BDSM In Culture And Media
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BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
(i.e.,
bondage and discipline BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...
,
dominance and submission Dominance and submission (also called D/s) is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or lifestyle. It is a subset of BDSM. This form of sexual contact and pleasure has been ...
,
sadism and masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
) is a frequent theme in culture and media, including in
book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
s,
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s,
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
,
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s, public performances and
online media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
.


Newspapers and magazines

During the last decades, a wide variety of periodical publications have been published dealing with BDSM. Besides small independent publishing companies, organized groups were active in this field. Many have stopped publishing or transferred operations to the Internet. The German-language '' Schlagzeilen'' magazine started in 1988 as the group's internal newspaper and is an important BDSM publication in German-speaking countries today. Events and figures related to BDSM have been repeatedly spotlighted in the media. In 2002, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
' ran an article which said that
Jack McGeorge Harvey John "Jack" McGeorge II (September 29, 1949 – August 18, 2009) was a Marine, a Secret Service Specialist, and a munitions analyst for the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), as well as being a frequently re ...
, a munitions analyst for the
UNMOVIC The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) was created through the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999 and its mission lasted until June 2007. UNMOVIC was meant to ...
, was also a leader in the
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
BDSM community. Following this, several commentators compared his BDSM activities repeatedly with the torture techniques used by
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
. Others compared today's discrimination of BDSM practitioners with the situation of homosexuals in the past. In Germany '' EMMA'', a well-known
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
magazine, published by
Alice Schwarzer Alice Sophie Schwarzer (born 3 December 1942) is a German journalist and prominent feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal '' EMMA''. Beginning in France, she became a forerunner of feminist positions against anti-ab ...
, continued its ''PorNO'' campaign against ''hatred towards women'' and ''violent pornography'' aiming to ban
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
in Germany. In it, Schwarzer states, among other things, that sadomasochistic practices are generally to be equated with violence against women. Her judgment on female sadomasochism ("Female masochism is collaboration!") has often been criticized for implying a state of war between genders. ''EMMA'' magazine criticized
Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
, accusing him of "pornografization of fashion photography", and criticized his "therein unrestrainedly realized sadomasochistic obsessions". BDSM
support group In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping str ...
s and publications have repeatedly criticized biased media coverage of BDSM.


Literature

Sadomasochism is a perennial theme in literature and has inspired several classics like ''The Story of O'' by
Anne Desclos Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel '' Story of O'' (1954). Early life Born ...
(under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Pauline Réage Anne Cécile Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pen names Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage. She is best known for her erotic novel '' Story of O'' (1954). Early life Born ...
), ''
Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
'' by
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...
, and the comics created by
Eric Stanton Eric Stanton (September 30, 1926 – March 17, 1999; born Ernest Stanzoni Jr.) was an American underground cartoonist and fetish art pioneer. While Stanton began his career as a bondage fantasy artist for Irving Klaw, the majority of his later ...
. A literary curiosity concerning sadomasochism is Martha's letter to
Leopold Bloom Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's 1922 novel ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/Odysseus in Homer's epic poe ...
in ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'' by
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
. The novel '' Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair'' published in 1978 by Ingeborg Day (under the pseudonym Elizabeth McNeill) was the basis of the Hollywood movie ''
9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wal ...
''.
Justine Ettler Justine Ettler (born 1965) is an Australian author who is best known for her 1995 novel, '' The River Ophelia'', which was shortlisted for the 1995 Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction - Horror Division - Best Novel. ...
's '' The River Ophelia'' (1995) details the empty, sometimes violent sex lives of university students and
yuppies Yuppie, short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly-mobile professional", is a term coined in the early 1980s for a young professional person working in a city. The term is first attested in 1980, when it was used as a fairly neu ...
with surreal overtones. Author
Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Christian literature. She was best known for her series of novels ''The Vampire Chronicles''. B ...
published under the pseudonym ''A. N. Roquelaure'' three installments of her ''Sleeping Beauty Trilogy'' (''The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty'', 1983), ''Beauty's Punishment'' (1984) and ''Beauty's Release'' (1985) with explicit BDSM themes. A nine-volume book series published in July 2006 under the title ''Bild-Erotik-Bibliothek'' by
Bild-Zeitung ''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
, Germany's leading Tabloid and the best-selling newspaper in Europe, in cooperation with
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
gives a clear indication of the commercial potential of the topic. Out of nine installments, three books had a well-defined emphasis on sadomasochism, specifically BDSM. Besides ''Exit to Eden'', also written by Anne Rice under the pseudonym ''Anne Rampling'', it also further featured the sadomasochist classic ''Story of O.'' and the explicit novel ''Topping from Below'' by Laura Reese. The '' Fifty Shades'' trilogy is a series of popular erotic romance novels by
E. L. James Erika Mitchell (born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is a British author. She wrote the best-selling erotic romance trilogy ''Fifty Shades of Grey'', ''Fifty Shades Darker'', and ''Fifty Shades Freed'', along with the companio ...
which involve BDSM; however, the novels have been criticized for their inaccurate and harmful depiction of BDSM. While sadomasochistic rituals enacted as theatrical staging might show fetish characteristics, the fetish is not literature. BDSM literature also does not embrace a specific philosophy or morality; instead it represents it, as do other kinds of literature aspects of the particular
Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. F. ...
of its era.
Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Instit ...
stated in his 1953 nonfiction book ''
Sexual Behavior in the Human Female The Kinsey Reports are two scholarly books on human sexual behavior, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' (1948) and ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953), written by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, and (for ''Sexual Behav ...
'' that 12% of females and 22% of males reported having an erotic response to a sadomasochistic story.Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, pp. 677-678 In that book erotic responses to being bitten were given as:


Publishers

In the last decades, publishing houses and imprints specializing in BDSM fiction and nonfiction have been founded in many Western countries, including
Circlet Press Circlet Press is a publishing house in Cambridge, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It was founded by Cecilia Tan, who is also its manager. It specializes in science fiction erotica, a once uncommon genre, and its publications often feature BDS ...
, Daedalus Publishing,
Greenery Press Greenery Press is a publishing house based in Emeryville, California, specializing in books on BDSM (particularly femdom) and polyamory, with over 50 titles in print. Most titles are non-fiction, but a smaller number of fiction titles and memoi ...
and Nexus Books, an imprint of
Virgin Books Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...
.


Specialist books

In November 1981,
Samois Samois was a lesbian- feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983. It was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States. It took its name from Samois-sur-Seine, the location of the fictional estate of Ann ...
published '' Coming to Power: Writing and graphics on Lesbian S/M'', which reached a worldwide audience the following year when it was reprinted by
Alyson Publications Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "th ...
. The book combined short stories with basic explanations and safety tips about BDSM practices. It is considered the first introductory books on the subject worldwide. Its concept was internationally adopted by many publications in the following decades. Other than specialized books with strong emphasis on the practice, there is a growing number of scientific publications and books that discuss BDSM philosophy and culture: *
Jay Wiseman Jay Joseph Wiseman (born 1949) is an American BDSM author, educator, and expert legal witness.Mark Morri"Missouri sex slave case may hinge on expert view of subculture", ''Kansas City Star'', November 25, 2012 His most famous work is the book ''SM ...
: ''SM 101: A Realistic Introduction''. Greenery Press (California) 1998, (comprehensive reference book including topics like "BDSM as a lifestyle" and "BDSM during pregnancy") * Philip Miller, Molly Devon: ''Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism''. Mystic Rose Books, 1995. (showing plenty of graphics, the comprehensive reference book gives advice on practices and safety advice) *
Dossie Easton Dorothy "Dossie" Easton (born February 26, 1944), who has also written under the name Scarlet Woman, is an American author and family therapist based in San Francisco, California. She is polyamorous and lives in West Marin, California. Backgro ...
, Janet W. Hardy: ''The New Topping Book''. Greenery Press (California) 2002, (practical and theoretical introduction for Tops with emphasis on psychological, practical and technological aspects and detailed advice on partner search) * Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: ''The New Bottoming Book''. Greenery Press (California) 1998, (practical and theoretical introduction for Bottoms with emphasis on psychological, practical and technological aspects and detailed advice on partner search) *
Patrick Califia Patrick Califia (born 1954; formerly also known as Pat Califia and by the last name Califia-Rice) is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transition ...
(ed.), Robin Sweeney (ed.):''The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader''. Alyson Publications 1996, (sequel to the lesbian-feminist BDSM-classic ''Coming to Power'') * Mark Thompson (ed.): ''Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice''. Alyson Publications 1991, , (28 essays of well-known sadomasochistic authors and activists) * Lady Green (ed.), Jaymes Easton (ed.): ''Kinky Crafts: 101 Do-It-Yourself S/M Toys''. Greenery Press (California) 1998, (comprehensive Guide to do-it-yourself BDSM-toys) *
Gloria Brame Gloria Brame (born August 20, 1955) is an American sexologist, writer and sex therapist based in Athens, Georgia. She is a member of the American College of Sexologists, and clinical sexologist. Her sex therapy practice specializes in consensual ...
, William Brame & John Jacobs: ''Different Loving: The World of Sexual Dominance and Submission''. Villard, 1996, *
Peggy J. Kleinplatz Peggy Joy Kleinplatz is a Canadian clinical psychologist and sexologist whose work often concerns optimal sexuality, opposition to the medicalization of human sexuality, and outreach to marginalized groups.Alexander, Brian (May 22, 2008)What's 'n ...
,
Charles Allen Moser Charles Allen Moser (born 1952) is an American physician specializing in transgender health, a clinical sexologist, sex therapist, and sex educator practicing in San Francisco, California. He is the author of numerous academic publications and b ...
: ''Sadomasochism - Powerful Pleasures''. Haworth Press, 2006, * Staci Newmahr: ''Playing On The Edge''. Indiana University Press, 2011, (sociological examination of BDSM community in an unnamed city) * Margot Weiss: ''Techniques of Pleasure''. Duke University Press, 2011, (anthropological examination of San Francisco BDSM community) * Clarisse Thorn: ''The S & M Feminist''. Clarisse Thorn, 2012, (essays on BDSM, gender and culture) *
Lee Harrington Lee Harrington (born 28 November 1979) is a sexuality and spirituality educator, author, and artist, currently based in Denver, Colorado. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, he began transitioning from female to male in 2007. Author and educator L ...
, Mollena Williams: ''Playing Well With Others''. Greenery Press, 2012, (guide to the BDSM community) * Anne O. Nomis ''The History & Arts of the Dominatrix''. Mary Egan Publishing & Anna Nomis Ltd, UK, 2013, (academic account of dominatrix imagery) * Rajan Dominari: ''Welcome to the Darkside: A BDSM Primer''. AKO Publishing Company, 2019, (introduction to the BDSM community and culture)


Marketing

Since the beginning of the 1990s, BDSM imagery has been regularly used within the framework of large marketing campaigns in continental Europe. Widely known examples in Germany are
billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s of the cigarette brands
Camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
and
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, showing a camel dressed in "typical" leather outfit, respectively a dominatrix with a whip. While West had to withdraw the ad due to "offense against morality", BDSM motifs were utilized in the following years on a regular basis. In March 2007 the
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
clothing company H&M promoted the sale of a collection compiled by
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
with television commercials in Germany. The commercials showed the artist, who has been repeatedly criticized for the use of sadomasochistic subjects in the past, as a dominant lifestyle-icon teaching a lesson to an "inappropriately" dressed female pupil under the cracking of a
crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...
, redesigning her outfit while making fashion statements like "Don't think it – you need to know it". In Canada,
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
presented the winter package 2005/2005 of the Mini-Cooper in the form of an interactive BDSM-session in which the user, supported by a dominatrix, can test different kinds of spanking tools on the automobile in order to get the optional equipment explained. Their slogan was "Dominate winter". In the U.S.,
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...
has repeatedly sponsored the fetish-lifestyle
Folsom Street Fair Folsom Street Fair (FSF) is an annual BDSM and leather subculture street fair, held in September, that caps San Francisco's "Leather Pride Week". The Folsom Street Fair, sometimes simply referred to as "Folsom", takes place on Folsom Street bet ...
in San Francisco. ''Diesel'' jeans ran several sadomasochistic-themed advertisements in various fashion magazines.


