Sexual assault as gender and class oppression in E.L. James` fifty shades of grey

SEXUAL ASSAULT AS GENDER AND CLASS OPPRESSION

IN E.L. JAMES

’

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

AMADEA MOUSKOURI DA LEO Student Number: 134214001

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2017

SEXUAL ASSAULT AS GENDER AND CLASS OPPRESSION

IN E.L. JAMES

’

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

AMADEA MOUSKOURI DA LEO Student Number: 134214001

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2017

KEEP HOLDING ON

‗CAUSE I KNOW YOU‘LL

MAKE IT THROUGH

I dedicate this work for myself; for

not feeling ashamed of being a

woman, for being braver than I

was before, for always being

grateful because I was born as I

am.

And, for my Little Monster,

Franklin for staying in my heart

and fills the empty space of it.

Thank you



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The first thing I want to state is my grateful to Lord Jesus for what He has done to me in my life. Because of His blessings and grace, I can finish my study. A thousand thanks are dedicated to Him for everything that I can finish and achieve.

I would like to say thank you to Ms. Sri Mulyani, Ph.D., as my thesis advisor, a thousand thanks are given to her because she has guided me to finish the thesis. From her, I was motivated to finish my thesis and to do my best to be a Sarjana Sastra. I would like to say thank you to Ms. Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, M.Hum., as my co-advisor. She has given good advice for making my work better.

In this project, I want to express my gratitude to my parents. They give love and motivation to me. Because of them, I can finish what I thought was hard and difficult.

The last, but not least, it is my obligation to say thank you for all my friends. They are all amazing for encouraging me to be diligent and to finish my study sooner. Thank you so much for believing me that I can finish my study in time.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... ii

APPROVAL PAGE ... iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iv

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ... v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... vi

MOTTO PAGE ... vi

DEDICATION PAGE ... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x

ABSTRACT ... xi

ABSTRAK ... xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 3

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Definition of Terms ... 4

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE A. Review of Related Studies ... 7

B. Review of Related Theories ... 11

C. Review of Related Backgrounds ... 18

D. Theoretical Framework ... 19

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study... 21

B. Approach of the Study ... 22

C. Method of the Study ... 23

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Portrayal of Anastasia Steele ... 24

B. The Portrayal of Christian Grey ... 37

C. Sexual Assault as Gender and Class Oppression ... 46

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 57

ABSTRACT

DA LEO, AMADEA MOUSKOURI. SEXUAL ASSAULT AS GENDER AND

CLASS OPPRESSION IN E.L. JAMES’ FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2017.

Gender and class oppression are experienced by women because women are seen to be the second ones from their gender division in whichever class they are from. From gender perspective, men are considered strong and powerful, while women are weak and powerless. From class perspective, upper class people have more privilege and power to control others, while the rest do not have the same power with the upper class people.

There are two objectives of the study. The first is how the two main characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, are presented in terms of gender and class difference in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey. The second is how sexual assault experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey is viewed as gender and class oppression in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey.

As the primary source, the library research method is applied to find the appropriate theory and to review other related studies. Not only from the library, but also from the reliable internet website the writer collects the data to support the findings of the final project.

The writer finds the main female character, Anastasia Steele, is described as a woman who brings gender stereotype. She is portrayed as devoted and submissive to Grey. Meanwhile, Grey is portrayed as powerful and controlling man. His masculinity is shown through his total control over Steele, using sex and punishments in the relationship. Besides, both of them are portrayed in class difference. While Grey is a successful entrepreneur employing a thousand employers, Steele is a college student working part-time as an employee. The difference is also portrayed through their lifestyle and money, showing Grey‘s

superiority and Steele‘s inferiority. It makes Steele‘s condition become powerless

because she does not have power to oppose him. Grey, as the upper class man, takes benefit from the relationship which is sex. It is emphasized more by the BDSM contract he offers to Steele as a symbol of his power to legalize him in exploiting her sexuality and controlling her life. It is done by the support of his gender power and class power. Thus, what Grey has done to her is called sexual assault because it is never done with Steele‘s direct consent.

ABSTRAK

DA LEO, AMADEA MOUSKOURI. SEXUAL ASSAULT AS GENDER AND

CLASS OPPRESSION IN E.L. JAMES’ FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.

Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2017.

Penekanan berlandaskan gender dan kelas dialami oleh wanita karena wanita dipandang sebagai orang kelas dua berdasarkan pembagian gender dari kelas manapun. Dari sudut pandang gender, kaum pria dianggap kuat dan memiliki kekuatan, sementara kaum wanita dianggap lemah dan tak berdaya. Dari sudut pandang kelas, orang kelas atas dianggap memiliki hak istimewa dan kekuatan yang lebih untuk mengontrol orang lain, namun sebaliknya orang yang bukan dari kelas atas tidak memiliki kekuatan yang sama dengan orang kelas atas.

Dalam skripsi ini terdapat dua tujuan yang dicapai. Yang pertama untuk menemukan bagaimana kedua karakter utama, Christian Grey dan Anastasia Steele, digambarkan dalam perbedaan gender dan kelas dalam Fifty Shades of Grey karya E.L. James. Yang kedua untuk menemukan bagaimana kekerasan seksual yang dialami oleh Anastasia Steele dan dilakukan oleh Christian Grey dilihat sebagai hasil dari penekanan secara gender dan kelas dalam Fifty Shades of Grey karya E.L. James.

Sebagai sumber utama dalam penelitian ini, dilakukan studi pustaka untuk mencari dan menemukan teori yang tepat dan meninjau ulang penelitian terkait. Tidak hanya dari studi pustaka, namun juga data dicari dari website internet yang terpercaya untuk mendukung penemuan dalam tugas akhir ini.

Sebagai karakter utama wanita, Anastasia Steele, digambarkan sebagai wanita dengan sentimen gender. Dia adalah wanita yang penurut dan tunduk terhadap Grey. Sementara itu, Grey digambarkan berkekuatan dan suka mengontrol. Maskulinitasnya ditunjukkan melalui kontrol penuh terhadap Steele melalui seks dan kekerasan. Selain itu, kedua karakter digambarkan dalam perbedaan kelas. Jika Grey adalah pengusaha sukses yang mempekerjakan ribuan karyawan, Steele hanya mahasiswi yang bekerja paruh waktu sebagai karyawan. Perbedaan mereka digambarkan melalui gaya hidup dan uang yang menegaskan keunggulan Grey dan kerendahan Steele. Ini membuat Steele tak berkekuatan karena dia tidak memiliki kekuatan yang seimbang untuk melawan Grey. Grey sebagai pria kelas atas mengambil seks sebagai keuntungan dari hubungan mereka. Ini dipertegas dengan kontrak BDSM yang ditawarkan sebagai simbol dari kekuatannya untuk melegalkannya mengeksploitasi seksualitas Steele dan mengatur hidupnya. Adanya kekuatan secara gender dan kelas memampukan dia berbuat demikian. Maka, yang dilakukan Grey dikategorikan sebagai kekerasan

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Equality and emancipation are two related things connected to women‘s liberation. Women are human beings and part of the society. However, in patriarchal societies women are not equal to men. Men see that their place is in

public, while women‘s place is at home to do domestic jobs. The division in their

roles is based on the natural facts that women‘s life is related to pregnancy, giving birth, breast-feeding, and having period. Those things are considered to weaken their physical condition. Men, compared to women, do not experience the things, thus they feel they have more freedom and physical power to be outside the home. It becomes common to consider men‘s role is primary, while women‘s role is only to support men.

