Feminist views on BDSM

Last updated

Feminist views on BDSM vary widely from acceptance to rejection. BDSM refers to bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and Sado-Masochism. In order to evaluate its perception, two polarizing frameworks are compared. Some feminists, such as Gayle Rubin and Patrick Califia, perceive BDSM as a valid form of expression of female sexuality, [1] while other feminists, such as Andrea Dworkin and Susan Griffin, have stated that they regard BDSM as a form of woman-hating violence. [2] [3] Some lesbian feminists practice BDSM and regard it as part of their sexual identity. [4]

Contents

The historical relationship between feminists and BDSM practitioners has been controversial. [5] The two most extreme positions reflect those who believe that feminism and BDSM are mutually exclusive beliefs, and those who believe that BDSM practices are a fundamental expression of sexual freedom. Much of the controversy is left over from the feminist sex wars (acrimonious debates over sex issues) and the battle between the anti-pornography feminists and the pro-pornography feminists. [5]

History

1970s

In the 1970s, many different divisions of the feminist movement emerged. As Andrew McBride writes, "During the 1970s, much of the discourse in the feminist movement was dominated by discussions of lesbian feminism. Toward the end of the decade, however, the conversations within feminism began to focus on a new topic: sexuality. This included sexuality of all types, not just lesbian sexuality. Included in the discussions and debates were heterosexuality, pornography, sadomasochism, butch/femme roles, and sex work." [6] The Lavender Menace and their concept of the woman identified woman and the Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media both came out strongly believing that engaging in BDSM play was contradictory to being a feminist.[ citation needed ] Samois, a San Francisco-based lesbian BDSM group, maintained that feminists could engage in BDSM without being hypocritical.[ citation needed ]

1980s

During the 1980s, this sex war continued and reached the attention of several academics who attempted to dissect why such a division had occurred. Ardill and O'Sullivan explained the history using the conflict in the London Lesbian and Gay Center as an example. [7] Similar conflicts were continuations of the issues in the 1970s. The Lesbian Sex Mafia founded by Dorothy Allison appeared in New York advocating sex positive feminism and promoting the idea that all women had the right to explore their sexuality in whatever ways they saw fit. The controversial 1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality, which brought these issues to the attention of academic feminists, is often regarded as officially launching the feminist sex wars. [5] [8]

1990s

In the 1990s feminist scholars continued to research and apply different feminist academic frameworks to the questions of sexuality and BDSM in an effort to find a way to bridge the gap between the two groups. Hopkins, in 1994 applied critical analysis to the feminist viewpoints against Sadomasochistic acts. [9] She takes each argument put forth against BDSM practice by women and answers it from within a feminist framework. In the end, she points out that the issue is not as concrete as feminists may try and paint it and that they may need to examine the concepts in more detail. In 1995, Teresa Hornsby also applied feminist frameworks to the subject of BDSM and came down on the side that the two were not contradictory. [10] Hornsby went further to examine whether or not violence itself was only a masculine activity.

2000s

After 2000, advances in technology were opening up the world to more people and BDSM started coming out more and more in popular culture. Maneesha Deckha applied a postcolonial feminist approach where she suggests treating BDSM as a cultural practice as a means to put to rest the divide between feminists and BDSM practitioners. [11] She came to the conclusion as did those in the 1990s that perhaps a more in depth look is needed to determine if feminist viewpoints on BDSM hold up under closer scrutiny. In addition, Deckha did some work on the concepts of consent and the legality of BDSM, [12] specifically addressing the question on whether or not women can give consent and whether BDSM activities should be regulated in the context of violence or the context of sexuality. One point she makes is: if legislation is made in the context of regulating it around sex, then aren't we simply giving the patriarchy further control over women's expression of sexual identity?[ clarification needed ]

