Comments on: Prepare to be Enraged

By: Ranat

Ranat — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:37:11 +0000

When I first came out to myself, “Yes, Ma’am” was one of two books on kink I found in the sexual health section of the bookstore I was trapped in for eight hours. Two. I read it (hidden behind the pages of another book so no one could see the cover) in about three hours, and the whole thing left me with, “Ummm…” I was trying to explore my sexuality, and it seemed all the people who shared my sexuality were really homogeneous (homogeneous and liked things that were not what I wanted), at least according to this little sliver of femdom. Definitely off-putting.

Since then, in my desperate bid to find something that *did* fit my sexuality (miserable failure), “Yes, Ma’am” stands out as a prime example of the mediocre stereotypes of femdom that apparently I am doomed to slog through for the rest of my days.

Women in waders are way sexy. But not the kind on the cover of the first book.

By: LaVacheEnragee

LaVacheEnragee — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:45:35 +0000

I love you, Bitchy.
I am a steaming pot of rage. Pop cultural representations of female domination leave me feeling alienated, baffled, hopeless. A true dominant accomplishes more in the spontaneity of her actions than any thigh-high boot donning, PVC dress wearing, “mistress” with a whip can ever hope to.

By: temporaryname

temporaryname — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:20:47 +0000

As the saying goes, make it, and they will come, and in terms of material geared and focused towards female desire (as opposed to being a desirable female), I would argue that that is, quite literally, true.

Yeah, I remember the late 80s/early 90s boomlet in ‘porn mags for women’ – For Women, Ludus, Women Only, Women on Top, Playgirl – they all died a slow death, either for the reason the Girl With A… mentioned or because (I suspect) of the the assumptions that ‘nice girls’ didn’t read/want that kind of thing. Given the changes in sexual culture in the UK since then (the internet, legal hardcore, Ann Summers, this blog), it must be about time someone had another go, complete with male erections (there must be a market beyond Scarlet…). I can see Bitchy and the Girl With A… as resident columnists already.

By: Elle

Elle — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:18:26 +0000

I have a theory for the covers: they simply put pictures of the same woman on both books, to save money. See? Not sexist, just cheap.

By: Ms. Madison

Ms. Madison — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:50:08 +0000

Even if there are women who like to dress up in rubber and sit around the house, that doesn’t make the covers OK.

There are probably men who like to lounge around their houses in leather G-strings, so why not put them on the cover?

These covers have nothing to do with what women want, or even what they like to wear.

By: reb

reb — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:45:54 +0000

Bitchy, I saw this website and thought just of you....

By: Eccentrica

Eccentrica — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:18:08 +0000

You’re so right. And so funny. Please write a book. It would kick arse in more ways than one.

By: Girl with a one track mind

Girl with a one track mind — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:33:40 +0000

OK, I’ll hold my hands up as a woman that -occasionally- likes to wear a bit of rubber, because it turns me on (in and of itself), so I suppose it’s fair to say that some women do indulge in a rubber fetish. But, Axe, what you’re arguing, is that because of that, that somehow explains why both these book covers have images of women on them, and I fail to understand that. What about the fact that I like to look at men dressed in rubber? Where is that represented? In any erotica book -supposedly- geared towards (straight) women, why am I being sold the idea that women should be the object of desire and not the subject/eg. reader? It’s as if women don’t objectify men at all, and we all know that’s not true. What is true is that sexism is endemic in publishing; these covers illustrate that perfectly.

By: bitchyjones

bitchyjones — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:14:14 +0000

“I know women who enjoy dressing up like that because it they like how it makes them feel. Some dress up and spend a few hours just lounging around the house because they enjoy the way it feels.”

Okay, maybe it’s coincidence but I can’t help noticing that this kind of comment is nearly always made by men. I’m not saying that you’re lying, I’m sure dominant women did tell you they love to dress up like your trashy fantasies for their own enjoyment – I’m just wondering what their motivation for telling you that could have been.

By: maymay

maymay — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:59:58 +0000

I don’t get it. Where’s the picture of the second book?

Oh, wait. I get it now.