Music

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
song "
Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
" (from ''
The Velvet Underground & Nico ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Ex ...
'') is based on a book by Masoch of the same title; the name of the band itself comes from a book about paraphilias (including BDSM) in the United States.
Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...
"
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British new wave music duo Eurythmics. It is the title track of their album of the same name (1983) and was released as the fourth and final single from the album in early 1983. The song became t ...
" may be the most well-known popular song with BDSM connotations, primarily due to the music video.
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...
's "For Your Entertainment",
Puddle of Mudd Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums and has had a string of No. 1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut '' C ...
's "Control", and
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
's "Erotica" are explicitly from the dominant's point of view - as is "Baby Let's Play Rough" by the country-western vampire singer
Unknown Hinson Stuart Daniel Baker (November 7, 1954), better known by his stage name Unknown Hinson, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, comedian, and actor. Biography Stuart Daniel Baker, a music teacher and studio musician from Albemarle, North ...
, whereas
Nedra Johnson Nedra Johnson (born July 27, 1966) is an American rhythm and blues and jazz singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has performed internationally at jazz, blues, pride and women's music festivals as a solo artist, a tuba player, and voc ...
's "Alligator Food" and
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's "Teeth" are written from the perspective of the submissive.
Jace Everett Jace Everett Beasley (born May 27, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performs country and rock music. Signed to Epic Records in 2005, he released his debut single "That's the Kind of Love I'm In" in 2005, which peaked at ...
's "Bad Things" (the theme song of the TV series ''
True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...
'') alludes to BDSM. The German punk band
Die Ärzte Die Ärzte (; ) is a German rock band from Berlin. The band has released 14 studio albums. The group consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B and bass player Rodrigo González. All three write and perform their songs. History Ea ...
recorded the song "Sweet, Sweet Gwendoline" that introduced the BDSM-related character
Sweet Gwendoline Sweet Gwendoline is the main female character in the works of bondage artist John Willie, first published as a serial, usually two pages at a time, in Robert Harrison (publisher), Robert Harrison's mainstream girlie magazine ''Wink'' from June ...
to a large part of the population that otherwise had no contact to the BDSM subculture. German gothic rock band
Umbra et Imago Umbra et Imago () is a German gothic metal and Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in autumn 1991. The original lineup consisted of singer Mozart (Manuel Munz), Michael Gillian, Nail and Torsten B. Except for Mozart all other founding members left t ...
, famous amongst the fetish goth scene, also recorded a song entitled "Sweet Gwendoline".
Industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
in general likely has the most BDSM themes, as well as being one of the biggest influences on
Rivethead A rivethead or rivet head is a person associated with the industrial dance music scene. In stark contrast to the original industrial culture, whose performers and heterogeneous audience were sometimes referred to as "industrialists", the rivethe ...
fashion.
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
is one of those industrial bands, as their song " Ich Tu Dir Weh (I hurt you)" is about BDSM.
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...
are known for their BDSM undertones, "
Master and Servant "Master and Servant" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode, released on 20 August 1984 as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''Some Great Reward'' (1984). Its subject matter is BDSM relationships, which caused ...
" being a well-known example. Other famous songs with BDSM themes include: *
2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luther Campbell, Luke Campbell, Fr ...
"S and M" *
Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...
"Whip in My Valise" *
Ali Project Ali Project (typeset as ALI PROJECT) is a Japanese rock band with a strong Japanese Aristocrat-style image, consisting of and . In the band's earlier days, their musical style tended towards light, cheerful and/or refreshing songs. However, ...
"Hizamazuite Ashi o Oname" *
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...
"Dominance and Submission" *
Blood on the Dance Floor Blood on the Dance Floor may refer to: *'' Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'', a 1997 album by Michael Jackson ** "Blood on the Dance Floor" (song), a 1997 song by Michael Jackson from the album *Blood on the Dance Floor (band) Bl ...
"Call Me Master" *
Blood on the Dance Floor Blood on the Dance Floor may refer to: *'' Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix'', a 1997 album by Michael Jackson ** "Blood on the Dance Floor" (song), a 1997 song by Michael Jackson from the album *Blood on the Dance Floor (band) Bl ...
"Safe Word" *
Boondox David Hutto (born September 4, 1975) is an American rapper from Covington, Georgia. A representative of the hip hop subgenres rap rock, horrorcore and country rap, Hutto is most commonly known as Boondox, whose stage persona is a killer scar ...
"Freak Bitch" *
Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...
"Love Me Like You Do" *
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
"Carolina Hardcore Extacy" *Green Day "Blood Sex and Booze" and "Dominated Love Slave" *Guns N' Roses' "Pretty Tied Up" from the band's album ''Use Your Illusion II'' *Janet Jackson "Rope Burn" (''The Velvet Rope'', 1997) *Måneskin "I Wanna Be Your Slave" *Misfits (band), The Misfits "Devil's Whorehouse" *Nickelback "Figured You Out" *Lords of Acid "The Power is mine", Strung Out "Ultimate Devotion" *Nine Inch Nails "Closer", "Happiness in Slavery", "Meet Your Master" and "Sin" *Rihanna's album ''Loud (Rihanna album), Loud'' features an opening song called "S&M (song), S&M", which is about sadism and masochism as its name suggests and as the music video makes clear. *Spooncurve "Hurt me, I'm Yours" *That Dog "Gagged and Tied" *The Plasmatics "Black Leather Monster" and "Sex Junkie" *Thin Lizzy's 1979 album ''Black Rose: A Rock Legend, Roisin Dubh'' (''Black Rose'') included a song called "S&M" about a sadistic man. *William Control "Price We Pay" In 2010, Christina Aguilera released her ''Bionic (Christina Aguilera album), Bionic'' album which contains the single "Not Myself Tonight". The controversial, high-concept video for the single is rife with aggressive BDSM imagery. Aguilera is seen as a bound and gagged slave as well as a latex-clad dominatrix with a riding crop and a group of look-alike slave girls. Also released in 2010, rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars's music video for "Hurricane (Thirty Seconds to Mars song), Hurricane", directed by Jared Leto under his pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, includes elements of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission. Though initially banned from most networks due to violence and heavy sexual content, the video received three nominations at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Direction and Best Editing.


