title: Young Women's Perceptions of the Relationship in Fifty Shades of Grey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Millions of women are interacting with Fifty Shades of Grey-a best-selling novel and film. Yet, to date, no social science study has been undertaken to examine women's perceptions of the Fifty Shades relationship narrative in its film adaptation-what they deem appealing, what they deem unappealing, and what they would welcome or resist in their own relationship. In the present study, we used focus groups to examine women's perceptions of the relationship patterns in the Fifty Shades of Grey film.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus groups were conducted with 35 young adult women (randomly sampled from the registrar's office of a large Midwestern university) immediately after watching the Fifty Shades film with the study team at a local theater within two days of the film's release. Seven semistructured questions concentrating on reactions to the relationship patterns between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele depicted in the Fifty Shades film were asked, including general reactions, appealing and unappealing characteristics, romantic and dangerous elements, and aspects that participants would tolerate (or not tolerate) in their own relationships.
  
  
  RESULTS
  While participants assessed parts of the relationship between Christian and Anastasia as exciting and romantic, they consistently indicated an unappealing lack of health in the relationship. Participants expressed grave concerns over Christian's stalking, controlling, manipulative, and emotionally abusive behavior, anger in sexual interactions, and neglect of Anastasia's needs. At the same time, they sympathized with and rationalized Christian's behaviors as a function of his personality, needs, and abilities. A small contingent implicated Anastasia in the unhealthy relationship process, whereas a broader majority of participants highlighted the challenges with trying to "speak up" in an unhealthy relationship like Christian and Anastasia's. When asked where participants would draw the line in their own relationship, participants indicated they would welcome the adventure and gifts, but would not tolerate being controlled and stalked, having their needs neglected, and having a partner who expressed anger in sexual interactions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings point to the value of using popular culture, including the Fifty Shades narrative, to actively engage young women in productive conversation about characteristics of relationship health and un-health. Similar approaches could be used to engage young women in safe, relatable conversations about healthy and unhealthy relationships, including the warning signs of abuse. As a broader impact, our study contributes to an understanding of how young women interact with and make sense of relationships depicted in popular culture.
authors.affiliation: 1 Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.|2 Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bonomi
authors.affiliation: 1 Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.|2 Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.
authors.forename: Emily M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Nichols
authors.affiliation: 1 Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.|2 Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.
authors.forename: Christin L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Carotta
authors.affiliation: 1 Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.
authors.forename: Yuya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiuchi
authors.affiliation: 3 College of Social Science Scholars Program, Michigan State University , East Lansing, Michigan.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D010465:Perception; D012307:Risk Factors; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D055807:Stalking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult