 |
Dominant women exist throughout history,
but have no history. |
The problem with Femdom is it has no history.
A cam site - who lifted some of my text without attribution - compiled a History of Femdom. Here's some of it, with my highlights:
- 1580: English poet Christopher Marlowe: "When Francus comes to solace with his whore, / He sends for rods and strips himself stark naked; / For his lust sleeps, and will not rise before / By whipping of the wench it be awaked. / I envy him not, but wish I had the power, / To make his wench but one half hour."
- 1676: The Virtuoso, a play by Thomas Shadwell: Old man Snarl wants to be whipped, which is done by a young prostitute. He likes it because it reminds him of his schooldays-punishments.
- 1682: Venice Preserv'd, a play by Thomas Otway: Prostitute Aquilina spits on Senator Antonio, treats him like a dog, kicks and whips him.
- 1704: London Spy, book by by Edward Ward: In a whorehouse, a sixty year old enjoys a whipping.
Then we have the recent
History & Arts of the Dominatrix. Here's the table of contents (
source):
....included exerts of a hymn to the Goddess with rites of gender transformation, punishment, pain and ecstasy, linked to the high-priestess named Enheduanna, and images of the Goddess.
Into the English history record, the secular profession appears in books from the 17th Century, with flagellation prints of the Dominatrix in role of 'Whipstress' and 'School-Mistress'. The ladies providing birch discipline were interlinked with royalty, nobility, parliamentarians and secret societies. By the 19th Century, London held 20 sumptuously appointed discipline houses, run by 'Governess' Dominatrices, one of whom invented a special machine for whipping, known as the Berkley Horse.
In the 20th Century, the book presents rare vintage snapshots of mid-20th Century ladies of the 'bizarre underground' in time, space and place, from London, New York, The Hague and The Herbertstrasse. Lastly, Nomis examines the contemporary occupation of the modern-day Dominatrix, and contributes a theory of their 'Seven Realm Arts' characterizing their practices. This book is the seminal work on the subject of the Dominatrix, her history and her arts as a unique craft."
It looks like an incredible read! However, are you seeing what I'm seeing?
The
Dominatrix as in prodomme has a long and fascinating history, as has men's masochism, which,
until Sacher-Masoch's fumbling attempts was framed in terms of male pleasure or atonement.
Dominant women? They appear in all of history - you don't need a scold's bridle unless you have a scold. Some allegedly dominant women, like Cleopatra, are high profile.
But female dominance as in
women being actually in charge sexually and getting what they want has no developing body of thought, no undercurrent like - say - Christianity or Democracy. Not even a secret tradition.
Empress Theodora didn't pick up Messalina's mantle. Catherine the Great didn't retrieve the Femdom Banner and hoist it over her palace.
So though Femdom
activities have a history, the Femdom dynamic, even without the kink, doesn't. Since the activities exist to simulate the dynamic, it follows that the dynamic itself is the authentic form of Femdom.
Therefore, Femdom has no history.
And that's a problem. We have no established role models to look to, no tried and tested courtship traditions to follow, no ancient relationship wisdom to draw on.
The traditions we do have, really belong to the prodomme, an often noble calling verging on that of therapist, yes, but not a guide to making Femdom work outside the client/service-provider model.
Worst of all, we have no word for a kinky dominant women who is
not a prodomme. That's as if the only available word for sexually active woman was "sex worker". For the ramifications, see the unhappiness unfolding on the kinky Internet.
Learn how to how to walk the same Femdom path with your partner!
CLICK HERE to download my Femdom Erotica (all written while chaste!)
(For ebook format,
