If this is "sex positivity," I weep.

submitted by our_team_is_winning from self.GenderCritical

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[–]MelanieMicrowave 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Well, one reason could be that women are taught to be submissive by patriarchal norms, so they eroticize that.

I don't think it's specific to "patriarchal norms", as much as it is the existance of power dynamics anywhere in society. If you completely eliminated the patriarchy, there would still be class, race, and power divides present, and you would still see kink/BDSM.

I think a better question would be: Does BDSM/kink reinforece/promote patriarchy? Engaging in Kink/BDSM forces participants to be open about their sexual desires, set limits for what is an is not okay, and explore power boundaries and dynamics. I feel that saying Kink/BSDM is inherently violent toward women and/or promotes the reinforcement of patriarchy is the same as saying "women are too stuipd to explore their own sexual desires without hurting themselves and must be protected".

[–]anxietyaccount8 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Does BDSM/kink reinforece/promote patriarchy?

Not necessarily. But there any many kinks which specifically do, for example, men who want to dominate women in a misogynistic way. Just as doing a "slave" roleplay with a black person is re-enacting racism, regardless of if they personally like it.

Engaging in Kink/BDSM forces participants to be open about their sexual desires, set limits for what is an is not okay, and explore power boundaries and dynamics.

In theory, but in practice? BDSM draws in certain kinds of people, it's not like they're blank slates before they come to the scene. I forget the website, but there's actually a masterlist of male dominants who are predators. It's a big problem, because for a lot of male doms, they view women as inferior so they have a desire to treat them poorly. I mean, it's called "sadism", these aren't nice guys. Also, I know of many women who have participated in the community as a "sub" and had a terrible experience. They were using it as an outlet for self-harm, but were unaware of it. Now, not all people who are subs do it out of self-harm, obviously. But the community naturally attracts these kinds of people.

women and/or promotes the reinforcement of patriarchy is the same as saying "women are too stuipd to explore their own sexual desires without hurting themselves and must be protected".

No, we're not saying that, obviously not all women who participate in this are misguided or victims. But also, being influenced by society doesn't make you stupid at all. It happens to everybody, not just women.

[–]msteacherlady 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

It seems like an environment of opportunity that attracts both predators and the vulnerable and brings them together.