Current feminist viewpoints

Current[ when? ] feminist viewpoints on BDSM practices continue to be controversial and at odds with one another. Some feminists view SM as an ideal feminist expression of sexual freedom while other feminists say that BDSM, and more particularly SM, reinforce patriarchy and that these practices are contradictory to feminism. Feminists who view BDSM as contradictory to feminism also often believe that women who engage in BDSM practices, and specifically those who play a submissive role in them, have been led by sexist power structures to believe that they enjoy these acts. This feminist viewpoint argues that the individuals who enjoy playing a submissive role in the bedroom only enjoy it because they have been led to believe that it is what is expected of them and that they should enjoy it. This viewpoint argues that if these individuals, particularly women, were able to explore their sexual desires without the influence of a sexist power structure that they would come to very different conclusions about what they enjoy. [13] Female submission in BDSM has come under fire by some feminist groups who believe the act oppresses women. However, female subs believe that those who condemn female submission do not understand that it is simply a sexual preference that is far removed from violence against women and patriarchal dominance. [14]

Perspectives on lesbian BDSM

Lesbian SM (Sadism, Submission, Masochism) has been problematic in the analysis of feminist viewpoints on BDSM, especially with regards to whether or not lesbians are recreating patriarchal structures. Many academic critics do not even tackle the idea of lesbian BDSM. Maneesha Deckha in her article, "Pain, pleasure, and consenting women: Exploring feminist responses to S/M and its legal regulation in Canada through Jelinek's The Piano Teacher " admitted that covering lesbian BDSM made her theories too convoluted to see. [15] Such lesbian erasure has been fairly common in second and third wave feminism as lesbian identity has frequently been subsumed in feminist identity. This concept is explained by Calhoun in "The Gender Closet: Lesbian disappearance under the sign 'woman'" [16] Some, such as Deckha, believe that although lesbians do practice BDSM, they are doing so in an effort to merely recreate the patriarchal power structure in the rest of society. Be it through domination and submission exchange of power, or the butch/femme dynamic, lesbians who interact in this way are convincing themselves that they are outside of patriarchy, when in reality they are reinforcing it because their sexuality is trapped within the patriarchal structure, true consent cannot occur. [17]

Others, such as Hornsby, believe that lesbians can in fact practice BDSM without recreating patriarchal systems because they have already declared themselves to be outside of those systems. [18]

BDSM practitioners

Feminist writer Clarisse Thorn released a book in 2012 called The S&M Feminist, [19] in which she often discusses her own experiences. The high-profile feminist anthology Yes Means Yes, published in 2008, also featured an essay about BDSM and feminism by Stacey May Fowles.

Jessica Wakeman wrote of her own experience with SM activities in a follow-up interview after her article First Time For Everything: Getting Spanked was published in 2009. At the time of the interview in October 2010, Wakeman had been writing about feminist issues, including feminism and media criticism, feminism and politics, and feminism and sex for about eight years and considered herself to be a rather active feminist. [20]

Wakeman discussed how she is able to enjoy spanking play and being dominated and still be a feminist. She discussed how spanking play is a fetish and is no different from other fetishes that individuals have, even though it does involve being hit by one's partner. She also commented that it is important to remember that when an individual is involved with BDSM play, such as spanking, if it is true BDSM play it has been discussed by both partners and either of them can stop the play at any time with a safe word, phrase or action. Furthermore, a real physically or emotionally abusive relationship is not safe and consensual like BDSM play is. There is a difference between what happens in the bedroom and what happens in real life. Wakeman wrote that she is able to enjoy things in the context of sex or flirting that she would not want to happen in her day-to-day life. [20]

Like other feminist BDSM practitioners, Wakeman rejects the argument that women are taught what they enjoy and led to be submissive by a dominant sexist power structure. Within BDSM communities, it is often said that submissive practitioners are the real dominants because they have the ultimate control over the situation with a safe word. [20]

Major figures

Some feminists practice BDSM and regard it as part of their sexual identity. [4]

Patrick Califia

Patrick Califia perceives BDSM as a valid form of expression of female sexuality. [1]

Andrea Dworkin

Andrea Dworkin has written on the topic and regards BDSM as a form of misogynist violence. [3]

Susan Griffin

Like Dworkin, Susan Griffin is against BDSM. [2]

Gayle Rubin

Gayle Rubin is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitution, pedophilia, pornography and lesbian literature, as well as anthropological studies and histories of sexual subcultures.

