Magnificent!
Oct. 3rd, 2004 12:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhSo 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?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-10-02 10:07 pm (UTC)... if you wrote a Dom!Padma fic, I'd be yours sub. :D
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2004-10-02 10:09 pm (UTC)Anyway, I think it is probably one part fresh meat syndrome, but also a larger part wish fulfilment. If we're already in the mind of the sub (and really, most people are subs and not Doms, so this isn't surprising) and therefore living through them, if you will, and who can say that they don't want to be thought magnificent? I think that is the reson (or one of them - D/s relationships are all about psychology, with sex as a bonus) you see so much competition between subs at parties like that - all the subs want to please their Dom and bring recognition to them through being the 'magnificent' one. And having some random other Dom come along and claim them is the height of it all.
And yes, if stories were all written about the not-so-magnificent subs, it would just be about a bunch of people laying about in leather whinging about how so-and-so is the prettiest. ;)
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:interesting point
Date: 2004-10-03 10:23 am (UTC)this is a really intersting point. i wonder if it also has to do with some idea that good sex is inherently natural and unlearned--ie, some "magnificence" just waiting to spring forth. when in fact most sex (including things that may be characterize as bdsm, but certainly not limited to) involves a high degree of learning. which nobody wants to admit, as it brings up all kinds of awkward discomforts. so if it is partially about identication with pov, then maybe it's less about being inherently uninteresting or envy, but also about getting to fulfill a fantasy of being sexually unawkward (except in charming ways that make everyone else hot)?
--m.
Re: interesting point
From:no subject
Date: 2004-10-03 11:40 am (UTC)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.
(no subject)
From:Book/series rec
Date: 2004-10-03 06:58 pm (UTC)I'm not sure if having the sub turn into a national heroine is cliche or not, but even if it is, it's not poorly done, either. s:)