Dominatrix
Gender, Eroticism, and Control in the Dungeon
“Breaking ranks with the legions of writers who have exoticized the people, places, things, and activities in this supposedly ‘seedy’ quarter of the retail sadomasochism economy, Danielle J. Lindemann offers up a lithe and sharp account of life in the dominatrix’s jungle and, in the telling, places the reader and the dominatrix side by side. While Dominatrix is a must-read for anyone interested in sociology, sex, pleasure, pain, or work, this isn’t just a book about gender and power. It’s also an occupational study rooted in the venerable tradition of Everett Hughes and his colleagues and protégés of the Chicago School of Sociology. This is sociology—and the exercise of the sociological imagination—at its finest.”
“In the tradition of the great occupational ethnographies, Danielle J. Lindemann takes us into professional dominatrices’ worlds and shows us, with graceful and consistently engaging prose, how the women she studied build careers, negotiate with clients, and develop accounts that make sense of their work and of the relationships it entails. Dominatrix has much to teach us about gender and sexuality.”
Introduction
2 All I Really Need to Know I Learned in BDSM Kindergarten: Dominatrix Careers
3 Will the Real Pro-Domme Please Stand Up: Art, Authenticity, and Pierre Bourdieu
4 Playing Make-Believe: Fantasy and the Boundaries of Commercial Intimacy
5 Whip Therapy
6 “Is That Any Way to Treat a Lady?”: (Re)production of Gender on the Dungeon Floor
Conclusion: The Emperor’s New Leather Thong
Appendix A Methods
Appendix B Getting Collared: Pro-Dommes and the Law
Appendix C Historical Context
Appendix D Terminology
Appendix E Initial Contact E-mail
Appendix F Original Interview Schedule
Appendix G Final Interview Schedule
Notes
References
Index
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