A university professor has posited in a study that young women who read the "50 Shades" books are more likely than nonreaders to exhibit signs of eating disorders and have a verbally abusive partner.
The study, which appears in the Journal of Women’s Health, is one of the first to investigate the relationship between health risks and reading popular fiction depicting violence against women. The study's lead investigator is Amy Bonomi of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. She says;
“We recognize that the depiction of violence against women in and of itself is not problematic, especially if the depiction attempts to shed serious light on the problem. The problem comes when the depiction reinforces the acceptance of the status quo, rather than challenging it.”
The study states also that women who read all three books in the “Fifty Shades” erotic romance series are at increased risk of engaging in binge drinking and having multiple sex partners.