So, for example, patriarchal society uses certain facts about male and female biology (chromosomes, anatomy, hormones) as the basis for constructing a set of masculine and feminine gender identities and behaviors that serve to empower men and disempower women. (Tong, 2009:51)

In addition to gender relation, there is also class relation that is significant to discuss in this study. The presences of women, in term of gender, are regarded as the ones in the second positions. They are weak and subjected to sexual matters. Furthermore, they are more subjected and subordinated when related to class position. Women are considered as the second class in their own

class, whereas men are the first. It is shown clearly when women have to deal with their low social class in society.

In the division of class itself, the upper class have power and privilege in society. The upper class control the main production process, the government, and the important assets in society. They are politically, economically, and socially strong. On the other hand, the rest class do not have the same power with them. Their roles are to follow the upper class‘ rules and to work for them. In addition, the upper class can oppress the rest class in order to get the benefit from them and to maintain their own power.

In James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey, the main male character, Christian Grey

approaches Anastasia Steele using his class power, in terms of his earthly wealth, money, and luxury to give everything she needs and likes, so that he can easily control her. Having her under his class power, he takes benefit of her by using her body as he wants. Using his masculine power, he makes her body a tool to please his sexual needs anytime he wants, he controls her behavior and makes her submissive. Furthermore, he punishes her whenever he thinks it is needed to make her obedient and not dare to oppose him. Thus, Anastasia Steele experiences both gender and class oppression in her relation to Christian Grey.

E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey presents gender and class issues through the idea of gender and social class differences reflected as sexual assault done by a man towards a woman. Grey is from upper class and the owner of his company, therefore he has power to control others. Grey is a man, thus he is related to masculinity which is about power and seen as primary. Meanwhile, Steele is a

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woman and in Fifty Shades of Grey, she is presented to the idea of a feminine woman who has less power than Grey; thus, she is seen as the subordinate. She is not even from the upper class. She does not have the same power to be equal or to oppose him.

The writer tries to analyze sexual assault as gender and class oppression which is reflected through the character Anastasia Steele in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey. This study aims to analyze the gender and class oppression as sexual assault done by Grey towards Steele.

B. Problem Formulation

The writer uses two related questions as the problems formulation to be discussed. 1. How are the two main characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele,

presented in terms of gender and class difference in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades

of Grey?

2. How is sexual assault experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey viewed as gender and class oppression in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey?

C. Objectives of the Study

This study aims to analyze sexual assault as gender and class oppression, experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey, in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey. The first objective of the study is to reveal how the two main characters are presented in terms of class and gender differences in the story. The second objective of the study is to explore and examine how sexual assault is viewed as class and gender oppression, experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey.

D. Definition of Terms

In this part, the writer mentions some of the terms related to the topic which need to be defined.

1. Sexual Assault

―Sexual assault is any type of forced or coerced sexual contact or behavior

that happens without consent‖ (Basile et al, 2015: 1). Sexual assault refers to the

sexual act which is abnormal in the context that it causes an inequality, disadvantages, harm, and a serious side-effect (could be physically or psychologically) towards the victim. The act of sexual assault includes rape, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation. The victim is usually women and the doer is usually men because of gender stereotype in society that sees women as the object of sex and weak creatures.

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2. Class

Followers of the sociologist Max Weber tend to say class when they‘re talking about the amount of money you have and the kind of leverage it gives you; they say status when they mean your social prestige in relation to your audience; and they say party when they‘re measuring how much political power you have, that is, how much built-in resistance you have to being pushed around by shits. By class I mean all three, with perhaps extra emphasis on status. (Fussell, 1992: 24)

The definition of class, according to Fussell, refers the money, prestige (how they are seen and regarded by the society), and party to show in what kind of a group they belong to. The class is also emphasized by status, which refers to his/her occupation in society to show his/her influence towards others.

3. Gender

Gender is a social construction which is related to one‘s sex.

In a similar vein, Stoller used the term ‗gender‘ to signal the complexities of those ‗tremendous areas of behavior, feelings, thoughts, and fantasies that are related to the sexes and yet do not have primarily biological connotations‘. (Glover and Kaplan, 2000: xx)

Gender divides the role between male and female and determines what should each sex does based on their sex yet has no specific biological relationship with their sex.

4. Gender Oppression

―Gender oppression is the individual acts of abuse and violence, patterns of power and control, and systems of abuse and violence perpetrated against

by a man towards a woman because of her gender. In patriarchal society, a man is supposed to be the superior in order to be masculine. Thus, he can use abuse and violence as symbols of his power towards a woman to prove his masculinity.

5. Class Oppression

The oppression of the working class is, in essence, its exclusion from political, economic and social power. In order for there to be a ruling class, there must be an oppressed class. Class is about power: the power to shape our world and our lives. (Muldoon, 2015)

Class oppression does not focus only on the division in economic system, but it also focuses on the power of a certain class towards the other. The power is the ruling class‘ ability to maintain their position and interest by making the working class see that they deserve the oppression because they are excluded from political, economic, and social power. Thus, the working class see the oppression is something normal for them.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

Fifty Shades of Grey is the first book of the Fifty Shades trilogy written by E.L James. Her very first book of the Fifty Shades trilogy is a best-seller book despite of its controversy of containing an erotic romance story. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey is an interesting book for it tells a man who uses a woman‘s body as a tool to please his sexual needs and uses punishment to make her scared of resisting him and keep her in his hands.

In this part, the writer gives three reviews of related studies which have been done by other people. The first is from ―The Objectification of Women as Seen through Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James‖ by F.X Natanael Nonon Erta Putri Intan Permatasari. The second is from ―Christian Grey

and Anastasia Steele‘s Sexual Abnormality in E.L James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey”

by Dewa Made Pinta Bilyarta. The third is an article entitled ―A Heated Debate: Theoretical Perspectives of Sexual Exploitation and Sex Work‖ by Lara Gerassi.

The first is from Permatasari‘s study which finds that there is an objectification of women seen in the Novel Fifty Shades of Grey. In her study, she explains that the objectification of women exists because of the patriarchal system. The system makes women to be used as tools for men, especially to give

act degrades women into a lower part than men. The theory she applies is Radical-Cultural Feminism. She applies the theory from Nussbaum, the seven notions, to conduct her research. The seven notions are instrumentality, denial autonomy, inertness, fungibility, violability, ownership, and denial subjectivity. Applying the seven notions, Permatasari finds that objectification of women happens to Anastasia Steele because her characteristics fulfill the seven notions.

First, Steele has instrumentality in herself. Instrumentality means that she is regarded as the tool for sexual purposes. She fulfills this first objectification because of her beauty, sexual attraction, and age. Second, in denial autonomy, she cannot control herself and depends on someone else, and therefore she allows Grey to control her. Third, she is made to be passive and has no strength compared to Grey which is counted as inertness. Fourth, fungibility refers to someone who can be replaced. Steele fulfills this notion because she is the same with the former fifteen submissives. Fifth, in violability, someone is objectified to be violable, and Steele is described as abused by Grey. Sixth, the ownership notion matches with Steele in the context that she is considered as something owned by Grey. The last, in denial subjectivity, Steele‘s feeling is not counted and ignored.

Permatasari‘s study is different from the writer‘s because the writer uses

Gender Perspective and Theory of Class in the study. The writer focuses on how sexual assault is viewed as gender and class oppression, experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey.

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The second one is from Bilyarta‘s study. In his study, he finds that there is an abnormality of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele‘s sexual behavior. Using the Psychological Approach, he reveals that the characteristics of both Grey and Steele contribute to the sexual abnormality. Grey is described as a person who is dominating, sex-addicted, and cruel. He likes to have sex based on BDSM relationship, which guarantees him to play dominant-submissive role. By doing so, he is able to take control over his submissive and inflict pain to her to gain his sexual pleasure. His characteristics contribute to support his sadism. Meanwhile, Steele is described as a person with characteristics of defeating, self-sacrificing, and insecure. She often feels that she does not deserve good things, therefore it is acceptable for her to receive the pain. She also would like to sacrifice herself for others and do whatever others want her to do. Her self-sacrificing characteristics contribute well for her to be a masochist.

