Fifty Shades of Rey: All Jokes Aside

Like its two preceding entries, “The Trappings of Cultural Sophistication (Or, Why I’ve Sworn Off Hipster Girls)” was intended as a satire on the realities of finding romance and intimacy in New York City. It was never meant to be taken as a literal opinion in the least. The piece, however, was met with significant criticism online – particularly in its comments section – that revealed how many readers were legitimately offended by the story and its publication.

I don’t actually resent the girl depicted in the column for ditching me for a Dinosaur Jr. concert, nor did I feel entitled to an experience of “mind-blowing sex” with her. I simply thought, perhaps mistakenly, that a dramatized and highly sarcastic account of one ill-fated relationship – written from a frustrated and contemptible male gaze – might have proven a comical and entertaining read.

That so many took the article literally probably speaks more to its failure as a work of satire than anything else. As one former Free Press editor told me, the fact is that some people actually do share the views and attitudes of the story’s irredeemable narrator, and I very possibly didn’t go “far enough” in depicting exactly how facetiously the article was supposed to be received.

Safe to say, I never anticipated that legitimate accusations of sexism, misogyny or the perpetuation of rape culture would be leveled against both the piece and myself. Sexism is a prejudice that has no place in the 21st century, misogyny is a social and cultural affliction of the greatest repugnance, and rape culture is an abhorrent reality that should be confronted whenever it rears its ugly head.

The students at The New School who advocate the awareness of such issues are among the most idealistic and committed people I’ve met in my time at this university. Over the course of my three years as a writer and editor at the Free Press, I’m proud to say that their causes have always been covered by this publication with the utmost diligence and tenacity.

There was a series of articles written over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year detailing the Feminist Collective’s pivotal role in revamping The New School’s flawed sexual assault policy at the time. In April 2011, there was the revelation that The New School had failed to report a case of sexual assault at its Stuyvesant Park Residence to the U.S. Department of Education, in violation of the federal government’s Clery Act. And in November 2011, there was the story of the Department of Education’s lawsuit against The New School, on behalf of a Lang student for failing to properly handle her sexual assault case.

As a journalist primarily concerned with serving the university community, my only regret is that a farcical piece of commentary has drawn a far greater response from New School students than the hard-hitting, institutional reportage of real consequence published on campus over the past three years ever did.

Regardless, I feel that the column has become a distraction to the wonderful editorial staff of the Free Press, who should be focused on delivering the best student journalism possible to The New School community. While they have every right to stand behind their published work, that’s it for “Fifty Shades of Rey,” as far as I’m concerned. But if there is a forum or discussion held on campus this semester on either the column itself or the issues it raised, I look forward to attending in the hope of participating in a thoughtful and constructive dialogue.