Since you've clicked on this article, I'm sure you're curious about what created the skyrocket of Fifty Shades of Grey. In short, the answer is that it fulfills an insatiable human need for knowledge.

The success of Fifty Shades of Grey is not in its marketing, or even in its clever name. The popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey is almost entirely due to word of mouth. One curious reader will pick up the text, then will tell a friend about the wild world of Christian Grey, and then that friend will read it and recommend it, and so on.

Before Fifty Shades of Grey, BDSM was considered extremely taboo. It was not a subject that was taught in schools, nor was it discussed regularly over afternoon tea. Then, when Fifty Shades of Grey began to gain an audience, those who recommended the book would satiate their own curiosity and would seek to share this new and exciting knowledge with those around them.

Some were outraged, some found the story endearing, but most readers were at least a little intrigued. Thus, a grand following was born. While there are a wide variety of reasons that Fifty Shades enticed readers, it seemed that the real motivation for reading the novel, was to find out what the hype was all about. It was a true testament to the power of word of mouth, and what a little bit of controversy can do for revenue.

Though the novel gained a reputation with older audiences, the actual readers of the novel varied amongst all ages. Readers of all ages turned to Fifty Shades of Grey for an education on BDSM, and searched to find a sexually explicit novel which could satiate their intrigue, as well as possibly inform them about sexuality in a way that is convenient and discreet.

With the prevalence of abstinence-only sexual education, many people have turned to pornography for information on how sex works, and what pleasurable sex should look like. Only twenty states in the US require sexual education to be medically, technically, or factually accurate. Thirty five states allow for parents to opt their children out of sexual education. Sexual education has improved in recent years, however abstinence only education still continues to dominate the school system, denying crucial knowledge about sex and sexuality to those reading the novel.

The truth of the matter is, the sexual education system in America is deeply flawed. And with sex being so integral to not only our biological makeup, but to our social bonds, we seek information on sex and sexuality.

Human beings are one of two known species that engage in sex for pleasure, yet, in many cultures, there is no discussion of the ramifications of such a gift. When schools are not teaching the basic information that is necessary to make beneficial decisions on sexuality and sexual partners, young people turn to pornography to answer their questions about sex.

This is especially true when it comes to those who do have fetishes, or are interested in BDSM. Immediately following the film “Fifty Shades of Grey”, searches for BDSM pornography rose twenty percent, with a forty percent rise in women searching for this form of pornography.

The issue with learning sexuality from pornographic films and novels, is that they do not always provide a safe and comprehensive sexual education. Pornographic material often lacks a demonstration of safe, consensual, healthy sex.

By educating the populace with a book that does not accurately portray sexuality, especially BDSM, it could pose a threat to those who seek to enhance their sexual understanding and pleasure.

After the release of Fifty Shades, sales of erotic novels went up 356% percent between 2011 and 2012 alone. Business has been booming ever since, and though people of all ages are buying Fifty Shades of Grey, the majority of people reading erotic novels are mostly women ranging between the ages of thirty and fifty.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with a boom in erotica, having Fifty Shades of Grey as the catalyst could create an unstable isotope.

With such abusive themes running rampant through Fifty Shades of Grey, it could give way to many more books that portray BDSM in a way that is not safe nor emotionally gratifying. It could inspire a wave of novels that would set feminism back years by depicting power dynamics that are unhealthy mentally and physically.

On the other hand, readers could simply be looking for a kind of catharsis through these novels, and leave the bookstore with a newly found sexual education.

The rise of popularity surrounding Fifty Shades could lead to the stigma around kinks to continue to diminish as the popularity of sexually explicit novels rises. BDSM has already come out of the metaphorical closet since Fifty Shades has become more and more of a household name.

While visual pornography continues to be stigmatized, erotic novels have become a staple in American culture. Though written pornography has been in existence for decades, the popularization of Fifty Shades of Grey leads to a rise in pornography that is geared towards women.

By catering mostly to women, they have already created a more sex positive environment for people who have a variety of different sexual preferences.

Women are feeling free to explore their sexuality, and try new things which could possibly lead to more enhancing sex lives, and create the opportunity for more open and loving relationships.

Demystifying BDSM and sexuality as a whole encourages people, especially women, to pursue experiences they may never have considered before. It allows people to talk freely about what they want sexually as well as romantically without an air of judgement.

The sale of rope even went up exponentially after the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, meaning that people are becoming inclined to explore their sexuality with bondage.

The only hope is that they are exploring their limits in a secure and communicative setting, in which they feel comfortable expressing what they want and what is pleasurable. This leads to a decrease in slut-shaming, and increases the education of women on what they desire sexually, and what a sex-positive relationship, and even society, looks like.

Fifty Shades of Grey has also opened up the topic of Domestic Abuse to a wider audience. With readers feeling appalled by the treatment of Anastasia, it begins a conversation that is just as taboo as Fifty Shades of Grey.

The abuse in Fifty Shades of Grey is unmistakeable. Christian Grey is controlling, coercive, and uncaring towards Anastasia. He uses his privilege in order to pressure Anastasia into becoming a submissive, and ignores her feelings about what she actually wants out of the relationship. With this novel being the highest grossing erotica of all time, it raises concern over what this could mean for those who are inspired to begin practicing BDSM after reading the novel. While the novel does portray Sado-masochistic sex, it does not show it in a consensual, positive way. However, by bringing BDSM out of the shadows, Fifty Shades of Grey has created a much more sex positive America. The women of America are more inclined to learn about different ways of experiencing pleasure, and have become more inclined to seek sexual relationships that are not simply satisfactory, but are phenomenal. The novel has also increased the rate of pornography being consumed, especially by women. While visual pornography has been a big business since its conception, written erotica has gained a massive following.Readers are allowing themselves to be educated on sexuality, and to become better informed on what they want out of their sex lives. Fifty Shades of Grey has ironically created a more open and liberated space to talk about sexuality and what being in a sexual relationship means. It has started a conversation on what is love, versus what is abuse, and it has really opened the world to kinks. I don’t believe we’ve seen the end of the influence of Fifty Shades of Grey, or similar works of fiction. I think the conversation has just begun, but I pray that it limits its use of the phrase “Laters, Baby”.