Why the Fifty Shades of Grey book is better than the film

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Report claims the Fifty Shades of Grey film won't be as popular as the book
This is because women respond differently to written and visual stimulus
Neuroscientist explained this is caused by the way female brains are wired
Men respond to visual clues when looking for a partner, but women consider a wider range of traits
A recent study found women read the book are more likely to exhibit signs of eating disorders and have a verbally abusive partner

Published: 08:21 EST, 13 February 2015 | Updated: 10:19 EST, 13 February 2015

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You can't escape Fifty Shades of Grey at the moment as its promotional machine has been gearing up for the film's release this weekend.

But despite the book's huge global success, critics have called the film adaptation boring, drawn-out and a turn-off.

In a report for Time Magazine, Eliana Dockterman attributes this to the fact women, and men, respond differently to written and visual sexual stimulus.

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In a report for Time, Eliana Dockterman claims the Fifty Shades of Grey film will not be as popular as the book because women, and men, respond differently to written and visual sexual stimulus. This is due to the way their brains are hardwired to find a partner. Dakota Johnson as protaganist Anastasia Steele is pictured

The film centres around 'naive' virgin and English student Anastasia Steele and her relationship with billionaire business owner Christian Grey.

Mr Grey enjoys sadomasochism and the books feature numerous sex scenes between the two involving handcuffs, whips and other bondage materials.

In 2012, the first book in E.L James' trilogy became the best-selling book of all time.

But is the film just a poor adaptation, or does the problem lie in the way the brains of men and women are wired?

THE EMOTIONAL POWER OF FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

A recent study found the Fifty Shades trilogy can have a dramatic effect on the personalities of young women.

The researchers said young adult women who read the book are more likely than non-readers to exhibit signs of eating disorders and have a verbally abusive partner.

As part of the study, more than 650 women aged 18 to 23 were surveyed about their relationships and sexuality.

Those who read the first Fifty Shades novel were 25 per cent more likely to have a partner who yelled or swore at them; 34 per cent more likely to have a partner who demonstrated stalking tendencies; and more than 75 per cent more likely to have used diet aids or fasted for more than 24 hours.

Those who read all three books in the series were 65 per cent more likely than nonreaders to binge drink – or drink five or more drinks on a single occasion on six or more days per month – and 63 per cent more likely to have five or more partners during their lifetime.

'There's a scientific reason women prefer to read about sex rather than see it,' explained Ms Dockterman.

She quotes Ogi Ogas, a neuroscientist who said that men base their sexual decisions on visual clues about whether a woman is healthy and attractive.

This is because, biologically and evolutionary-speaking, men are wired to impregnate as many women as possible to ensure their genes are passed on far and wide.

On the other hand, women are hardwired to select fewer, more specific partners based on a wider range of criteria such as long-term security, intelligence and other genetic traits.

As a result men get more pleasure from visual stimulus, including pornographic pictures and films, but women are more aroused by reading and learning about male characters over time.

Ms Dockterman added this isn't a new phenomenon, however, and books including Jane Eyre and Gone with the Wind used similar characters and narratives - albeit much more tame in graphic content compared to the Fifty Shades trilogy.

'What is he thinking? Will he be here for the long haul? These are not questions you can get immediate answers to,' Mr Ogas told Time.

'That's why a book is better suited to this fantasy than a video. It perfectly replicates that puzzle.'

This has also been seen to a certain extent in the reviews written by male and female critics.

Neuroscientist Ogi Ogas said men base their sexual decisions on visual clues about whether a woman is healthy and attractive. But women are hardwired to select fewer, more specific partners based on a wider range of criteria. Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Ms Johnson as Anastasia Steele are pictured

Many of the male reviewers have criticised the film for not having enough sex and shots of genitals, while women have slammed the chemistry between the two lead actors. This suggest men are more interested in the visual aspects of the film, on average, but women are more concerned with dialogue and the relationship

Many of the male reviewers have criticised the film for not having enough sex and shots of genitals, while women have slammed the chemistry between the two lead actors and how believable the relationship appeared.

For example, Peter Bradshaw from the Guardian said: 'There are no glimpses of a penis in this film, not in any state. It's primly off-camera. Or maybe the smoulderingly sado-obsessed hero does not have a penis.'

