tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post4656958999725642884..comments2024-03-29T06:43:19.987-04:00Comments on Romance Novels for Feminists: Feminism and BDSM: Teresa Noelle Roberts' KNOWING THE ROPESJackie C. Hornehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-51094599120986950072013-03-20T02:04:06.745-04:002013-03-20T02:04:06.745-04:00IDK, somehow I think a genre whose core values are...IDK, somehow I think a genre whose core values are supposed to be consent, negotiation, and safe play inherently upholds humanist, not to speak of feminist, values. <br /><br />Of course, there's a lot of crap BDSM, including BDSM as therapy (seriously, if people need therapy, they need therapy, no matter how much BDSM may help them cope or feel better) both in books and in real life. But that's a different issue. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-56542093916713921352013-03-14T08:38:15.567-04:002013-03-14T08:38:15.567-04:00Not sure about the early 20th-century conjunction,...Not sure about the early 20th-century conjunction, Jackie--I was actually thinking more of a chapter in Illouz's recent book, WHY LOVE HURTS, the one on "Love, Reason, Irony." It's a very dense piece (as much of her work is), but more focused on contemporary (late 20th-, early-21st century) problems reconciling reason--which demystifies the power relations in love, at least in its premodern versions--with the extremity and irrationality of eros. The BDSM scenarios in these novels strike me as an elegant adaptive solution to that conflict.E. M. Selingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-292777518144324472013-03-12T16:50:22.510-04:002013-03-12T16:50:22.510-04:00Fascinating idea, Eric. Illouz's analysis in C...Fascinating idea, Eric. Illouz's analysis in CONSUMING THE ROMANTIC UTOPIA points to the early 20th century, doesn't it, as the time in which romance became commodified? I'm not familiar with the history of the BDSM "scene" -- does it date to the same time period, or is it a much more recent phenomenon? Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-49878199971262845722013-03-12T16:42:32.746-04:002013-03-12T16:42:32.746-04:00Thanks, willaful, for the recommendation of "...Thanks, willaful, for the recommendation of "The Pervocracy" site. I've found Clarisse Thorne's S&M Feminist site of interest, too.Jackie C. Hornehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04146684628443152376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-15183921202881465772013-03-12T15:41:53.575-04:002013-03-12T15:41:53.575-04:00What fascinates me here, actually, is the way that...What fascinates me here, actually, is the way that these novels use the discourse of the modern capitalist market--negotiation, contracts, etc., all of which imply a set of free and equal rational agents--to set up a space in which a radically different discourse and set of values, pre-modern and irrational, can play out. I wonder if anyone's used ideas from sociologist Eva Illouz to discuss BDSM romance (or simply Western BDSM play), in academia or elsewhere. E. M. Selingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-630346294397505634.post-981051491140760362013-03-12T12:57:49.494-04:002013-03-12T12:57:49.494-04:00No books to mention, but I do highly recommend the...No books to mention, but I do highly recommend the website "The Pervocracy," which is written by a very kinky feminist who explores issues of consent, slut shaming, etc.willafulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201963128584310884noreply@blogger.com