Art

Comic book drawings: John Willie with ''Adventures of
Sweet Gwendoline Sweet Gwendoline is the main female character in the works of bondage artist John Willie, first published as a serial, usually two pages at a time, in Robert Harrison (publisher), Robert Harrison's mainstream girlie magazine ''Wink'' from June ...
'' (published as a serial in Robert Harrison (publisher), Robert Harrison's mainstream girlie magazine ''Wink'' from June 1947 to February 1950 and later in several other magazines over the years), Guido Crepax with ''Histoire d'O'' (1975) * In graphic design: Works by
Eric Stanton Eric Stanton (September 30, 1926 – March 17, 1999; born Ernest Stanzoni Jr.) was an American underground cartoonist and fetish art pioneer. While Stanton began his career as a bondage fantasy artist for Irving Klaw, the majority of his later ...
, Hajime Sorayama and Robert Bishop * In art deco sculpture: Bruno Zach produced a dominatrix sculpture called "The Riding Crop" (c. 1925).


Fashion

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood created several restrictive BDSM-inspired clothing items of punk fashion for the 1970s punk subculture; in particular Bondage pants, bondage trousers, which connect the wearer's legs with straps. A table in Larry Townsend's ''The Leatherman's Handbook II'' (the 1983 second edition; the 1972 first edition did not include this list) which is generally considered authoritative states that a black handkerchief is a symbol for sadomasochism and a grey handkerchief is a symbol for bondage in the handkerchief code, which is employed usually among gay male casual-sex seekers or BDSM practitioners in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Wearing the handkerchief on the left indicates the top, dominant, or active partner; right the bottom, submissive, or passive partner. However, negotiation with a prospective partner remains important because, as Townsend noted, people may wear hankies of any color "only because the idea of the hankie turns them on" or "may not even know what it means".


Photography

* Robert Mapplethorpe’s most controversial works documented and examined the homosexual male BDSM subculture of New York City in the late 1960s and early 1970s. * Barbara Nitke’s photo book, ''Kiss of Fire: A Romantic View of Sadomasochism'' (2003) was among the first mainstream publications to examine the subject of BDSM. * Ellen von Unwerth, Ellen Von Unwerth's photography often features themes related to dominance and submission, female sexuality and Femdom. Her photography feature models and celebrities who take on role or character. One such celebrity photoshoot involved Rihanna playing the role of dominatrix. *
Helmut Newton Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-a ...
has been described as the "King of Kink" for choosing themes of BDSM, Femdom and power play in narrative photography.