LONDON FIRE BRIGADE ON STANDBY FOR FIFTY SHADES FILM

Firefighters in London announced last week they anticipate an rise in in call-outs when the Fifty Shades of Grey film is release.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was 'concerned' the film could lead to a 'spike' in people being stuck or trapped in handcuffs.

Since April it has attended 393 incidents of this nature.

LFB said people should use 'common sense' but call 999 if it is a genuine emergency.

Dave Brown from LFB said: 'The Fifty Shades effect seems to spike handcuff incidents so we hope film-goers will use common sense and avoid leaving themselves red-faced.

While the Daily Mail's Jan Moir wrote: 'Part of the difficulty is the lack of sexual chemistry between the two leads.

'This is a particularly acute problem in a tale of two lovers exploring a relationship that takes in the wilder shores of bondage, submission, dominance and terrible dialogue.'

This suggests men are more interested in the visual aspects of the film, on average, but women are generally more concerned with dialogue.

This was even the case before porn became more widespread.

A 1920s study of American men and women, for example, found that 65 per cent of men compared with 20 per cent of women had carried out 'voyeuristic acts', which included peering through bedroom windows.

In Helen Fisher's book The First Sex, she explained men use pornographic materials more frequently than women do. And when they fantasise, they conjure up more images of sex and genitalia.

She continued that although women are also excited by visual erotica, to an extent, they are more aroused by 'romantic words, images, and themes.'

This makes them twice as likely to think about a partner's emotional characteristics and when they imagine sex, they are more concerned with the sounds and smells of the experience than men are.

Mark Kastleman, author of The Drug of the New Millennium-the Science of How Internet Pornography Radically Alters the Human Brain and Body, agrees.

He said: 'Men are able to separate information, stimulus, emotions [and] relationships into separate compartments in their brains, while women tend to link everything together.

A recent study that found the Fifty Shades trilogy (pictured) can have a dramatic effect on the personalities of young women. The researchers said young adult women who read the book are more likely than non-readers to exhibit signs of eating disorders and have a verbally abusive partner

'Men see individual issues with parts of their brain, while women look at the holistic or multiple issues with their whole brain.'

He continued that men have as much as '20 times more testosterone in their systems' than women which makes them more narrowly focused on the physical aspects of sex.

'In men, the dominant perceptual sense is vision, which is typically not the case with women. All of a woman's senses are, in some respects, more finely tuned than those of a man,' he concluded.

The emotional power of Fifty Shades of Grey was also highlighted by a recent study that found the book can have a dramatic effect on the personalities of young women.

The researchers said young adult women who read the book are more likely than non-readers to exhibit signs of eating disorders and have a verbally abusive partner.

THE CULTURAL IMPACT OF FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Bookmakers Paddy Power has released a series of special odds surrounding the Fifty Shades of Grey film.

For example, the firm is offering 20/1 odds of Anastasia being the top baby girls name in 2015.

This increases to 25/1 for Christian to be the top baby boys name in 2015.

By 16 February, Paddy Power are giving odds of 20/1 that the UK will declare a shortage of the morning after pill and the same odds for shortage of condoms.

Women who read all three books in the series are also at increased risk of engaging in binge drinking and having multiple sex partners, the study found.

'All are known risks associated with being in an abusive relationship, much like the lead character, Anastasia, is in 'Fifty Shades,' said Amy Bonomi, the study's lead investigator.

The researchers studied more than 650 women aged 18 to 24.

Compared to participants who didn't read the book, those who read the first 'Fifty Shades' novel were 25 per cent more likely to have a partner who yelled or swore at them; 34 per cent more likely to have a partner who demonstrated stalking tendencies; and more than 75 per cent more likely to have used diet aids or fasted for more than 24 hours.

Those who read all three books in the series were 65 per cent more likely than non-readers to binge drink - or drink five or more drinks on a single occasion on six or more days per month – and 63 per cent more likely to have five or more intercourse partners during their lifetime.

Ms Bonomi said she is not suggesting the book be banned but added it is important women understand that the health behaviours assessed in the study are known risk factors for being in a violent relationship.

Trailer for most anticipated film of the year 50 Shades of Grey