Further, Bilyarta explains that having a BDSM relationship reflects that both of the characters are sadomasochism. Grey, as the dominant, likes to give pain to Steele to gain sexual pleasure. Steele, as the submissive, enjoys receiving the pain given by Grey, in order to maintain their relationship. From this point, it can be seen that the writer‘s study is different from Bilyarta‘s. Bilyarta focuses on the characteristics of both main characters which contribute to their sexual abnormality, called sadomasochism. The writer‘s, instead, focuses on how sexual assault is viewed as gender and class oppression, experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey.

The third one is an article by Lara Gerassi, titled ―A Heated Debate: Theoretical Perspectives of Sexual Exploitation and Sex Work‖. In her writing, Gerassi reviews and discusses some theories which provide the explanation of how sexual exploitation and sex work likely happen to women on macro perspective and structural level, related to economic condition and status. One of the theories she mentions is Marxist feminist, to help explain how the sexual exploitation and sex work likely happen to women.

The political system and economic system in a male-dominated society does not support women fully to gain their equality. In a male-dominated society, it is men who take control of the political and economic system.

―The patriarchal organization of both government and society has provided

a social context for the widespread sexist acceptance of hierarchy, thereby excluding women from the public sector, higher education, structural labor forces, and religious institutions.‖ (Gerassi, 2015: 2)

In this context, it is clear that women‘s proper place is designated to be at home, while the men‘s proper place is outside the home. Women are subordinated to men and this factor continues to support the dependency of women on men in the economic context. This dependency gives men such a more power to control

women sexually or non-sexually because to be dependent needs women‘s

subordination. ―Thus, assaults occur primarily because of institutionalized male privilege, as men believe it is their right to enact violence against women‖ (Gerassi, 2015: 2). In addition, the act of exploiting or assaulting women has possibility to happen since men are seen more independent and powerful in patriarchal society.

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Garassi states that Marxist feminist agrees that capitalism oppresses

women to be in lower class than men‘s class since they will live under patriarchy

and economically are not independent. Class difference and dependency force them to allow men to take their power away from them. In addition, women use their sexuality, in some cases (like being a prostitute, sex worker, and other related works) because they need to survive.

Women's sexuality and sexual energy is appropriated by the men who buy or control the sexual services exchange (i.e., pimps) just as any worker's energy is appropriated to the capitalists for their profits, leading to alienation of one's bodily capacities and very bodily being. (Gerassi, 2015: 3)

Therefore, women would likely experience alienation due to the possibilities of men as capitalists to take profits from women as workers. The exploitation, whether in domestic or public sphere, can happen because of the contribution of the class oppression in economic system.

B. Review of Related Theories

In this part, the writer discusses the theories applied in the thesis to answer and analyze the problems formulation.

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

Theory of character and characterization is applied to the thesis because this theory is important to reveal and identify the persons being told and engaged in the story for a better and deeper analysis. A character is a person, can be the major or minor, who is being told and engaged throughout the story. As it is written by M.H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms:

Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it —the dialogue— and from what they do—the action. (Abrams, 1999: 32)

Then, the way the persons are described, told, and reflected in the story is

a characterization. ―A broad distinction is frequently made between alternative

methods for characterizing (i.e., establishing the distinctive characters of) the persons in a narrative: showing and telling‖ (Abrams, 1999: 33). Showing refers to the way the author presents a character through his/her words in dialogs and action. Telling refers to the way the author values a character, by stating the characteristics or commentary towards the character‘s manner, action, or conversation.

Getting to know better about what kind of a character described in the story and the way they are described helps the writer to make analysis.

2. Revisiting Gender Perspective

Gender is a system which is culturally or socially shaped based on the sex to refer to what is appropriate for each sex in the life within society. In other side, it can be said that gender is socially constructed, not natural, but often considered as something natural.

For although femininity may be defined as a set of attributes ascribed to biologically sexed females, what exactly those attributes are, and the extent to which any given version of femininity is natural or cultural, have been debated long and hard by women themselves. (Glover and Kaplan, 2000: 1)

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The explanation about gender above emphasizes the point that there is a doubt of belief that gender is natural. It is more related to social system and concept. Therefore, gender has no biological relationship since it is constructed by social values and cultures.

Gender constructs behavior, expectation, and role in the interaction and within situations. It limits ones‘ choice, especially for women because once they realize the difference between their sexes from others, they begin to act and behave as what society teaches them so.

Of course, it is a testimony to our culture‘s deep commitment to gender differentiation that people are so careful to follow social rules about how males and females should dress, wear their hair, gesture, and thus present themselves in a manner that clearly indicates their sex. (Ridgeway, 1993: 183)

There are expectations from society towards men and women. For example, the figure of women is supposed to be calm, motherly, beautiful, and function as men‘s property whereas men are supposed to be active, independent, controlling, and served by women. The idea of being a gentle man, related to noble, authority and respect, free, fearless, and determined. These expectations shape both men and women‘s psychology and they always bring these ideas to determine their action or how they should present themselves in the society.

Gender-role is part of both men and women have to play in the interactions and within situations. It shows what each of them should do in their interactions. In the interactions, men learn to be instrumental, so as to say to be goal and task-directed, while women learn to be social, expressive, and more related to interpersonal relation for they are considered less valuable than men. It drives

women to be less interested in the instrumental act and it contributes to women‘s behavior in society. ―He points out that it is ‗inadequate…to make masculine behaviour coincide with activity and feminine with passitivity….‖ (Glover and Kaplan, 2000: 2). It gives disadvantages for women and taken for granted by men since it supports men to have rights over the women, while women do not even have rights to power themselves or the men. Within the situations, there are beliefs, which associate gender with specific skills, about the idea that men will be more able than women in most situations.

When one realizes that s/he has different sex, then gender is activated. By knowing their different gender, women and men have expectations for themselves and from others. Therefore, gender could be said as the basis for women and

men‘s act and performance. Further, context plays important role in determining

the gender. It takes women to realize in what particular context or situation she is in and lead her to take an appropriate behavior according to the context or situation, but it cannot be detached from the presence of her realization of her identity such as race and class and other person‘s identity too.

3. Theory of Class

In America, as the capitalist society, people are believed to be divided into class system. However, people are not just divided into two classes; the rich and the poor or the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, yet it is more complicated because in the society there are some distinctive layers, which cannot just be defined as belong to the rich or poor. Money cannot explicitly define people into classes

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easily. ―The point is that money alone doesn‘t define them, for the way they have

their money is largely what matters‖ (Fussell, 1992: 29). Therefore, there is one other important thing supporting the division of class, it is how they get their money which refers to their jobs in society, what kind of job they have is more important than the amount of money they get out of it.

According to Fussell, people are divided into 9 divisions of class based on the way they earn their money. There are top out-of-sight, upper, upper-middle, middle, high proletarian, mid-proletarian, low proletarian, destitute, and bottom out-of-sight.

Top out-of-sight people refer to those who inherit money and business from their parents or grand-grandparents. ―The top out-of-sight class (Rockefellers, Pews, DuPonts, Mellons, Fords, Vanderbilts) lives on inherited

capital entirely‖ (Fussell, 1992: 29). People from the top out-of-sight group do not

earn their own money from their own effort and struggle, yet they inherit the wealth or called as rich-born. Besides, they are also ‗invisible‘ and hardly recognized.

Their houses are never seen from the street or road. They like to hide away deep in the hills or way off on Greek or Caribbean islands (which they tend to own), safe, for the moment, from envy and its ultimate attendants, confiscatory taxation and finally expropriation. (Fussell, 1992: 30)

Their invisibility is derived from their attempt to not to expose themselves in richness in public. They tend to hide somewhere where people cannot easily find them.

