I believe that the people who attribute criticism #2 to feminism believe that feminists conflate “story about abuse” with “story encouraging abuse.” If feminists are indeed doing this (I’m unsure whether they are), then criticism #2 ought to be attributed to feminism; the general population seems to have no problem with stories that portray unacceptable-in-reality sex (for instance, “NonConsent/Reluctance” is a major story tag on Literotica.)
I have seen self-identified feminists criticising the book (and preemptively the movie) for #2.
But I don’t think it’s as simple as making that conflation. A closer version might be that the book portrays an abusive relationship sympathetically. (I haven’t read it, I don’t know if this is an accurate criticism.) Thomas Covenant in Lord Foul’s Bane and Howard Roark in The Fountainhead are both the protagonists of their stories, and both rapists; but only one of their authors appears to disapprove of their rape.
(It still feels like an unfair criticism, to me.)
And on a similar note, people in the kink scene are upset that kink is being portrayed in a light that they don’t find particularly sympathetic, and they’re worried about the effects this is going to have on their community.
I believe that the people who attribute criticism #2 to feminism believe that feminists conflate “story about abuse” with “story encouraging abuse.” If feminists are indeed doing this (I’m unsure whether they are), then criticism #2 ought to be attributed to feminism; the general population seems to have no problem with stories that portray unacceptable-in-reality sex (for instance, “NonConsent/Reluctance” is a major story tag on Literotica.)
I have seen self-identified feminists criticising the book (and preemptively the movie) for #2.
But I don’t think it’s as simple as making that conflation. A closer version might be that the book portrays an abusive relationship sympathetically. (I haven’t read it, I don’t know if this is an accurate criticism.) Thomas Covenant in Lord Foul’s Bane and Howard Roark in The Fountainhead are both the protagonists of their stories, and both rapists; but only one of their authors appears to disapprove of their rape.
(It still feels like an unfair criticism, to me.)
And on a similar note, people in the kink scene are upset that kink is being portrayed in a light that they don’t find particularly sympathetic, and they’re worried about the effects this is going to have on their community.