All art is at once surface and symbol

I don't think 50 Shades is why the poster felt that way about BDSM; I don't think they even had interest in the book in the first place. (And I wouldn't blame them, considering you're more likely to snooze before you get to the creepy/infuriating parts of the book. :P) Plus 50 Shades is basically parroting the same myths that people have already said about BDSM for years, only to use it as a "sexy" draw to how tragic and tormented Not!Edward is. BDSM actually spiked in popularity due to tons of vanilla couples reading 50 Shades and thinking it'd be a cool way to spice up their sex life. Cue also the spike of accidents and injuries. :P