PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

'Fifty Shades of Grey' perpetuates violence against women

2013-08-12
(Press-News.org) EAST LANSING, Mich. — "Fifty Shades of Grey," the best-selling novel that's promoted as a tale of erotic romance, actually perpetuates the problem of violence against women, a new study finds.

Reporting in the Journal of Women's Health, Amy Bonomi and co-authors conclude that emotional and sexual abuse is pervasive in the novel, with the main female character, Anastasia, suffering harm as a result.

About 25 percent of women are victims of violence by intimate partners.

"This book is perpetuating dangerous abuse standards and yet it's being cast as this romantic, erotic book for women," said Bonomi, lead author of the study. "The erotic content could have been accomplished without the theme of abuse."

Bonomi, currently an associate professor at Ohio State University, will become professor and chairperson of Michigan State University's Department of Human Development and Family Studies on Aug. 16. She co-authored the study with Lauren Altenburger and Nicole Walton from Ohio State.

The researchers conducted a systematic analysis of the novel to clarify patterns consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions of intimate partner violence and associated reactions known to occur in abused women.

Anastasia suffers reactions consistent with those of abused women. She feels a constant sense of threat and loss of self-identity, changes her behaviors to keep peace in the relationship such as withholding information about her whereabouts to avoid Christian's anger, and becomes disempowered and entrapped in the relationship as her behaviors become mechanized in response to Christian's abusive patterns.

Written by E.L. James and published in 2011, "Fifty Shades of Grey" has sold more than 70 million copies and set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of time. A movie based on the novel is in the works.



INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study finds better-performing elementary students receive disproportionate attention from parents

2013-08-12
NEW YORK CITY — An Indiana University study found that higher-performing elementary school students received a disproportionate number of resources from their parents, compared to their lower-performing peers. Lower-performing students received resources geared toward improving their academic performance, said study author Natasha Yurk, a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at IU Bloomington's College of Arts and Sciences. Higher-performing students received greater and more diverse resources, such as shared meals or enrollment in extracurricular activities. ...

Thinking about family matters linked to stress for working moms, not dads

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY -- Although working mothers and fathers are almost as likely to think about family matters throughout the day, only for mothers is this type of mental labor associated with increased stress and negative emotions, according to new research to be presented at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. "I assume that because mothers bear the major responsibility for childcare and family life, when they think about family matters, they tend to think about the less pleasant aspects of it -- such as needing to pick up a child from daycare ...

Study finds more tweets mean more votes for political candidates

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — An Indiana University study found that the percentage of votes for Republican and Democratic candidates in 2010 and 2012 races for the U.S. House of Representatives could be predicted by the percentage of tweets that mentioned those candidates — and it didn't matter whether the tweets were positive or negative. "Think of this as a measurement of buzz," said Fabio Rojas, an associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington. "We call this the 'all publicity is good publicity' finding. Even if you don't like somebody, ...

Research explores evolution of hip-hop from party music to political platform

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — A new University of Cincinnati-Blue Ash College study explores the evolution of hip-hop from party music into a political platform. Todd Callais, an assistant professor of sociology, criminology, and criminal justice at UC-Blue Ash, focused on the hip-hop industry because of its impact on society and because there is a clear timeline of its development. "You can identify a beginning to the hip-hop culture that was fairly recent," said Callais, who will present his research at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association. "It started ...

Research shows negative effects of half-siblings

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — Adolescents who have half-siblings with a different father are more likely to have used drugs and had sex by age 15 than those who have only full siblings. That's according to new research from Karen Benjamin Guzzo, an assistant professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University, and Cassandra Dorius, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, they examined a phenomenon known as "multi-partnered fertility" or MPF. This happens when parents who ...

Why does the American middle class continue to struggle financially?

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — Since the mid-1980s, unrestrained household spending has damaged American family finances — despite the fact that globalization and technological change have caused consumer prices to fall widely, says Queens College sociologist Joseph Nathan Cohen. In his paper, "The Myth of America's 'Culture of Consumerism': Policy May Help Drive American Household's Fraying Finances," which Cohen will present at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, he examines the factors that keep American families from tightening their belts. A brief ...

