Tuesday, July 10, 2012

I took a stand today

I took a stand today. I was nervous to do it. I agonized over the wording. I worried I'd offend someone. 


But I did it.


I stood up for what I believe.


My stand was this: I WILL NOT be reading the book "Fifty Shades of Grey". 


And you know, its not simply the ONE book that I won't be reading. I've been feeling lately that romance novels (the ones with 'bedroom scenes', to use polite language) are simply porn directed toward women. It's not a literal picture put in front of us, but those images are instead created in our own minds through the interpretation of the words we are reading, thanks to our imaginations. And if I find myself skipping over a few pages in a novel, maybe I shouldn't be reading it in the first place...


Words are powerful. Whether written or said. 


So, for me, I'll be removing those types of books from my personal library. I don't presume to make the rules for everyone else, but I feel strongly about this issue for myself. And because its something I feel so strongly about, I felt like maybe someone else has been thinking/feeling the same thing and needed to know they weren't alone in their beliefs. So I made a public stand. I hope it helps anyone who needed it and that it causes others to thing a little more about their own personal beliefs. 


And somehow, I hope it helps another woman know that her beliefs are important. They have value. And maybe, just maybe, it will give her the courage to stand...and the sense of freedom that comes with it.