Female dominance

Female dominant and male submissive.

Two women are tied together in a bondage scene.

Female dominance (or Femdom) refers to the BDSM relationships or BDSM scenes where the dominant partner is female. Where both the dominant and submissive who take part in a relationship or scene are female, the scene can be referred to as a lesbian scene, which may not necessarily reflect on the sex orientation of either participant.

A dominant woman is sometimes called a domme (pronounced /ˈdɒm/), femdomme, domina, or dominatrix. A female dominant in a master/slave relationship is called a mistress.

Associated activities and gender role reversal

Many activities frequently associated with female dominance share a common theme of gender role reversal, especially when practiced with a male submissive partner. Such activities can include strap-on dildo penetration (also known as pegging), in which the dominant partner performs anal sex on the submissive partner, facesitting or smothering, which both tend to focus on the submissive partner giving the dominant partner cunnilingus, and "forced" feminization of a male partner. Another example of a role reversal variation are rape fantasies in which the rapist is fantasized to be a woman, or wrestling or fighting in which the female partner is stronger than the male.

Beardsley: Flagellation club in London, 1895

Gender-neutral practices of domination common to many BDSM and other various sexual relationships are also prevalent, such as boot worship^{[citation needed]}, various forms of orgasm denial, such as tease and denial and tie and tease, as well as ageplay, erotic spanking, cunnilingus, body worship, foot worship, ass worship, face slapping, hair pulling, caning, dripping hot wax on the genitals, heavy whipping, spitting domination, watersports, forced chastity and forced homosexuality.

It is also common for sexually dominant females to attack or cause pain to a submissive male's testicles. This both causes a great pain that is uniquely male and plays upon Freudian castration anxiety. Because the testicles are the very core of male sexuality harm to them provides a clear portrayal of female superiority, especially if coupled with teasing and taunting. Because females can never know the exact sensation of an attack on the testicles this places them at an advantage during this kind of sexual play and reinforces the male subordination due to their physical vulnerability.

Despite the similarities to other forms of sexual relationships and the diversity present within many relationships that self-identify as female dominant, there is nevertheless a strong gendered focus to the portrayal of female dominance (particularly in heterosexual pairings where there is an emphasis on emasculation of the male partner) in the majority of its media sources, such as mainstream pornography. Such pornography and other media often focuses on the supposed or fantasized inadequacy of the submissive male partner, due either to various behavioral or physical traits. These include certain forms of erotic humiliation, such as cuckolding, ballbusting, small penis humiliation, and forced homosexuality in which a dominant woman forces a heterosexual man to engage in homosexual acts for her amusement, or as part of feminization; a literary example can be found at the climax of the novel Venus in Furs.

Female dominance as belief system or lifestyle

Female dominance can also refer to a belief system of gender discrimination based on female supremacy. Female supremacy is based on concepts such as the female being biologically or spiritually of a higher form or incarnation than the male. This practice usually involves some form of religious worship of the women as an incarnate God figure, the Goddess, and ranges from servitude to more intimate practices such as exchange of bodily fluids, sometimes including the dominant women being served orally during their menstrual periods, a practice that is known as having a sub earn his "red wings".

Many participants in this lifestyle conform to the safe, sane and consensual and RACK models prevalent in the BDSM community.^{[citation needed]}

Wikinews has related news: BDSM as business: Interviews with Dominatrixes

For these purposes, note the issue of legal consent which may or may not represent a defense to criminal liability for any injuries caused.^{[citation needed]}

References

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (March 2008)

See also

• Dominance and submission
• Female submission
• Gender role
• Male dominance
• Male submission
• Other World Kingdom