Dominance And Submission
Why real life is far more complicated, and potentially far more rewarding, than fiction
Disclaimer: this article will be confined to a largely heteronormative account of dominance and submission because, as the author, I have extremely limited experience of other forms. As it’s always unwise to write about things of which one knows little, I prefer to write about those things of which I do have moderate or even extensive knowledge. For accounts of dominance and submission between same-sex partners, or between partners who gravitate toward role-reversal or gender fluidity, I’m sure there are many articles circulating on the Internet that can provide valuable insight and the reader, if curious about such things, is encouraged to seek them out.
Main Article: thanks to the Internet, far more people these days have heard about dominance and submission, often in the context of BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Submission, Masochism), than was the case thirty years ago when it was very much an underground taste. The enormous success of the execrable 50 Shades books testified to the widespread appeal of this dynamic, while unfortunately spreading entirely unrealistic notions of what dominance and submission really are.
Back in 1957 another book was published and, over the course of many years, became a cult…