Rubin's 1984 essay "Thinking Sex" is widely regarded as a founding text of sexuality studies and queer theory. [21] [22] In 2009, the University of Pennsylvania hosted a "state of the field" conference in gender and sexuality studies entitled "Rethinking Sex" in recognition of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Rubin's essay. [23] Rubin was a featured speaker at the conference, where she presented "Blood under the Bridge: Reflections on 'Thinking Sex'" to an audience of nearly eight hundred people. [24] In 2011 GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies published a special issue, also titled "Rethinking Sex", featuring work emerging from this conference, and including Rubin's piece "Blood under the Bridge: Reflections on 'Thinking Sex'". [25]

In 1978 Rubin, together with Patrick Califia and others, founded the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States, Samois. Rubin became a prominent sex-positive feminist in the feminist sex wars of the late 1970s and 1980s. [26] [27] [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BDSM</span> Erotic practices involving domination and sadomasochism

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 in by people who do not consider themselves to be practising BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM community or subculture often is said to depend on self-identification and shared experience.

Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race, class, and sexual orientation. The ideology and movement emerged in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sadomasochism</span> Giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation

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 respectively to one who enjoys giving and receiving pain, some practitioners of sadomasochism may switch between activity and passivity.

The sex-positive movement is a social and philosophical movement that seeks to change cultural attitudes and norms around sexuality, promoting the recognition of sexuality as a natural and healthy part of the human experience and emphasizing the importance of personal sovereignty, safer sex practices, and consensual sex. It covers every aspect of sexual identity including gender expression, orientation, relationship to the body, relationship-style choice, and reproductive rights. Sex-positivity is "an attitude towards human sexuality that regards all consensual sexual activities as fundamentally healthy and pleasurable, encouraging sexual pleasure and experimentation." It challenges societal taboos and aims to promote healthy and consensual sexual activities. The sex-positive movement also advocates for comprehensive sex education and safe sex as part of its campaign. The movement generally makes no moral distinctions among types of sexual activities, regarding these choices as matters of personal preference.

Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or social efforts to control sexual activities between consenting adults, whether they are initiated by the government, other feminists, opponents of feminism, or any other institution. They embrace sexual minority groups, endorsing the value of coalition-building with marginalized groups. Sex-positive feminism is connected with the sex-positive movement. Sex-positive feminism brings together anti-censorship activists, LGBT activists, feminist scholars, producers of pornography and erotica, among others. Sex-positive feminists generally agree that prostitutes themselves should not be criminalized.

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 Anne-Marie, a lesbian dominatrix character in Story of O, who pierces and brands O. The co-founders were writer Pat Califia, who identified as a lesbian at the time, Gayle Rubin, and sixteen others.

Patrick Califia is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transitioning, Califia identified as a lesbian and wrote for many years a sex advice column for the gay men's leather magazine Drummer. His writings explore sexuality and gender identity, and have included lesbian erotica and works about BDSM subculture. Califia is a member of the third-wave feminism movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesbian feminism</span> Feminist movement

Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism. Lesbian feminism was most influential in the 1970s and early 1980s, primarily in North America and Western Europe, but began in the late 1960s and arose out of dissatisfaction with the New Left, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, sexism within the gay liberation movement, and homophobia within popular women's movements at the time. Many of the supporters of Lesbianism were actually women involved in gay liberation who were tired of the sexism and centering of gay men within the community and lesbian women in the mainstream women's movement who were tired of the homophobia involved in it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gayle Rubin</span> American cultural anthropologist, activist, and feminist

Gayle S. Rubin is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitution, pedophilia, pornography and lesbian literature, as well as anthropological studies and histories of sexual subcultures, especially focused in urban contexts. Her 1984 essay "Thinking Sex" is widely regarded as a founding text of gay and lesbian studies, sexuality studies, and queer theory. She is an associate professor of anthropology and women's studies at the University of Michigan.

Lipstick feminism is a variety of feminism that seeks to embrace traditional concepts of femininity, including the sexual power of women, alongside traditional feminist ideas. The concept emerged within the third-wave as a response to ideals created by previous movements, where women felt that they could not both be feminine and a feminist.

Sheila Jeffreys is a former professor of political science at the University of Melbourne, born in England. A lesbian feminist scholar, she analyses the history and politics of human sexuality.

