University found that the book was linked to “unhealthy behaviours” including binge drinking, unsafe sex and other risks associated with being an “abusive relationship”.

Following the wild success of E.L. James’ erotica series “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the study says out of 655 women ages 18 to 24 polled, 25 percent of those who admitted to reading the book were found to be more likely to have been in a relationship with a partner who “shouted, yelled or swore at them.”.

The study was published in the Journal of Women’s Health.

While the study does not indicate if the abusive partnerships came about before or after the women had read James’ novel, research author and Michigan State University Professor Amy Bonomi told the Washington Post that her participants' history of abuse and the books are linked.

“The book is a glaring glamorization of violence against women,” Bonomi said, using the fiction series’ lead female Anastasia Steele as a prime example of female abuse.

“She begins to manage her behaviour to keep peace in the relationship, which is something we see in abused women,” Bonomi said of Steele’s BDSM-laced, torrid love affair with male lead Christian Grey.

"Over time, she loses her identity and becomes disempowered and entrapped."

Despite James' claims the series was designed to be a “fun” read for women, Bonomi slammed the author for projecting the character’s unhealthy romance as a loving relationship.

“While Christian and Anastasia’s relationship is being cast as sexually liberating for women, in fact, it is entrapping them further through the abuse standards being perpetuated in the book,” she said.

SOURCE: The Study , Independent.co.uk