By William Lefferts Warning: This post may be more suitable for adult readers. Fifty Shades of Grey is an economic juggernaut and the first foray into the world of BDSM for many readers and viewers—but to call Fifty Shades an accurate representation of a BDSM relationship is reductive, insulting, and, quite honestly, a subject that has been covered by more authentic critics than myself; as a fan of BDSM-themed academia and not a prolific practitioner, the scope of my criticism is inherently limited. The fated romance of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey may be the zeitgeist of our generation, but I would argue that the draw of Fifty Shades lies in its mainstream take on BDSM, rather than its epic love story or literary merit.