The feminist sex wars, also known as the lesbian sex wars, sex wars or porn wars, are terms used to refer to collective debates amongst feminists regarding a number of issues broadly relating to sexuality and sexual activity. Differences of opinion on matters of sexuality deeply polarized the feminist movement, particularly leading feminist thinkers, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and continue to influence debate amongst feminists to this day.

Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the intersectionality of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women. Sexology has a basis in psychoanalysis, specifically Freudian theory, which played a big role in early sexology. This reactionary field of feminist sexology seeks to be inclusive of experiences of sexuality and break down the problematic ideas that have been expressed by sexology in the past. Feminist sexology shares many principles with the overarching field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or "normality" for women's sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. It is a young field, but one that is growing rapidly.

Feminist views on pornography range from total condemnation of the medium as an inherent form of violence against women to an embracing of some forms as a medium of feminist expression. This debate reflects larger concerns surrounding feminist views on sexuality, and is closely related to those on prostitution, BDSM, and other issues. Pornography has been one of the most divisive issues in feminism, particularly in Anglophone (English-speaking) countries. This division was exemplified in the feminist sex wars of the 1980s, which pitted anti-pornography activists against pro-pornography ones.

Feminism has affected culture in many ways, and has famously been theorized in relation to culture by Angela McRobbie, Laura Mulvey and others. Timothy Laurie and Jessica Kean have argued that "one of [feminism's] most important innovations has been to seriously examine the ways women receive popular culture, given that so much pop culture is made by and for men." This is reflected in a variety of forms, including literature, music, film and other screen cultures.

Amber L. Hollibaugh is an American writer, filmmaker and political activist, largely concerned with feminist and sexual politics.

Feminist pornography is a genre of film developed by or for those within the sex-positive feminist movement. It was created for the purpose of promoting gender equality by portraying more bodily movements and sexual fantasies of women and members of the LGBT community.

<i>Against Sadomasochism</i> 1982 radical feminist anthology

Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis is a 1982 radical feminist anthology edited by Robin Ruth Linden, Darlene R. Pagano, Diana E. H. Russell, and Susan Leigh Star. The authors critique sadomasochism and BDSM, with most identifying sadomasochism as rooted in "patriarchal sexual ideology".

Feminist views on sexuality widely vary. Many feminists, particularly radical feminists, are highly critical of what they see as sexual objectification and sexual exploitation in the media and society. Radical feminists are often opposed to the sex industry, including opposition to prostitution and pornography. Other feminists define themselves as sex-positive feminists and believe that a wide variety of expressions of female sexuality can be empowering to women when they are freely chosen. Some feminists support efforts to reform the sex industry to become less sexist, such as the feminist pornography movement.

Darlene Pagano is a feminist activist, radio producer, and editor. She is most famous for her conversational piece "Racism and Sadomasochism: A Conversation with Two Black Lesbians" published in collaboration with Karen Sims and Rose Mason in a radical feminist anthology entitled Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis, for which she is also credited as co-editor.