Upper class refers to those who inherit money but also earn it and they are visible. ―First, although it inherits a lot of its money, it earns quite a bit too,

usually from some attractive, if slight, work,…‖ (Fussell, 1992: 31). The upper class people, though they are rich-born, they still have to work to earn money to maintain their life. Their jobs are varied, such as controlling banks and historic corporations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Foreign Policy Association, and the Senate (Fussell, 1992: 31). They have high positions, often considered the prestigious ones because they occupy the highest place and have control towards others. Their presence is visible because their presence can be seen from their houses. Upper class people‘s houses are big and have a lot of bedrooms, showing their social status as the upper class which easily recognized by the society.

Upper-middle class refers to those who may inherit money, but suffers from a bourgeois sense of shame that live on the earnings of others is not quite nice (Russell, 1992: 33). It means that upper-middle class is one level lower than upper class. Their jobs have more dependency on others, they participate in some fields like, law, medicine, oil, or selling and buying artworks, but still they earn money a lot.

Middle-class refers to those working with specific skills and education background in certain company. They are people working according to their skills and education background, such as the geologist, the computer programmer, or the aeronautical engineer. They earn money from their salary which is much more than the workers.

The high proles refers to those working with specific skills and require them to work professionaly. ―The high proles are the skilled workers, craftsmen,

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working as the employee, like bus driver and operator, but they are also afraid of losing their jobs. Usually, their salary is relatively small. The last categorized prole is low proles, refers to those with unskilled labor. Both of mid-proles and low proles are supervised by their supervisor. ―These are the people who feel bitter about their work, often because they are closely, supervised and regulated and generally treated like wayward children‖ (Fussell, 1992: 47). It means that both of mid-proles and low proles receive demands more often from their supervisor and are controlled by the supervisors. They have less power because they cannot control the production process and request the amount of their salary.

4. Revisiting Class and Gender Oppression Relation

In the society, there are two oppressed groups; they are women and the lower working class people. Women are related to gender system and working class people are related to classism. However, there is intersection between women oppression and class oppression.

Firstly, women are oppressed to be obedient and to be dependent on men. They are oppressed to do domestic jobs, like cooking, washing, rising and taking care of children, and serving their husbands. A research about the expectation of boys and girls conducted by Ruth Hartley proves that gender division at work does happen. From the research, it is proved that young male respondents argue that women‘s ability to work is indeed limited to domestic jobs. ―Women do things like cooking and washing and sewing because that‘s all they can do‖ (Weitzman, 1984: 167). This statement emphasizes the idea of men regarding

women to be less valuable than them in patriarchal society and it makes women are risky of domestic violence done by their husbands.

Secondly, those who are from the top three upper class group control the production process, the government, and other important fields in society. They have money and position which make them powerful. The upper class can oppress the lower working class in order to gain their own interest, to take benefit, and to maintain their positions in society.

Thirdly, the intersection between women oppression and class oppression happens because women, from whichever class they are from, are always considered to be the second ones because of their sex. Then, the oppression is interconnected. In patriarchal society, women from every class are oppressed because they have to follow the rules set by men in society. Men are placed to be the leader and women are the followers. However, lower working class women experience more oppression because they are oppressed because of their gender and their social class.

C. Review of Related Backgrounds

This sub-part discusses the review of the biographical background of the author in writing Fifty Shades of Grey. As the author, E.L. James writes the story of Fifty Shades of Grey because of being inspired by Twilight. Fifty Shades of Grey was firstly published on James‘ private website and was not entitled as Fifty Shades of Grey. It was firstly published as a fan fiction and entitled Masters of the Universe.

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―At that time, she began writing fanfiction inspired by the Twilight vampire fiction series written by Stephenie Meyer. Using the pen name "Snowqueen's Icedragon," James wrote her own stories featuring the Twilight characters Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. The novel that Leonard shaped out of these stories, titled Masters of the Universe, appeared online in installments on several websites.‖ (Biography.com, February 27, 2017)

However, James changed the two main characters‘ names in her work into

Anastasia and Christian Grey as it appeared to be more famous and got a lot of readers. James‘ work on the fan fiction still has difference from the original work done by Stephenie Meyer. Though the story tells about the innocent woman who falls in love with a man who has hidden sides of his life and how the man can

finally ―change‖ the woman to be more like him, James‘ work exhibits more

sexual activity which is Sadomasochism.

D. Theoretical Framework

To conduct this study, the theory of character and characterization, gender perspective, theory of class, and the perspective of gender and class oppression relation perspective are applied. Because the topic of the study is sexual assault as gender and class oppression, the theories contribute to help finding the answers of the problems formulation.

The theory of character and characterization is needed to reveal the characteristics of both of the main characters, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. The theory is appropriate to answer the first problem formulation. Therefore, by knowing and understanding more about the characteristics of the two main characters according to their roles, it can be seen how they are presented

in terms of gender and class difference throughout the story through their action, behavior, dialogs, thought, and commentary from other characters.

Gender perspective, theory of class, and supported by gender and class oppression relation perspective are help to find out why sexual assault is seen to be the result of gender and class oppression. The perspective of the theories help to reveal why gender and class difference finally lead to the imbalance power between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, then results in sexual assault.

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is Fifty Shades of Grey written by E.L. James. The novel was first published in 2011 by The Writer‘s Coffee Shop Publishing House. The story is fiction, more about erotic-romance of the main characters‘ life. Fifty Shades of Grey is the first serial of the Fifty Shades Trilogy. There are Fifty Shades of Grey as the first serial, Fifty Shades of Darker as the second, and Fifty Shades of Freed as the third. Fifty Shades of Grey was filmed by the director Sam Taylor-Johnson and released in 2015.

The story is about a billionaire named Christian Grey who meets Anastasia Steele in the interview for the campus magazine. Afterwards, Grey is interested in Steele and tries to approach her. Steele, sees him as the ideal figure of a man, falls in love with him. However, their relationship is run and dominated by Grey because he is the one who gives order intentionally, controls, and determines what Steele should do for their relationship. Within their relationship, Grey is the active one, while Steele is the passive one.

Grey is interested in a different kind of relationship. He intends to have sexual relationship with her to fulfill his pleasure and she must agree with him whenever and wherever he wants to do it. He wants to have a BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism)

relationship with her. In relationship, Steele is the Submissive and Grey is the Dominant. A Submissive is the Dominant‘s property that must receive everything done by her Dominant, obey him, and take his order, if not; there will be punishment for her.

B. Approach of the Study

The approach of the study is Gender Studies Approach, discussing about

gender and the contribution of class in women‘s oppression. As explained in A

Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, gender studies helps to understand the portrayal of the female and male characters in the story. Furthermore, gender studies helps to explain why the oppression is experienced by the female character rather than the male character. However, in gender studies, the gender trouble itself is supported by other factor, like class.

Following Michel Foucault's theory of sexuality, she means by "technology" that "sexuality, commonly thought to be a natural as well as a private matter, is in fact completely constructed in culture according to the political aims of the society's dominant class." (Guerin et al, 2005: 237)

The contribution of class helps to explain what is thought to be natural and normal in society is actually constructed by the dominant class because they have power in society to control and to shape the way each individual perceives the world, especially the relation of one class to another and between the sexes. The class system helps to reveal why the oppression is done by the dominant class towards the rest class.

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C. Method of the Study

Close reading and library research are the methods of the study. First, E.L.

James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey is the primary resource of this study. To support this

study, library research is done to find the supporting data, theories, articles, and other literatures. The main references are Tong‘s A Feminist Thought (2009),

Fussell‘s Class: A Guide Through the American Status System (1992),

Ridgeway‘s Gender, Status, and the Social Psychology of Expectations (1993),

Glover and Kaplan‘s Genders (2000), Abram‘s A Glossary of Literary Terms

(1999).

