Thirty-Something Soccer Mom

If we as a generation of women start embracing this kind of entertainment what will our daughters embrace?  Our grandmothers, who blushed at the portrayal of a “love scene” on the silver screen, would be horrified to see the kinds of things we enthusiastically view as entertaining and romantic.

On Thursday, March 8^th the whole world paused to recognize and celebrate the contributions of women.  From wives to mothers, doctors to doulas, teachers to technicians, women everywhere have left their mark throughout the world.

But with all the acknowledgement of the things women have done we’d be remiss if we failed to recognize what women everywhere have helped us to become. Their unique contribution to the moral strength of individuals, families and communities has been immeasurable.

For generations women have been the ones to establish the moral boundaries in our society. Their inherent sensitivity to violence, vulgarity and sexual indecency has held the line of what is acceptable and what isn’t in our homes and communities.  Through their wholesome influence they’ve brought out the best in men as they’ve risen to the height of a woman’s expectations for them. 

So what does International Women’s Day have to do with Fifty Shades of Grey?

In February of 2018, the third and final motion picture of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy debuted worldwide on Valentines Day.  Based on the bestselling erotic novels by E.L James, women everywhere lined up in droves to support it.  Cleverly disguised as a love story, this series has sunk our society to a new moral low. Not because they’re being made but because they’re being embraced by massive amounts of women everywhere.

To put it into perspective in 2013 (just 2 years after the release of the first novel) 70 million copies of Fifty Shades of Grey had been sold in the U.S. beating J.K Rowlings Harry Potter series and even outselling the best-selling book of all time- The Bible. 

Books and movies like Fifty Shades of Grey have been around for decades but the tolerance and acceptance of them by women have not.

Since the release of the first book in 2011 the Fifty Shades of Grey frenzy has successfully made it not only popular but trendy for women to read literary porn and view pornographic S&M scenes as a form of acceptable entertainment.

The Undoing of Societal Morality begins with Women.

When women lower their standard of moral decency, men congruently follow the same downward trend.  If women tolerate x-rated novels being made into theater worthy entertainment how long will it be before pornographic films, once viewed privately on computer screens start being shown in our local theaters? 

You may scoff at this notion, but if this generation of women has embraced Fifty Shades of Grey style entertainment what will our daughters embrace?  Our grandmothers who blushed at the portrayal of a “love scene” on the silver screen would be horrified to see the kinds of things we enthusiastically view as entertaining and romantic.

So in honor of International Women’s day and in opposition to all forms of moral degradation (Like Fifty Shades of Grey), I echo the words of Margaret D. Nadauld when she said:

“The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”

A woman’s most powerful contribution is not just in what she achieves in a board room, classroom or cancer lab, but in the way her example and influence remind us all to choose the good, the virtuous and the moral.  Because what we as women tolerate and embrace in our individual lives will collectively weave the pattern of morality in the tapestry of mankind.

______________