Smart enough to know better: Intelligence is not a remedy for racism

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — Smart people are just as racist as their less intelligent peers — they're just better at concealing their prejudice, according to a University of Michigan study. "High-ability whites are less likely to report prejudiced attitudes and more likely to say they support racial integration in principle," said Geoffrey Wodtke, a doctoral candidate in sociology. "But they are no more likely than lower-ability whites to support open housing laws and are less likely to support school busing and affirmative action programs." Wodtke will present his findings at ...

Study finds more tweets means more votes for political candidates

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — An Indiana University study found that the percentage of votes for Republican and Democratic candidates in 2010 and 2012 races for the U.S. House of Representatives could be predicted by the percentage of tweets that mentioned those candidates — and it didn't matter whether the tweets were positive or negative. "Think of this as a measurement of buzz," said Fabio Rojas, an associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at IU Bloomington. "We call this the 'all publicity is good publicity' finding. Even if you don't like somebody, ...

Study examines beliefs about who should pay for dates

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — Chapman University's David Frederick will present new research at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association that examines men's and women's beliefs about who should pay for dates during courtship, and how couples actually go about splitting expenses. The paper, "Who Pays for Dates? Following versus Challenging Conventional Gender Norms," contains survey data from more than 17,000 participants; a quarter of whom also provided written commentaries to explain their beliefs and actions regarding paying for dates. "The motivation for ...

Wealthier minorities more likely than white counterparts to receive subprime loans, study finds

2013-08-11
NEW YORK CITY — Wealthier minorities were more likely to receive subprime loans than were affluent whites, according to a New York University study of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from 2006 — the peak of the previous decade's housing boom. Moreover, black and Latino applicants were more likely to be denied prime loans — even after controlling for gender and income. The study, which will be presented at the 108th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, was conducted by Jacob Faber, a doctoral fellow at NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

A hard look at geoengineering reveals global risks

When smoke signals danger: How Australian lizards evolved to escape fire

Beyond the surface: Atopic eczema linked to significantly higher risk of suicidal thoughts, major study finds

After weight loss regular exercise rather than GLP-1 weight-loss drug reduces leading cause of heart attack and strokes

EASD launches its first ever clinical practice guideline – the world’s first to focus on diabetes distress

Semaglutide provides powerful protection against diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults, Greek study suggests

Orforglipron taken orally once daily leads to significant body weight loss (ATTAIN-1 Study)

U of I researchers trace genetic code’s origins to early protein structures

Disease experts team up with Florida Museum of Natural History to create a forecast for West Nile virus

Researchers: Targeted efforts needed to stem fentanyl crisis

New UMaine research could help lower prescription drug costs

Molecular movie shows how mitochondria read their DNA

Loss of key male fertility gene leads to changes in expression of hundreds of other genes

Water’s density is key to sustainable lithium mining

Pioneering research reveals problem gambling quadruples the risk of suicide among young people four years later

New method improves the accuracy of machine-learned potentials for simulating catalysts

Astronomers discover rare Einstein cross with fifth image, revealing hidden dark matter

UCalgary researchers show brain shunts significantly benefit older adults with hydrocephalus

UCalgary researchers pursue new approach to manage deadly lung scarring

Psychotherapy can be readily integrated into brief “med-check” psychiatry visits

‘Wiggling’ atoms may lead to smaller, more efficient electronics

Alliance webinar highlights latest advances in cancer treatment

Climate change could drastically reduce aquifer recharge in Brazil

$1.7M DOD grant funds virtual cancer center to support research into military health

Brain organoids could unlock energy-efficient AI

AI-powered CRISPR could lead to faster gene therapies, Stanford Medicine study finds

Shared genetic mechanisms underpin social life in bees and humans

Prescribed opioid pain medications during pregnancy likely aren’t associated with increased risk of autism, ADHD

Sustainable, plant-based diet benefits both human and planetary health

IU researchers find that opioid pain meds prescribed during pregnancy do not cause increased risk of autism or ADHD

[Press-News.org] 'Fifty Shades of Grey' perpetuates violence against women