Essay On Bdm

BDSM, a three part acronym which stands for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism (Oxford Dictionary, 2014) has seen a drastic increase in popular culture in the last twenty years (Weiss, p: 104). Since it being brought into the public eye with the Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, BDSM has predominantly been portrayed as a sexual deviance that only those who are sexually violent or those who are mentally unsound participate in. Images of BDSM have existed in popular culture for quite some time. Wearing cuffs, collars and leather are often found in both fashion and mainstream media so much so that many who purchase and wear them may not be aware of their significance to BDSM.

BDSM is highlighted as “bad, abnormal, unnatural, damned sexuality” in the “outerlimits” of Rubin’s “charmed circle” (Rubin, p:153) a sexuality that is both taboo to practice and also to portray in the media. However, in the last few decades the concept of BDSM has come to mean more in the view of the general public, predominantly in the form of media entertainment. BDSM is evident in film, music, and television, including the 2002 film Secretary starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhianna’s 2011 pop hit, S&M and most recently in the popular Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L James which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. (Deahl, 2012)

Despite its increasing presence in mainstream media, BDSM is still largely viewed as transgressive behaviour. James’ trilogy, while very popular for its titillating content, has been accused of promoting abusive relationships and violence towards women. (reference) When BDSM is represented in popular culture most people only vaguely understand it despite its prominent existence in soci...

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...four peas and as much ice-cream as you’d like to eat” (Shainberg, 2002) the reaction from her parents mirrors the general mainstream perception of her erratic behaviour as “abnormal”.

The film changes its direction slightly from a serious, mysterious slightly odd tone to making fun of the sadomasochist practices between Lee and Grey, from Grey controlling what Lee eats to telling her how to answer the phone to a montage of their “activities” including, Lee on Edward’s desk surrounded by hay with a saddle on her back and a carrot in her mouth raises questions of the seriousness of the film and how it is intended to be received by the audience. (sort out)

Lee starts to take more pride in her appearance and her demeanor as she is aroused by the domination progress and begins to rely on it on a day to day basis. Sadomasochism becomes Lee’s whole life, it controls her.