There were some steps done to conduct this study. First thing was the story was read using the method of close reading to collect important and complete data, and the problems came up afterwards. Second, the appropriate theories were selected. The next step was answering the first problem formulation and the second problem formulation afterwards. The first problem formulation was answered using the theory of character and characterization. To answer the second problem formulation, Gender Perspective, Theory of Class, and Relation between Class and Gender are applied. The last step was making a conclusion.

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

In this chapter, the writer answers and discusses the two problems formulation. The first one is how the two main characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, are presented in terms of gender and class difference in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey. To answer the first problem formulation, the writer applies the theory of character and characterization. The writer focuses on the portrayal of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey to find out how they are presented in gender and class difference. The second one is how sexual assault experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey is viewed as

gender and class oppression in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey. To answer the

second problem formulation, the writer applies the theory of class, gender perspective, and the relation between them to reveal how sexual assault experienced by Anastasia Steele and conducted by Christian Grey is viewed as class and gender oppression. The writer focuses on how class and gender difference leads to the oppression and results as sexual assault.

A. The Portrayal of Anastasia Steele

This part discusses the characteristics of the female main character, Anastasia Steele and the way she is described throughout the story as a woman, an employee, and a lover to reveal how the character has class and gender difference

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compared to Christian Grey. Anastasia Steele is a fresh graduate who falls in love with Christian Grey. She comes from an ordinary family, while Grey comes from a rich family. She experiences being a tool used for Grey‘s sexual pleasure. The things which to be discussed is her portrayal as a woman, an employee, and a lover. The portrayal of herself carries the information how she is described as the woman, employee, and lover through her thought, action, dialog with or commentary from other character, and the direct description from the author.

1. Anastasia Steele as a Woman

As a woman, Steele is portrayed as a devoted woman. She has willingness to obey and be devoted to Grey. Whatever comes from him, she considers it as something that should be done for his behalf. Furthermore, she is willing to forget all about herself and surrender all for Grey. Her devotion to him is seen through her thought, action, and her own statement.

In the story, there is one moment when Grey is making out with her. She declares in her mind that she will do anything he wants. ―Why did he say he

couldn‘t make love?I will do anything he wants‖ (James, 2011: 81). The evidence

shows that she is a devoted woman because she will do anything for him even though it is not the thing that she wants.

Her thought is supported by her action when Grey instructs her to do what he commands. ―I do as instructed, and he reaches down and grabs the hem. Slowly, he pulls my dress up over my thighs, my hips, my belly, my breasts, my shoulders, and over my head‖ (James, 2011: 223). At the moment, she tries to

surrender all herself for him and to be devoted to him in any way he likes. All she looks up is him as she reflects this by doing everything he instructs. She takes his orders as the obligation for her to do. By doing so, she shows how a woman should address themselves and their men. She learns how to address Grey as her man.

Being a devoted person, Steele is also eager to put aside her feelings. She sacrifices herself for Grey although she thinks what she does is wrong for her. She tries to think that if the thing is right for him, then she has to take it and ignore her feeling.

This is so… I want to think wrong, but somehow it‘s not. It‘s right for

Christian. It‘s what he wants –and after the last few days… after all he‘s

done, I have to man up and take whatever he decides he wants, whatever he thinks he needs. (James, 2011: 336)

When Steele thinks something is wrong for her, but it is right for Grey, she tries to re-think her opinion about it. She decides to put aside her feeling and to follow what he wants, instead. It happens because as a woman, she knows that she has to consider Grey as her leader in the relationship and to follow him. Thus, she begins to consider Grey‘s decision is right and important for her and the relationship.

As a woman, Steele is portrayed as a dependent woman. Dependency needs devotion and she is already devoted to Grey. Because she is dependent, she cannot live alone without him. First evidence is clearly proved in Steele‘s subconscious, ―My inner goddess is jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a five-year-old. Please, let’s do this…otherwise we’ll end up alone with lots

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mind tells her to do anything Grey commands because there is a fear of being left if she refuses all the things he wants.

The second evidence is also seen through her subconscious. ―The idea that I might not see him again haunts me, unwelcome and too painful to contemplate‖ (James, 2011: 160). From the evidence, Steele shows how she considers the relationship with Grey is very important and because of that she is afraid of losing him. She does not want it happen since it will be so painful for her to lose him.

Tentatively, I uncurl my legs. Should I run? This is it, our relationship hangs in the balance, right here, right now. Do I let him do this or do I say

no, and then that‘s it? Because I know it will be over if I say no. Do it! My

inner goddess pleads with me, my subconscious is as paralyzed as I am. (James, 2011: 192)

The quotation above emphasizes her feeling about having relationship with Grey. She chooses to follow him so that she will not lose him. Her thought represents her dependency because even though she wants to run from him, she finally decides not to do so.

Her dependency on Grey basically refers to the issue of her low self-determination. It is the ability to decide one‘s own life, the action, and the fate by not being interfered by the others. Having low self-determination means Steele cannot make her own decision towards their relationship. She is influenced easily

by Grey‘s manipulation or certain circumstances created intentionally by Grey.

The first evidence is seen through her hesitation about herself in his eyes. ―Is he worthy of me? That‘s an interesting concept. I always wonder whether I am worthy of him‖ (James, 2011: 196). It is clear that she needs approval from others

that she is worthy of him. There is hesitation in her mind about how much he regards herself in his eyes.

The second evidence is shown after Steele has a conversation with Grey and the paradigm shift about the contract happens to her afterwards.

―For you, Anastasia, I will try.‖ He‘s radiating sincerity.

And that‘s my cue. I unbuckle my seatbelt, reach across, and clamber into his lap, taking him completely by surprise. Wrapping my arms around his head, I kiss him, long and hard, and in a nanosecond, he‘s responding.

―Stay with me, tonight,‖ he breathes. ―If you go away, I won‘t see

you all week. Please.‖

―Yes,‖ I acquiesce. ―And I‘ll try too. I‘ll sign your contract.‖ And it‘s a spur of the moment decision. (James, 2011: 249)

From the situation of the conversation above, Grey‘s changing mood as becoming tender and gentle influences her behavior and thought. It is done intentionally by him to make her agree with him to sign the contract. As a result, she changes her mind easily and quickly about the contract. She agrees with the contract just in a second after she realizes his changing mood because he is already back from his negative mood to the positive one, a good image which she expects from him. It influences her to change her mind.

More complicated, as a woman, Steele is not brave to fight against Grey for her rights and for equality between them. Throughout the story, Grey has a lot of rules for Steele to follow and obey, and if she does not, there will be punishments for her. As a result, she lives under fear and follows his rules because she does not have bravery to fight against him to show that he is wrong for treating her as sexual object.

Boy, he‘s angry. He grabs my hand and leads me back into the apartment

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the sofa again, head hidden under her hands. He switches on the sidelight and halts, staring at me.

―Please don‘t be angry with me,‖ I whisper. His gaze is impassive; his

gray eyes cold shards of smoky glass.

―I‘m sorry about the car and the books,‖ I trail off. He remains silent and

brooding.

―You scare me when you‘re angry,‖ I breathe, staring at him. (James,

2011: 185)

She shows her fear when she begs for him not to be angry, apologizes for the things she wants to refuse, and admits her fear itself of his anger. She does it to calm him down and to change his mood of the situation. She wants to show that she is wrong and he is right before she has to be punished for making him angry.

The action Steele taken in front of Grey also shows her fear. Here is the evidence taken from the story about her action after he punishes her. She does not dare to fight against him or refuse his arrival after he has just punished her.