Theatre

* ''Worauf sich Körper kaprizieren'', Austria. Peter Kern directed this present-day adaption of Jean Genet's 1950 film, ''Un chant d'amour''. It is about a dominant lady (film veteran Miriam Goldschmidt) who submits her husband (Heinrich Herkie) and butler (Günter Bubbnik) to sadistic treatment. * ''Ach, Hilde'' (Oh, Hilda), Germany. This play by Anna Schwemmer shows a young Hilde, after being left by her boyfriend, becomes a professional dominatrix.


Film and television

While BDSM activity appeared initially quasi-"subliminally" in some movies, in the 1960s and 1970s there were film adaptations of famous works of BDSM literature including ''
Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
'' (1969) and the '' Story of O'' (1975). In the 1960s and 1970s Spanish director Jess Franco developed several movies that were typical examples of the Exploitation fiction, exploitation-genres' approach, often based on the works of the Marquis de Sade and censored in many countries worldwide. With the release of the 1986 film ''
9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wal ...
'', the topic of BDSM was transferred to broader audiences with high impact and notable commercial success. Since the late 1990s movies like ''Preaching to the Perverted (film), Preaching to the Perverted'' (1997), a movie generally considered a reaction to Operation Spanner, and ''Secretary (2002 film), Secretary'' (2002) started to increasingly reconcile financial demands with authenticity. From the 1990s to the early 2000s, mainstream media representation of alternative sexualities, including BDSM, increased dramatically. First noted in 1983, this trend shows no signs of abating today. With the development of documentary productions such as ''SICK: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist'' (1997), ''Bound for Pleasure'' (2002), ''Wir leben ... SM!'' (2004), ''Graphic Sexual Horror'' (2009) and ''Kink (film), KinK'' (2013), an increasingly broader approach to the subject matter is developing, targeting wider audiences. During the last four decades, the spectrum of productions has been greatly enlarged, showing the topic has arrived in mainstream movies: * 1925: ''A Woman of the World'' (Based on ''The Tattooed Countess'' by Carl van Vechten) * 1967: ''Belle de Jour (film), Belle de jour'', by Luis Buñuel * 1967: ''
Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
'' by Joseph Marzano * 1968: ''La prisonnière (film), La prisonnière'', - H. G. Clouzot * 1969: ''
Venus in Furs ''Venus in Furs'' (german: Venus im Pelz, links=no) is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called '' Legacy of Cai ...
'' by Massimo Dallamano (not the Jess Franco version, also from 1969) * 1969: ''The Frightened Woman'' by Piero Schivazappa * 1972: ''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'' by Rainer Werner Fassbinder * 1974: ''The Night Porter'' by Liliana Cavani * 1974: ''Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August'' * 1975: ''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' by Pier Paolo Pasolini * 1975: ''Story of O (film), Story of O'' * 1975: ''Maîtresse'' * 1976: ''In the Realm of the Senses'' by Nagisa Oshima * 1976: ''The Image (1975 film), The Image'' (''The Punishment of Anne'') * 1978: ''The Mafu Cage'' * 1982: ''Cat People (1982 film), Cat People'' * 1983: ''A Woman in Flames (film), A Woman in Flames'' * 1985: ''The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak'' * 1985: ''Seduction: The Cruel Woman'' * 1986: ''Blue Velvet (film), Blue Velvet'' * 1986: ''From Beyond (film), From Beyond'' * 1986: ''Tras el cristal'' * 1986: ''
9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger portrays a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wal ...
