malesub – Page 5 – The History of BDSM

Guest Post: Growing Up Femdom

Celluloid Dungeon, Guest Post No Responses »

May 212021

Growing Up Femdom: Mass Media Reflections I

By TammyJo Eckhart, PhD

When I was a little girl, I was already dominant leaning. TV shows, books, movies, and even the stories I made up, that were girl-led, woman-led, or populated by Amazon-like societies, were filtered by my mind, so I only remember what strongly appealed to me. Today I’m a published kink author who has a PhD minor in the History of Gender and Sexuality. I know that I will still filter what I see and hear through a personal lens, but I have the tools to try to be objective. I’m glad that I’m finally able to write about some of the mainstream images of kink I remember liking when I first encountered them. I’m going to talk about some of the TV shows, TV clips, and TV movies from the tape you see a photo of, though this is an artificial limit for this post and not even close to everything I could write about. It has been over two decades since I last recorded on this tape. Do I think these are still examples of woman-led relationships, or do they play into stereotypes that harm women, relationships, and kink in general?

Bones S03E03: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 1 Response »

May 172021

“Death in the Saddle”, Aired Oct 9, 2007

Some films and TV episodes at least play lip service to the idea of BDSM being a consensual and healthy sexual variation. Others, like this one, don’t even bother.

This time the deceased is a man found buried in the woods, his feet cut off and buried separately as is done with dead champion racehorses. (The forensics techs refer to him as “Mister Ed”.) This and other evidence lead Booth and Brennan to a ponyplay convention at a ranch near the body site.

Billions, Season 5A: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon No Responses »

Apr 222021

Note that production of season 5 of Billions was interrupted because of COVID.

S05E01

Now that Chuck and Wendy are separated, he’s seeing Mistress Cassie, though we only glimpse her as he leaves her dungeon in the morning. When he turns his phone on, he finds messages from Wendy about his teenage son being sick overnight.

Julianna Margulies as Catherine Brant in BILLIONS ÒOpportunity ZoneÓ. Photo Credit: Jeff Neumann/SHOWTIME

Billions, Season 4: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 1 Response »

Apr 162021

S04E01

Chuck speaking with Charles, his father.

Charles: “I would slap your face and tell you to act like a man if I didn’t think it would turn you on.”
Chuck: “Ah, It wouldn’t, Dad. Not from you. That’s not how it works. Good lord.”

Another kinkphobic comment from Charles Rhoades, Sr.

Billions, Season 3: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon No Responses »

Apr 062021

Season 3 opens with Bobby free on bail, his assets frozen, his trading license revoked, and Axe Capital on hold. Chuck has lost most of his money and alienated his father and his best friend in his scheme to get Bobby arrested, and is in the delicate position of having to ensure that the scheme doesn’t link back to him. Wendy is even more involved in Axe Capital in Bobby’s absence. Chuck and Wendy have reunited, while Bobby and his wife Lara are de facto separated.

L-R: Wendy (Maggie Siff), Chuck (Paul Giamatti) and Troy (Clara Wong)

Billions, Season 2: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon No Responses »

Apr 012021

Chuck and Wendy are separated at the beginning of season 2 of Billions. Until episode ten, there are not even mentions of Chuck and Wendy’s BDSM practice season 2. Chuck gets into judo, which seems to be a partial substitute. They both have flings, by mutual consent, but only Wendy actually consummates it, with another billionaire like Bobby.

Billions, Season 1: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 8 Responses »

Mar 252021

Billions is a 2016 drama about the conflict between US Attorney Chuck Rhoades Jr. and hedge fund billionaire Bobby “Axe” Axelrod.

The very first thing we see in the pilot episode is Chuck stripped and bound at the mercy of a woman in lingerie. This is his wife Wendy, who is also the in-house therapist of Bobby’s investment firm, setting up the triangle at the heart of the series.

BDSM is not a big enough theme in Billions to do an episode-by-episode review. Thus I will focus on certain episodes in which Chuck and Wendy’s BDSM relationship is a major element.

Bonding S01E01: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 1 Response »

Feb 012021

Bonding is a dramedy TV series, launched in 2019. (IMDB)

Tiff, a grad student who works as a pro domme, recruits her friend Pete as her driver and assistant. Pete, a milquetoast, sexually inexperienced gay man and would-be stand-up comedian, is our window into this world. He is overwhelmed and confused with this new underworld, though that seems to be his response to everything. We see his discomfort with his roommate’s sex life and his inability to go on stage as a comedian.

Going Under (2004): The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 6 Responses »

Nov 212020

Going Under is a 2004 drama film directed by Eric Werthman and written by Werthman and Jessica Gohlke. IMDB

Peter (Roger Rees), a married therapist, regularly sees a pro dominatrix, Suzanne (Geno Lechner), with the permission of his wife. On a summer when Peter’s wife is out of town and Suzanne has quit the business, they try to form a romantic relationship outside the dungeon.

Peter (Rees) in session with Suzanne (Lechner)

POSE Season 2: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 1 Response »

Oct 022020

POSE is a drama series set in the ballroom culture of New York City, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In contrast to the beauty and glamour of the ballroom scene, the performers (mostly poor, non-white, and queer/trans) make their livings through work of varying legality. The second season features a plotline about working as a pro domme.

Elektra (Dominique Jackson) at the Hellfire Club.

Older Entries Newer Entries

Growing Up Femdom: Mass Media Reflections I

S05E01

S04E01

A Lover's Pinch: A Cultural History of Sadomasochism