Some months back I was looking at a wonderfully complicated and uncomfortable woman in bondage illustration by Gene Bilbrew. My bottom component was ascendant and I envied her discomfort. There was no top of either gender in the drawing.
How many images there are of women in bondage with no one else in the scene I thought. But almost none – anime / managa art excepted – in F/m art. (Solo men in bondage are common in M/m BDSM art.)
After a few minutes of witlessness wonder resolved itself. Almost all BDSM art is produced for a male audience. Heterosexual dominant men are happy to see a lone female in bondage. A male top can imagine that he put her there.
Submissive and masochistic straight guys want to see the female top. A mere male in bondage would bore them. (It wouldn’t me.) An artist works either for the paying customers (so few, I know) and himself.
Nothing wrong with all of this. But it did leave me wondering what sort of Femdom artwork a female top would enjoy.
Years ago a smart and sadistic woman whose thoughts I’ve always valued told me that the acme of male beauty was the sight of a man suffering for her pleasure.
In most F/m art men look afraid or nervous. During an S&M session you may grimace but unless you somehow fallen into the hands of a psychotic woman you don’t look scared. (I’m not saying what artists depict is wrong: this isn’t about good and bad.)
A submissive expression. Real life submission is often relaxed and blissful. You may stare at her with adoration. If you fall into a trance – subspace – your brain may be so closed down you look like an idiot. I even cried once. But they were happy tears.
One quality that baffles me in much F/m art. The supposedly submissive guy looks irked or annoyed.
Another woman commenting on some entry on Fetish Pop Culture liked a F/m book cover because the man was good-looking. I hadn’t thought about this before. But speaking as a pansexual man many of the males in Femdom art are not attractive. Sardax and Stanton have produced a few pretty boys. Bilbrew when he had the time drew some handsome guys. But the majority of men in F/m art would have to pay. I guess that might be true to life.
A nice woman commented on a post elsewhere:
That is a wonderful photo of a dominant woman, strength of purpose without the overtly fetish look that is so often used.
I like fetish wear. But a simple denim skirt carries lots of authority. This isn’t a big issue. Many F/m artists show women in ordinary clothes. The heavy fetish gear often appears in work of illustrations who aren’t submissive or even kinky.
A woman whose opinion I deeply value commented on an image in an entry.
The muscle guy is hot enough, but that picture at the bottom is just great. I have a caretaking fetish (kind of a sadism/caretaking fetish) that is being met with it. His facial expression is fine and doesn’t throw me out of the picture or anything, but if he looked like he was being taken care of it would give it that little extra something for me.
Not likely to be seen is it?
NB:
- Subjectivity acknowledged.
- Exceptions are exceptional.
- Images of Chivalry ignored.
- Those involved in BDSM as a profession or hobby not referenced in this post.
Originally posted 2014-01-11 14:38:23.
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