Linda Morrison and female psychology students react to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ in WMTW online article
On November 14, 2014, WMTW posted an article online that quoted Linda Morrison, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, and two undergraduate psychology majors Victoria Bryan (’15) and Janelle Sherman (’16), concerning a study published in the Journal of Women’s Health that found that young women who read the popular E.L. James novel Fifty Shades of Grey experienced reactions to it quite different from those of older women.
Morrison noted that the erotic novel, which describes the young, female main character’s sexual relationship with an older, wealthy man—a relationship that involves bondage, discipline and dominance -- could influence young women very differently than it does older women. She stated, "My friends and colleagues who read it are more my age, laughed about it, and thought it was kind of liberating in a way that some feminist scholars have written about. But I wonder if it’s liberating to a 20-year-old who hasn’t had a long term relationship and who is still trying to figure all this out for herself."
Bryan expressed that the main character’s vulnerability made her "uncomfortable," while reading the novel. Sherman agreed, stating that she disliked the submissive way in which women are portrayed in the book.