―Do you want me to throw this asshole out?‖ she asks, radiating thermo -nuclear hostility.

Christian raises his eyebrows at her, no doubt surprised by her flattering epithet and her feral antagonism. I shake my head, and she rolls her eyes at

me. Oh… I wouldn’t do that near Mr. G. (James, 2011: 200)

The conversation above happens right after Grey punishes Steele and leaves her crying. Katherine, Steele‘s roommate, is very angry to him because he dares to come back to their apartment again after making Steele cry. When Katherine asks Steele whether she wants her to throw him out of the house, she does not dare to say yes and she will never dare to do that to him. She accepts his coming and lets him stay with her because it is better way to save herself from getting more punishments.

As Steele is presented as the devoted woman, dependent woman, having low self-determination, and having no bravery to fight against Grey, she becomes powerless in term of gender, compared to Grey.

The first thing to be discussed about her powerlessness is related to protection from a man because she is considered weak and cannot protect herself.

―Please, Ana, cariña,‖ he whispers against my lips. His breath is soft and smells too sweet – of margarita and beer. He gently trails kisses along my jaw up to the side of my mouth. I feel panicky, drunk, and out of control. The feeling is suffocating.

―José, no,‖ I plead. I don‘t want this. You are my friend, and I think I‘m

going to throw up.

―I think the lady said no.‖ A voice in the dark says quietly. Holy shit!

Christian Grey, he‘s here. How? José releases me.

―Grey,‖ he says tersely. I glance anxiously up at Christian. He‘s glowering

at José, and he‘s furious. (James, 2011: 45)

The scene above shows how Steele, as a woman, needs protection because she cannot protect herself when she faces danger. The act of Jose‘s force to kiss her represents her position is powerless in front of a man. It is a reflection of the idea that a woman is weak and can be treated that way.

Furthermore, her powerlessness is proved from the response given to the way Grey controls her to do what she does not want to do.

―I would really like you to finish your breakfast.‖ ―What is it with you and food?‖ I blurt. His brow knits.

―I told you, I have issues with wasted food. Eat,‖ he snaps. His eyes are

dark, pained.

Holy Crap. What is that all about? I pick up my fork and eat slowly, trying to chew. I must remember not to put so much on my plate if he‘s going to be weird about food. His expression softens as I carefully make my way through my breakfast. I note that he cleans his plate. He wants for me to finish, and then he clears my plate. (James, 2011: 94)

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it is his rights to dictate what she should do. Because she is devoted to him, she does what he asks. By finishing her meal, she shows that her position is powerless because she is obligated to follow his rules.

Besides meal, Steele is also powerless in their relationship. One example is taken when Grey is capable of using her body sexually.

―Stop, Ana, stop. I don‘t want to come.‖

I sit up, blinking at him, and I‘m panting like him, but confused. I thought

I was in charge? My inner goddess looks like someone snatched her ice cream. (James, 2011: 187)

The scene shows how Steele is actually not capable of taking charge in the relationship. Even though Grey says that she is the one who is in charge in their relationship and her position should be powerful, the fact is he still takes control over her and dominates the relationship.

As a woman, her powerlessness is seen through her crying.

―Goodbye, Christian.‖ My voice is hoarse from unbidden, unshed tears – jeez I’m not going to cry. I give him a small smile.

As I drive away, my chest constricts, my tears start to fall, and I choke back a sob. Soon tears are streaming down my face, and I really don‘t

understand why I‘m crying. (James, 2011: 161)

Her crying is the symbol of a woman‘s weakness. She cannot force him to

give and be what she wants. However, she really wants to get more from the relationship. She does not want to only be his sexual machine because actually it is not something that she wants. On the other hands, Grey is a man of his words. Once he says he cannot grant what she wants, she knows he will never be and it is impossible for him to change his mind only for her. Hence, crying is the way to show what she feels because of not being able to achieve what she wants.

When Steele is with Grey, she has to behave in a certain way and it is

already set by him. ―I gape at him. Of course he has a jet, and I have to resist my

body‘s natural inclination to roll my eyes at him. I want to laugh. But I don‘t, as I

can‘t read his mood‖ (James, 2011: 262). There are rules for the relationship

which are made for Steele and she has to comply with them if she wants to maintain the relationship. One example of the rules is the forbiddance of rolling eyes in front of Grey. She cannot bargain with him because he is the one who dominates the relationship. Besides, violating the rules will only bring her into the punishments and she, as a woman, cannot protect herself from the punishments.

2. Anastasia Steele as an Employee

The portrayal of Steele as a woman is supported by her portrayal as an employee. From her job, she is categorized as a mid-proles woman. She works as a clerk in Clayton‘s Hardware Store in Portland area. She works there for four years. As an employee, she is described as an obedient employee.

―I have to run. I can still make my shift at Clayton‘s.‖ ―Ana, you‘ll be exhausted.‖

―I‘ll be fine. I‘ll see you later.‖ (James, 2011: 18)

The quotation above reveals her obedience through her responsibility to attend her shift at the work. By doing so, she shows her dedication to her job. She does not care whether she will be tired or not. What she wants is showing her dedication and loyalty to her job because it is her obligation.

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From her work, it can also be seen her social class in the society. In the story, Steele is described to have part-time job as an employee in Clayton‘s Hardware Store.

―I‘ve worked at Clayton‘s since I started at WSU. It‘s the largest independent hardware store in the Portland area, and over the four years I‘ve worked here, I‘ve come to know a little bit about most everything we sell –although ironically, I‘m crap at any DIY.‖ (James, 2011: 18)

The fact that she has been working at Clayton‘s for four years emphasizes her social class that she is not from the upper class people. Referring to the theory of class proposed by Fussell, she is categorized as the mid-proles, which is under the middle class group. It is not only based on the fact that she is working as a part-time employee, but it is also supported by her lifestyle, money, and things she can or cannot afford. As shown in the evidence below,

Internet! I don‘t have access to a computer, only Kate‘s laptop, and I couldn‘t use Clayton‘s, not for this sort of ‗research‘ surely?

―What is it?‖ he asks, cocking his head to one side.

―I don‘t have a computer. I‘ll see if I can use Kate‘s laptop.‖ (James, 2011: 106)

One simple example is shown in Steele and Grey‘s conversation in which Steele admits that she does not have a laptop. From this fact, it is concluded that as an employee, she does not have enough money to afford a laptop. She only

uses and borrows Kate‘s laptop.

Another clue refers to her social class can be seen from her thought. ―I

remind myself that Kate has been to the best private schools in Washington. Her

family has money, and she‘s grown up confident and sure of her place in the

same class with Kate. Her appreciation to Kate shows that she does not experience the same thing like Kate does. She feels inferior and tries to remind herself that Kate is better than her because she has money, better life, and is a confident woman. She realizes that she is the opposite of Kate, in which Kate comes from the upper class group, while Steele is not.

As the person who has money, Kate has her own apartment. In comparison to her, Steele joins in her apartment.

We live in a small community of duplex apartments in Vancouver,

Washington, close to the Vancouver campus of WSU. I‘m lucky – Kate‘s

parents bought the place for her, and I pay peanuts for rent. (James, 2011: 17)

Steele feels lucky because she does not need to pay anything for the rent. It emphasizes the fact that she does not have enough money to afford her own apartment.

3. Anastasia Steele as A Lover in Relationship with Christian Grey

This sub-part focuses on how Anastasia Steele is presented as a lover of Christian Grey in their relationship, especially in the way she treats him as her ―boyfriend‖. Throughout the story, Steele is presented as the obedient lover. From

the beginning of their relation, she respects him a lot. ―I gape at him. Of course he

has a jet, and I have to resist my body‘s natural inclination to roll my eyes at him. I want to laugh. But I don‘t, as I can‘t read his mood‖ (James, 2011: 262). She is aware of her position. She realizes that she has to be nice in front of him. According to him, rolling her eyes in front of him is considered as the form of

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disrespect and it is not allowed to do. Therefore, she obeys him by not rolling her eyes.