'' * 1987: ''Personal Services'' * 1989: ''Wild Orchid (film), Wild Orchid'' * 1990: ''Life Is Sweet (film), Life Is Sweet'' by Mike Leigh * 1990: ''Singapore Sling (1990 film), Singapore Sling'' by Nikos Nikolaidis * 1990: ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' * 1993: ''Tokyo Decadence'' * 1993: ''Body of Evidence (1993 film), Body of Evidence'' * 1994: ''Exit to Eden'' * 1994: ''Venus in Furs'' by Maartje Seyferth and Victor Nieuwenhuijs * 1996: ''Bobby Sox'' (pornographic film) * 1996: ''Breaking the Waves'' by Lars von Trier * 1996: ''Fetishes (documentary), Fetishes'' * 1997: ''Private Parts (1997 film), Private Parts'' * 1997: ''Preaching to the Perverted (film), Preaching to the Perverted'' * 1997: ''SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist'' (interviews with the dying BDSM performance artist Bob Flanagan (performance artist), Bob Flanagan) * 1999: ''Lies (1999 film), Lies'' (South Korea) * 1999: ''Romance (1999 film), Romance'' by Catherine Breillat * 1999: ''Tops & Bottoms: Sex, Power and Sadomasochism'' * 1999: ''Wildly Available'' * 2000: ''Quills'' (drama loosely based on the Marquis de Sade) * 2000: ''Dirty Pictures'' (the movie is based on the Robert Mapplethorpe, Mapplethorpe exhibition in Cincinnati) * 2001: ''The Piano Teacher (film), The Piano Teacher'' * 2001: ''Beyond Vanilla'' * 2002: ''Secretary (2002 film), Secretary'' * 2002: ''Fashionistas (film), The Fashionistas'' * 2002: ''A Snake Of June'' * 2003: ''Wir leben... SM!'' * 2004: ''Going Under (2004 film), Going Under'' * 2004: ''Bettie Page: Dark Angel'' * 2005: ''Ecstasy in Berlin 1926'' by Maria Beatty * 2005: ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film), Mr. and Mrs. Smith''  * 2005: ''The Notorious Bettie Page'' by Mary Harron * 2005: ''The Zero Years'' by Nikos Nikolaidis * 2006: ''24/7 The Passion of Life'' * 2006: ''Psychopathia Sexualis (film), Psychopathia Sexualis'' * 2006: ''Hounded''  * 2006: ''The Pet (2006 film), The Pet''  * 2007: ''New Tokyo Decadence - The Slave'' * 2007: ''Walk All Over Me'' * 2008-2010: ''Legend of the Seeker'' * 2009: ''Antichrist (film), Antichrist'' by Lars von Trier * 2009: ''Modern Love is Automatic'' * 2009: ''SM-rechter'' (''S&M Judge'') * 2010: ''Año bisiesto'' (''Leap Year'') by Michael Rowe (director), Michael Rowe * 2013: ''Kink (film), KinK'' (a documentary, produced by James Franco about the BDSM website Kink.com) * 2013: ''Nymphomaniac (film), Nymphomaniac'' by Lars von Trier * 2015: ''Fifty Shades of Grey (film), Fifty Shades of Grey'' by Sam Taylor-Johnson Besides these mainstream movies, there is a huge market for underground sadomasochistic direct-to-DVD and Internet-download films. The majority of these have no explicit sexual content, but a few are also pornographic films.for further details see Linda Williams: ''Power, Pleasure and Perversion: Sadomasochistic Film Pornography'', Representations, Nr. 27 (Summer), 1989, P. 37-65, University of California Press These videos fall into specific fetish categories such as bondage, corporal punishment (domestic and school spanking), pony play (animal role-playing) and dungeon-based BDSM centered on the master/slave dynamic. The porn industry has responded to this growing trend by creating a number of sex films with an S&M theme. The most noteworthy are the award-winning ''Fashionistas (film), The Fashionistas'' (2002) and its 2003 sequel, ''The Fashionistas II''. In recent years, movies like ''9½ Weeks'' (1986), ''Tokyo Decadence'' (1992), and ''Secretary'' (2002) have been shown, sometimes edited, on television in several countries. In 2001, the Canadian documentary ''KinK'' became the first television series on the topic worldwide. Other examples of BDSM in television and film are: * The '''Allo 'Allo!'' series 1 episode "The British 'ave Come (The Fallen Madonna)" (1984) and series 3 episode "Pretty Maids All in a Row" (1987) both deal with BDSM. * ''Payback (1999 film), Payback'' (1999), a film with Lucy Liu as Pearl, a dominatrix and hit woman for the Chinese mafia. * The ''Law & Order SVU'' season 1 episode "Stocks and Bondage" (1999) about the death of a businesswoman who was into BDSM. * ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI'' (2000-2015) had a recurring character, Lady Heather, a professional dominatrix. * In ''Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' (2000), Jennifer Tilly is a part-time