References

  1. 1 2 Friedman, Jaclyn (2008). Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World without Rape . Seattle: Seal Press. ISBN   978-1-58005-257-3.
  2. 1 2 Griffin, Susan (1982). "Sadomasochism and the Erosion of Self:A Critical Reading of Story of O" in Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis . East Palo Alto.
  3. 1 2 Dworkin, Andrea (1974). Woman Hating . New York. ISBN   9780525474234.
  4. 1 2 Sana Loue; Martha Sajatovic; Keith B. Armitage (2004). Encyclopedia of Women's Health. p. 363.
  5. 1 2 3 Douglas, Carol Anne (July 1990). "Realignment in Feminist Sexual Politics". Love and Politics : Radical Feminist and Lesbian Theories. San Francisco, CA, USA: ISM PRESS. pp. 187–8. ISBN   9780910383172.
  6. ↑ McBride, Andrew. "Lesbian History: The Sex Wars". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  7. ↑ Ardill, S; O'Sullivan, S (2005). "Upsetting an applecart: Difference, desire and lesbian sadomasochism". Feminist Review. 80: 98–126. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fr.9400223. S2CID   189905875.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Elizabeth (1983-01-01). "The Context of 'Between Pleasure and Danger': The Barnard Conference on Sexuality". Feminist Review (13): 35–41. doi:10.2307/1394680. JSTOR   1394680.
  9. ↑ Hopkins, P.D. (1994). "Rethinking sadomasochism: Feminism, interpretation and simulation". Hypatia. 9 (1): 116. doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.1994.tb00112.x. S2CID   145545928.
  10. ↑ Hornsby, Teresa (1999). "Gender role reversal and the violated lesbian body: Toward a feminist hermeneutic of lesbian sadomasochism". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 3 (3): 61–72. doi:10.1300/j155v03n03_06. PMID   24786270.
  11. ↑ Deckha, Maneesha (2011). "Pain as culture: A postcolonial feminist approach to S/M and women's agency". Sexualities. 14 (2): 129–150. doi:10.1177/1363460711399032. S2CID   143491501.
  12. ↑ Deckha, Maneesha (2007). "Pain, pleasure, and consenting women: Exploring feminist responses to S/m and its legal regulation in Canada through Jelinek's The Piano Teacher". Harvard Journal of Law & Gender. 30 (2): 425–459.
  13. ↑ Deckha, Maneesha (2011). "Pain as a Culture: A Postcolonial Feminist Approach to S/M and Women's Agency". Sexualities. 14 (129): 129–150. doi:10.1177/1363460711399032. S2CID   143491501.
  14. ↑ "What is Female Submission? - Definition from Kinkly". Kinkly.com. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  15. ↑ Deckha, M. (2007). "Pain, pleasure, and consenting women: Exploring feminist responses to S/m and its legal regulation in Canada through Jelinek's the piano teacher" (PDF). Harvard Journal of Law & Gender. 2. 30: 425–459. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  16. ↑ Calhoun, C (1995). "gender closet: Lesbian disappearance under the sign 'women'". Feminist Studies. 1. 21 (7): 7–34. doi:10.2307/3178313. JSTOR   3178313.
  17. ↑ Deckha, Maneesha (2011). "Pain as culture: A postcolonial feminist approach to S/M and women's agency". Sexualities. 2. 14 (2): 129–150. doi:10.1177/1363460711399032. S2CID   143491501.
  18. ↑ Hornsby, Teresa (1999). "Gender role reversal and the violated lesbian body: Toward a feminist hermeneutic of lesbian sadomasochism". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 3. 3 (3): 61–72. doi:10.1300/j155v03n03_06. PMID   24786270.
  19. ↑ Clarisse Thorn (27 May 2012). The S&M Feminist. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012. ISBN   978-1477472040. (Essays on BDSM, gender and culture)
  20. 1 2 3 Carpentier, Megan (17 October 2010). "BDSM And Feminism: "Stop Telling Me What I'm Supposed To Like, D*mn It."". Jezebel. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  21. ↑ Binhammer, Katherine (2002). "Thinking Gender with Sexuality in 1790s' Feminist Thought". Feminist Studies. 28 (3): 667–690. doi:10.2307/3178798. ISSN   0046-3663. JSTOR   3178798. PMID   17269168. Rubin's article, often referred to as a founding text of lesbian and gay studies
  22. ↑ Lochrie, Karma (2017-05-19). "Thinking Sex with the Early Moderns by Valerie Traub". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 42 (4): 1036–1038. doi:10.1086/690960. ISSN   0097-9740. Gayle Rubin's foundational essay for queer theory, "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality" first published in 1984
  23. ↑ "Rethinking Sex: Gender and Sexuality Studies - A State of The Field Conference | Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies". www.sas.upenn.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  24. ↑ Love, Heather (2011-01-01). "Introduction". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 17 (1): 1–14. doi: 10.1215/10642684-2010-014 . ISSN   1064-2684 . Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  25. ↑ "Volume 17 Issue 1 | GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies | Duke University Press". read.dukeupress.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  26. ↑ Jeffreys, Sheila (1993). The Lesbian Heresy. North Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Spinifex. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-875559-17-6.
  27. ↑ Weymouth, T. (24–25 September 1999). "Society of Janus: 25 Years" (PDF). Society of Janus. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2008.
  28. ↑ Cameron, Drake (December 2002). "Drake's Event Guide for Leather Women". The Exiles. Archived from the original on 8 February 2005.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.