Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve either read, want to read or have successfully avoided reading “Fifty Shades of Grey.” For the record, I’m part of the latter group. Even though everyone’s doing it, I would be forever embarrassed if certain people I know (OK, most people I know) found out I was reading a book that has passages like this:

“You’ve really got a taste for this, haven’t you, Miss Steele? You’re becoming insatiable,” he murmurs.

“I’ve only got a taste for you,” I whisper.

Is this seriously the fastest selling fiction book in the U.S. right now? Ugh. But I digress.

Over on a New York Times’ blog, a very interesting question was posed in regards to the erotic novel. In a city that runs on a 24-hour public transit system, “Is It Creepy to See Someone Reading ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ on the Subway?” Writer Adam Sternbergh asked his Twitter followers what a woman reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” on the Subway is equivalent to men reading on the Subway.

Here are some of the suggested male-centric equivalencies to reading “Fifty Shades” on the subway that were kindly offered to me on Twitter (please note: the following links are to the tweets in question, not the publications themselves) (except the GQ one): Playboy.Maxim. “The Game.” Penthouse Forum. This issue of GQ. (Whoops.)

Which got me to thinking about Boston’s own MBTA. Can you imagine hopping on the Green Line and seeing some dude deeply engrossed in his Playboy? Panic would ensue. But it’s not uncommon for ladies on the T to be proudly displaying their Christian Grey obsessions.

So, is it ever acceptable for a lady to read “Fifty Shades” on the MBTA?

We posed the question to our audience and elicited a mixed bag of responses (see the full Storify below). Some said yes, reading it is fine, but hid it with an e-book reader, unless you want to “embarrass” and elicit “pity” from other commuters. Another, similar to answers posed in the New York Times’ blog, also equated it to gentlemen reading, well, gentlemen magazines. Finally, alluding to the explicit content in the book, some MBTA riders also tweeted interest in those that take interest in the sexcapades in the book. Inappropriate, to say the least.

My opinion: If you’re going to read it, why not read it at home? I have a hard time accepting the fact that your commute is really long and boring enough that you must read about sex during it. Imagine running into your boss on the train. Or your brother. *Shudder*

There are plenty of other ways to occupy your 30-minute ride from Davis to South Station. Bring a magazine. Listen to music. Play Angry Birds. Or stick with the Hunger Games. At least 13-year-olds murdering each other is tamer than S&M during the morning rush hour. Or is it?

What do you think? Is it OK for “Fifty Shades of Grey” to be read on the MBTA? Share your thoughts in the comments!