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Magnificent!
So all the talk about Anne Rice and those dreadful Sleeping Beauty books got me thinking about a particular trope that I've noticed both in fic and in published erotica that I've been wondering about.
We are nearly always in the mind of a new sub, in BDSM erotica. And there's a moment when their dom takes them to some sort of party or gathering or club or even over to their dom buddy's house to sort of show them off. Now, at some point during this gathering, either when the sub is unveiled in all their leather or whatever clad glory, or when they've taken some kind of punishment, or beat out the other subs in a don't come / make the dom come contest or whatever the Great Event is, one or more of the other doms says to our Main Dom, "Gerald, she's magnificent!" and then asks to use them in some way.
Now. Is every new sub always magnificent—in other words, fresh meat syndrome? Is it just because books only get written about the magnificent ones because otherwise the book would be uninteresting and full of envy? Is every sub magnificent in their own unique way? And why is it that the actual word "magnificent" is nearly always used? What is up with that?
Seriously, I'm just wondering. It's not like I'm planning to have Dom!Harry bring Sub!Hermione over to Dom!Ginny's house to play with Sub!Draco or anything. (Um, well, that would be a sequel to Swingers, which is why I'm never going to write a sequel to Swingers as then it would be just a really boring BDSM two couple fic that anyone could write.)
So? Any thoughts?
We are nearly always in the mind of a new sub, in BDSM erotica. And there's a moment when their dom takes them to some sort of party or gathering or club or even over to their dom buddy's house to sort of show them off. Now, at some point during this gathering, either when the sub is unveiled in all their leather or whatever clad glory, or when they've taken some kind of punishment, or beat out the other subs in a don't come / make the dom come contest or whatever the Great Event is, one or more of the other doms says to our Main Dom, "Gerald, she's magnificent!" and then asks to use them in some way.
Now. Is every new sub always magnificent—in other words, fresh meat syndrome? Is it just because books only get written about the magnificent ones because otherwise the book would be uninteresting and full of envy? Is every sub magnificent in their own unique way? And why is it that the actual word "magnificent" is nearly always used? What is up with that?
Seriously, I'm just wondering. It's not like I'm planning to have Dom!Harry bring Sub!Hermione over to Dom!Ginny's house to play with Sub!Draco or anything. (Um, well, that would be a sequel to Swingers, which is why I'm never going to write a sequel to Swingers as then it would be just a really boring BDSM two couple fic that anyone could write.)
So? Any thoughts?
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Seriously, though (sort of), answer #1 is that of all genres, erotica is probably the most rigid.... uh, the most strict... um, inflexible ... man, these adjectives are treacherous...
Well, anyway, the genre with the most clearly defined rules. Expectations are absolutely clear and must be fulfilled or the terms of the contract haven't been met. This is apparently far more important than originality, good prose, or story.
So repetition of an established formula is not only acceptable, it's almost required. "Gerald, she's maginificent" is indeed a shorthand way of saying, "Gerald, she is on display and is dehumanized, but not so dehumanized that she can't hear and be witness to her own humiliation." Good prose might intimidate some readers; sticking to tested phrases and cliches is reassuring. And many readers of erotica are nervous, even in the privacy of their own heads. Especially about BDSM, I should think.
Answer #2: Everyone is still trying to imitate the Marquis de Sade, originator of all Gerald-she's-magnificent tropes. Because as a lot of theoriest have pointed out, half of what's going on in BDSM erotica isn't so much about sex as about class. (Lynn Hunt has written a lot about that.)
Anne Rice can't write her way out of a paper bag and never could.
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Even more so than, say, regency romance? Or is it really an offshoot of that?
"Gerald, she's magnificent" is indeed a shorthand way of saying, "Gerald, she is on display and is dehumanized, but not so dehumanized that she can't hear and be witness to her own humiliation."
Well, and also, "She is magnificent for offering herself up to us for our amusement" as it is always the subjugation that is being praised. Though on that note, see an anon comment above (that I had forgotteen to unscreen) that talks about natural talent. And in that sense they are trying not only to be Sade but also Reage, as O spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about her state, which speaks to "hear and bear witness to her own humiliation."
The funny thing about Sade is that no one has gone as far as he did. People want to be him but pulled back a notch or twelve and who can blame them? And while the pain and humiliation and head games and violence seem to have been assimilated into a lot of modern erotica, the obsession with bodily functions, not so much.
Anne Rice, I mean, those books. There are things that I like about them, and the second one is a lot better than the first (though the third is a disaster other than the relatively short period where Laurent and Tristan are ponies) but the universe is so weird that you can't even get your footing in it, and then she yanks you out of one country and into another, and there are far too many points of view, and Beauty herself is a really boring object of desire which really isn't a very subversive way to write her, now is it?