As a lover, Steele understands that she is Grey‘s because she has relationship with him. She knows that Grey does not like Jose, her close friend because in the past, Jose forced Steele to accept his kiss in the bar. Therefore, she keeps the distance with Jose as she wants to keep Grey‘s feeling and to respect his status as her ―boyfriend‖.

―Look José, now‘s not a good time.‖ I glance anxiously over at Christian

who‘s watching me intently, his face impassive as he murmurs something

to his mom. I turn my back to him. (James, 2011: 105)

When talking about something related to Jose, Steele is trying to be careful to discuss the topic. As mentioned in the next evidence, she asks permission to Grey about going to Jose‘s photography show and invites him to join.

―My friend José‘s photography show is opening Thursday in Portland.‖ He stills, his hands hovering over my breasts. I have emphasized the word ‗friend.‘

―Yes, what about it?‖ he asks sternly.

―I said I would go. Do you want to come with me?‖ (James, 2011: 334-335)

By asking permission and inviting Grey to Jose‘s show, she wants to show her commitment to their relationship that she will not cheat over him and have an affair with Jose. By telling him about Jose, she shows her honesty to him that there is nothing she hides about her and Jose from Grey. Moreover, she

emphasizes the word ‗friend‘. It shows that she really means her relation with Jose

is only as a friend. She lets him know about their friendship because she believes it is her obligation to do so as the Submissive.

Having relationship with Grey, Steele is engaged with sexual relationship with him since it is what he wants from her. She is expected to be sexually arousing and to be able to please him sexually.

I do as instructed, and he reaches down and grabs the hem. Slowly, he pulls my dress up over my thighs, my hips, my belly, my breasts, my shoulders, and over my head. He stands back to examine me and absentmindedly folds my dress, not taking his eyes off me. He places it on the large chest beside the door. Reaching up, he pulls at my chin, his touch searing me. (James, 2011: 223)

She knows her position as his lover, which he calls a Submissive, hence, she treats him sexually well by letting him explore her sexuality and use her body. She learns that Grey is the Dominant and he has rights to use her body as his property. She lets him take all the control to use her so that he will be pleased. Besides, she also has to learn to take all punishments as part of obligations to receive.

During their sexual activity, Steele is the passive one, seen from the dialog; it is all dominated by Grey. The one who speaks the most is him and his words are full of commands and dictations.

―Open your mouth,‖ he commands and thrusts his thumb in my mouth. My eyes fly open, blinking wildly. (James, 2011: 86)

Steele receives command and controls less. As presented in the evidence, Grey commands her to do what he wants and he does not hesitate to act forcefully, like thrusting his thumb in her mouth.

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B. The Portrayal of Christian Grey

This part focuses on the portrayal of the male main character, Christian Grey, and the way he is described throughout the story as a man, an employer, and a lover to reveal how the character presents class and gender difference compared to Anastasia Steele. Christian Grey is a young billionaire who meets Anastasia Steele in the interview. He owns his big successful company and he also comes from a rich family. He has intention to make a BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism) Relationship with Steele. In BDSM Relationship, Grey is the Dominant and Steele is the Submissive. It means Steele is regarded as his property, can be used the ways he likes. The portrayal of Grey carries the information how he is described as the man, employer, and lover through his thought, action, dialog with or commentary from other character, and the direct description from the author.

1. Christian Grey as a Man

As a man, Grey is presented as the superior man. He is very dominant and he likes to control everything.

The clue is taken from his confession about himself who likes controlling everything and people around him. ―Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Steele‖ (James, 2011: 12) and ―I like control-of myself and those around me‖ (James, 2011: 13). He admits to Steele explicitly that he is a controlling person. He wants to show her that as a man, he has power to control things and people.

As a man, Grey also controls Steele because he wants her to be obedient.

―I need to control you. I need you to behave in a certain way, and if you don‘t – I

love to watch your beautiful alabaster skin pink and warm up under my hands‖ (James, 2011: 201). Grey is aware of his role, in which he has rights to control Steele in the relationship. However, to make her obedient, the control he exercises

towards Steele is followed by the punishments. ―And then his hand is no longer

there… and he hits me – hard. Ow! My eyes spring open in response to the pain,

and I try to rise, but his hand moves between my shoulder blades keeping me

down‖ (James, 2011: 193). By using punishments, he wants to exert his masculine

power over Steele and to show that he is physically stronger than Steele is.

As a man, Grey is also described as an independent man. It shows his freedom to choose what he wants in his life. His independence makes no one is taking charge to control, dictate, and demand what he should be and should do in his life.

In the story, Grey is presented as an independent person, supported by the fact of his achievement as the CEO of his own big and famous company, and also by the way he behaves and acts. As a man, he believes that a man can be freely dreaming whatever he wants and be able to achieve his dreams. Taken from his two statements to Steele, ―A man can dream, Anastasia.‖ He leans over me and grasps my chin (James, 2011: 141), and ―A man can hope, Anastasia, dream even, and sometimes his dreams come true‖ (James, 2011: 260). These imply that he believes, as a man, he can achieve everything he wants and it is his rights. He is free to express himself through his dreams and hopes. Besides, he wants to

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emphasize that he has a lot and more chances to determine and control his life. ―It is lucky that I am master of my own destiny and no one castigates me. Except my mother occasionally and Dr. Flynn, of course. And you‖ (James, 2011: 281). When he calls himself as the master of his own destiny, he means he is the one who takes control of his life. By saying so, he wants to show his privilege as a man, independence, in which no one will interfere his life.

As the man who likes to control, uses punishments, and described as an independent man, he is powerful in term of gender. He is more powerful than Steele is because as a man, he controls her to do what he wants and to follow his rules. He uses punishments to make her inferior. Compared to Steele again, he is more independent because of the fact that he is the employer of his own company, he makes his own money, he can achieve his dreams, and he has full rights to determine his life. Therefore, Steele is not capable of forcing him to be what she wants. His power is presented in the quotation below.

This is so… I want to think wrong, but somehow it‘s not. It‘s right for

Christian. It‘s what he wants –and after the last few days… after all he‘s

done, I have to man up and take whatever he decides he wants, whatever he thinks he needs. (James, 2011: 336)

Grey has power because he is able to make Steele change her mind about her opinion and to make her follow what he considers right. Even though he is not directly forcing her and is not present at the time, he still can make her take his opinion into a serious consideration.

Besides, Grey‘s power is based on how Steele regards herself in front of

man gives him a sense of power because he is needed by her. He uses this opportunity to manipulate her using his kindness and his presents. Meanwhile, Steele‘s characteristics as a woman and her social class are the supporting sources

of Grey‘s power to control her. As the woman who works as an employee, it is a

prestige to be able to date with a successful young entrepreneur.

2. Christian Grey as an Employer

Grey is not only powerful in term of gender, but is also powerful in term of class, supported by the fact that he is a successful billionaire. Grey, as an employer, is described as a very successful entrepreneur and a wealthy man. His being respected, his lifestyle, and things he can afford refers to his social class as the people from the upper class group.

First thing is, as an employer of thousand employees, Grey is described as having power and as controlling.

―I employ over forty thousand people, Miss Steele. That gives me a certain sense of responsibility – power, if you will. If I were to decide I was no longer interested in the telecommunications business and sell up, twenty thousand people would struggle to make their mortgage payments after a

month or so.‖ (James, 2011: 12)

From his information about his company, it indicates that his position as the employer of over forty thousand people is very important and crucial. He has power to rule and to control his employees to do what is appropriate. He feels his power because he knows the employees‘ life is dependent on his decision. By saying so, he wants to expose himself as the power holder.