dominatrix-for-hire and exotic dancer in leather fetish outfits. * ''Mercy (2000 film), Mercy'' (2000), cable-movie with Peta Wilson as a submissive member of a secret S&M society. *''Fast Sofa'' (2001); Jennifer Tilly plays a porn star who is bound and gagged with elaborate leather gear and whipped by her manager (Eric Roberts) for misbehaving. * ''Nip/Tuck, nip/tuck'' (2003-2010) had Tia Carrere in a recurring role as professional dominatrix Mistress DarkPain. * In the television series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004-2012) the character Bree Van De Kamp's husband Rex had an illicit affair with a woman who was able to please him sexually as a dominatrix. * ''EuroTrip'' (2004) features Lucy Lawless as a German dominatrix in an Amsterdam fetish club. * The ''CSI: NY'' season 1 episode "Hush" (2005) centers on a case that involves the BDSM community. * In the 2005 episode "Love Hurts (House), Love Hurts" of the TV series ''House (TV series), House'', Gregory House, Dr. House treats a patient, Harvey Park (John Cho) who has a dominatrix, Annette Raines (Christina Cox). * On the fourth season of the reality show VH1's ''The Surreal Life'' (2005) Jane Wiedlin from the pop group The Go-Gos dressed in dominatrix gear and revealed her secret BDSM lifestyle. In that episode, other cast members dabbled in S&M play in a makeshift dungeon room. * ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' (2007), a British series about a call girl who takes dominatrix lessons in one episode. * On the third season of ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2012), the main antagonist of the show Gyp Rosetti (as portrayed by Bobby Cannavale) was seen besottedly taking pleasure by engaging in sadomasochistic sexual acts (female submission) and autoerotic asphyxiation. * Seasons 3 and 4 of ''The History Channel'' series ''Vikings (2013 TV series), Vikings'' (2015, 2016-2017) depict French Count Odo (Owen Roe (actor), Owen Roe) practicing sadomasochism with Therese (Karen Hassan), the wife of another noble. He beats and tortures her with various implements for the purpose of sexual arousal. * In the Showtime series ''Billions (TV series), Billions'' (2016), psychiatrist Wendy Rhoades (Maggie Siff) plays dominatrix to her husband, District Attorney Chuck (Paul Giamatti). * ''Submission (TV series), Submission'' (2016), follows the journey of Ashley (Ashlynn Yennie) from being in an unhappy relationship to her exploration of BDSM when she stumbles upon an erotic novel called ''SLAVE'' by Nolan Keats. * Season 2 of ''Marco Polo (TV series), Marco Polo'' (2016) has the characters Ahmad and Mei Lin engage in rope bondage and Pegging (sexual practice), pegging. * ''Bonding (TV series), Bonding'', which premiered in 2019, is about a dominatrix and her assistant. * ''Love and Leashes'', 2022 Netflix film about romance between two office workers, one of them has a unique sexual taste and preference.


See also

*Leather subculture *List of dominatrices in popular culture *List of people associated with BDSM *List of universities with BDSM clubs *Sadism and masochism in fiction *Sadism and Masochism *Marquis de Sade in popular culture *Sex and nudity in video games *Sexual revolution


References


External links


''Diary of an S and M Romance''
(Podcast audiobook of Dollie Llama and ThornDaddy's book "Diary of an S&M Romance")
''KinkyCast''
(Information, interviews and stories on BDSM and fetish)
''Rope Weekly''
(Information on Shibari)
''The Room''
(A couple on BDSM and their relationship)
''Submission and Coffee with Dollie Llama''
(24/7 D/s couple podcast)
''Dominant Desires''
(Information on BDSM and BDSM/Kink-based Media)
''Submissive Ophelia podcast''
(Lifestyle/pro submissive woman married in a 24/7 relationship)
''The Dungeon Place podcast''
(Discussion and education about fetish, kink, and sexuality)
"The Perverted Negress"
(BDSM and Master / Slave relationships from the perspective of an African-American woman) {{DEFAULTSORT:Culture And Media, Bdsm In BDSM BDSM in films, * BDSM literature, * BDSM-related mass media, *