I maintain a Google alert on the term ‘dominatrix’. I originally figured that if the term popped up in a news article it’d be a likely article for me to post about. In actuality what it means is that I get an endless stream of links to articles featuring celebrities wearing something that, if you squint and don’t concentrate too hard, could be vaguely considered to be fetish wear. It doesn’t seem to matter what it is, or what the context is, just so long as it’s slightly non-conventional.
Some of them I kind of understand (for example this) while others are completely ridiculous (for example this). The latest example, and one that falls firmly into the ridiculous camp, is Kylie Minogue, with this and then this. Kylie is undoubtedly a very attractive woman, but I’ve played with a lot of amazing dommes, and not one of them has worn anything like those outfits. If you’re going to call something a dominatrix outfit then may I suggest this outfit by Mistress Shae Flanigan as a reference point? Obviously you can be dominant in anything you damn well choose, including fuzzy slippers. But if you’re going to invoke cliches, at least make sure it’s an accurate one.
That’s a good thing. If BDSM become mainstream, the internet would be flooded with cheap femdom porn. And any girl could wear a bullshit dress and call herself a dominatrix. Femdom is better remain underground and the ridiculous articles you pointed out actually help make this happen.
When it comes to the internet being flooded with cheap femdom porn, I think that ship has long since sailed (I originally typed failed there, which might be a suggestive slip). I don’t actually object to much to people calling themselves dominatrices, whatever they’re wearing. After all domination is an attitude rather than an outfit. But I do get annoyed by the media calling any woman who wears anything with a fetishistic hint a dominatrix. It’s just lazy labeling, although I guess that shouldn’t surprise me.
-paltego
Reminds me of when the “Elementary” writers released a teaser picture of Keesha Sharp wearing a collar for an upcoming episode and I wondered on my blog if she was going to play a dominatrix. Someone responded- but, um, isn’t she wearing a collar, which would make her submissive?- and I had to shake my head and reply that nope, I know the mainstream media too well. If it’s vaguely fetishy, they’ll throw her in it to push the idea that she’s a dominatrix, regardless.
And yep, when the episode aired, turned out I was right!
That collar thing is a constant bug bear of mine. They pop up everywhere. When they’re spiky then maybe they kind of work for a domme (maybe), but I went and image searched “Keesha Sharp Elementary” and it’s clearly a submissive collar. There are even rings to attach stuff to! Dominatrix = woman in anything vaguely fetishistic, logic be damned.
Thanks for stopping by to comment.
-paltego