Now even Oprah has bought into the the lie made popular by book 50 Shades of Grey that torture, pain and violence are healthy sexual outlets. Morality in Media is calling for a nationwide protest of Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network citing the reckless glorification of sexual violence and torture depicted on the network. The Season Premier of Lisa Ling’s Our America on OWN, January 29, portrayed the graphic depiction of “BDSM” sex (bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, and masochism) in an hour-long television show, replete with whips, chains, handcuffs, and assorted tools of sexual torture.
CONTACT THE PRODUCERS, EXECUTIVES AND PARTNERS OF OWN HERE WITH JUST ONE CLICK
Clips from Oprah’s show “Shades of Kink” with Lisa Ling as the journalist glamorizing sexual violence and domestic abuse:
Women want to be loved, adored, and cherished, not whipped, dominated, and humiliated,” said Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director of Morality in Media. “Oprah and her OWN cable network seem desperate to bootstrap their flagging ratings to the tawdry and titillating world of sadomasochism portrayed in the bestseller, 50 Shades of Grey,” she added. “This is purely trash TV and worse, it is entertainment likely to foster domestic abuse, primarily of women. I would have thought Oprah should lead the charge against such exploitation,” Hawkins said.
At one time the promise of the OWN network was to empower women to live their best life, with inspiring stories of hope, courage and self-esteem. Lisa Ling’s Our America was not even in that ballpark. “A responsible journalist would have at least mentioned that sadomasochism has long been recognized as a mental disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” Hawkins noted. “Sexual abuse of this nature is at the heart of the criminal acts of rape and sexual assault,” she added.
So much of the pornography today is filled with sexual violence and humiliation of women, so it is not surprising that BDSM activities would find an audience. However, Morality in Media believes all women, children, and men have a natural human dignity, and that programming of this sort is inherently dehumanizing, corrupts healthy relationships, and grossly distorts a proper view of human sexuality.
What is BDSM and Sadomasochism?
Torture. Violence. Pain. Slavery. The most popular BDSM porn site explains, “Girls are also pulled in and out of cages, their tongues clamped, their bodies pinned, and their arms and legs strapped.” The company also claims to employ “contraptions used in countries such as China for torture” as well as machines, water, metal, wood, electrodes, hooks, needles, and urination, all for the sexual persecution of women and “young teenage girls.”
THIS IS WHAT OPRAH AND HER NETWORK ARE PROMOTING!
Morality in Media is asking the public to contact OWN and their partners to protest this glorification of sexual abuse and torture and return to the kind of uplifting program that we expect from Oprah. Please send email!
AND LEAVE COMMENTS ALL OVER THESE FORUMS IF YOU CAN:
Comment on Oprah.com at the bottom of the page. So far they aren’t allowing any of our anti-BDSM comments to go through, but we know they’re reading them!
PRO BDSM Facebook post by Lisa Ling on her Facebook Page: “Why Kink?” http://on.fb.me/U2NEaS
OWN Facebook Page post on the BDSM show (Per the post, the show “might make you giggle.” It shouldn’t, as there is nothing amusing about sadomasochism!) : http://on.fb.me/U2Ntw2
Lisa Ling Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisaling/
OWN TV Twitter: https://twitter.com/OWNTV