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As an employer, his social class is shown through his office building, hobbies, and things he can afford.

It‘s a huge twenty-story office building, all curved glass and steel, an

architect‘s utilitarian fantasy, with Grey House written discreetly in steel

over the glass front doors…. I walk into the enormous-and frankly

intimidating-glass, steel, and white sandstone lobby. (James, 2011: 8) The description about Grey‘s office building shows how wealthy he is. In the description about his building, the mentioned characteristics show the luxury of the building. It is not just an ordinary office building, but it is well-designed using certain architectural style. The fact that the building has the words Grey House written also implies his success.

Grey‘s social class is also declared through his expensive hobbies. He

states, ―Yes. Gliding to the layperson. Gliders and helicopters – I fly them both‖ (James, 2011: 67). By telling his hobbies, he shows that he has money to afford such things and it emphasizes his social status. Therefore, from his job and his lifestyle, it is clear that he is politically, economically, and socially powerful.

3. Christian Grey as A Lover in Relationship with Steele

This sub-part focuses on how Grey is presented as a lover in relationship with Steele, especially in the way he treats her as his ―girlfriend‖. Grey is presented as a manipulative man. Being a manipulative man means that he uses tricks to trap Steele in his game. He uses his changing mood and his opinion to influence her thought and perspective. It is used to make her agree to sign the contract.

I know I have given you a great deal to contemplate, and I fervently hope that you will give my proposal your serious consideration. I really want to make this work. We will take it slow. Trust me. (James, 2011: 161)

By turning tenderer and not so forcing Steele, as his written massage to Steele above, he wants to gain her sympathy. He also promises her to take and make everything work slowly, implying that he will let Steele learn his wants ans. Therefore, she can change her mind and begin to rethink about the contract because what he says to her sounds promising.

On the other hand, there is a fact that Steele wants to have relationship with him. However, she wants a romantic relationship with a man of flowers and hearts. Grey is not the type of the man she wants, yet he knows he can use it as his power to get her attention. By his tricky and manipulative ways, Steele is finally trapped into his game. He makes himself look kind and love Steele. He makes her see that he can be the man of flower and hearts just as what she wants.

―How was that?‖ he asks, and his eyes are a shining, dazzling silver gray.

He leans down to unbuckle me.

―That was extraordinary. Thank you,‖ I whisper. ―Was it more?‖ he asks, his voice tinged with hope. ―Much more,‖ I breathe, and he grins.

―Come.‖ He holds out his hand for me, and I clamber out of the cockpit.

As soon as I‘m out, he grabs me and holds me flush against his body. (James, 2011: 316)

The next evidence presents the manipulative way Grey puts to Steele by being disagreed with her opinion. He tries to clear her mind and make her think the way he think of herself.

―I will buy you lots of things, Anastasia. Get used to it. I can afford it. I‘m a very wealthy man.‖ He leans down and plants a swift, chaste kiss on my lips. ―Please.‖ He releases me.

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Christian runs his hand through his hair, exasperated.

―It shouldn‘t. You‘re over-thinking it, Anastasia. Don‘t place some vague

moral judgment on yourself based on what others might think. Don‘t waste

your energy. It‘s only because you have reservations about our

arrangement, that‘s perfectly natural. You don‘t know what you‘re getting

yourself into.‖ (James, 2011: 177)

It is clearly seen that Grey tries to change Steele‘s perspective of what he has done to her. It is done because he knows she can be easily influenced. He is manipulative because he does this to make her have the same perspective with him, thus she will not refuse or disagree with him. When she has the same perspective with him, he can control her easily. Besides, Grey is also presented as the Dominant and is interested in sexual relationship.

―Okay, this evening,‖ he acquiesces. ―Now eat your breakfast.‖

My thoughts and my stomach are in turmoil. My appetite has vanished. I stare at my half-eaten breakfast. I‘m just not hungry.

―Eat, Anastasia. You didn‘t eat last night.‖ ―I‘m really not hungry,‖ I whisper.

His eyes narrow.

―I would really like you to finish your breakfast.‖ (James, 2011: 94)

To be dominant, Grey has to control people, including his woman and he really does that in reality. The dialog above gives a clear picture of his characteristic in his relation with Steele. He starts controlling her with simple thing, like eating. He does not give a choice to her to decide whether she will finish her meal or not. Instead, he insists on her to finish her meal, whether or not she is really hungry. All he wants is that she finishes her meal and she must do what he wants right that time and in front of him.

His control-freak characteristic is also admitted by he himself to Steele. ―I like the control it brings me, Anastasia. I want you to behave in a particular way, and if you don‘t, I shall punish you, and you will learn to

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Steele cannot do what she wants to Grey and she has no rights to treat him badly. Thus, she is willing to be used as his sexual machine because she is oppressed to do so and is intimidated, controlled, and determined by Grey to be a sexual object of his BDSM Relationship.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

After being critically analyzed, there are some findings related to gender and class oppression issues between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, viewed as sexual assault in E.L. James‘ Fifty Shades of Grey. Steele and Grey are described differently through their characteristics, role in relationship, behavior, and jobs.

The differences found between them are related to gender and class division. As a man, Grey is presented as a domineering, controlling, and independent man. He does not hesitate to use punishments to show his power and to dominate Steele. As a woman, Steele is presented as a devoted and dependent woman. She has low self-determination and she does not have bravery to oppose Grey for what he does and fight against him for her rights. Therefore, in term of gender, Grey has more power than Steele has. Regarding her weak characteristics as a woman, he sees the power is in his hands.

As an employer, Grey‘s social class is presented through his job. He is a very successful entrepreneur. He hires thousands of employees which gives him a sense of power. As a rich man, he has money as the symbol of power. By his money, he can get whatever he wants, like the luxurious lifestyle. Hence, from his job, it is clear that he is an upper class man. Meanwhile, Steele‘s social class is different from Grey‘s. Her social class is also seen through her job as an

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who can make a luxurious office building, Steele cannot rent an apartment. The fact shows that Grey is the superior and Steele is the inferior, in term of class. In addition, there are imbalance and unequal power between them in relationship.

Sexual assault is viewed as the result of gender and class oppression because in term of gender, Grey is more powerful than Steele is and in term of class, he is the superior one. As they are in relationship, Grey considers Steele as his own property. Therefore, her body is his. It makes him feel he has rights to treat her in whatever way he wants. As a man, he needs to exert his masculine power over Steele through sex and punishments. It is done to show her that she is weak. On the other hand, Steele‘s characteristics as a woman support her inferiority and subordination to Grey. She feels she does not have power because she is a woman. Thus, gender oppression is experienced by Steele. Nevertheless, there is contribution from the class oppression. In relationship, Grey is capable of supporting Steele financially. He uses his money as his power to show his superiority.

Besides, the oppression Grey does to Steele is emphasized in the legal contract of BDSM Relationship he offers to her. The contract symbolizes the power he has in terms of gender and class to legalize him in exerting his total power over Steele. The contract may seem as being made by the two party‘s consent. Nevertheless, it is made, dictated, dominated, and determined by one powerful party over another. The legal consent, even, is determined, arranged, and stated by one powerful party.

Following the fact of their differences in terms of gender and class and emphasized by the legal contract then sexual assault is viewed as the result of the oppressions because Steele is oppressed through her gender and social class. Her submission to Grey is done without any direct and legal consent. Her subordination as a woman and her inferiority of her social class make Grey can exert his total power over her. She is not able to fight against Grey or avoid him because of not having the same power. Therefore, the sexual activity and the employed punishments which are done are categorized as sexual assault.

At the end, this thesis is only one limited research of gender and class relation study in the relationship between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey. The researcher expects other study from other researchers with related studies or topic. This topic and study are pretty much open to others.

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