Dominant Women in Books and Movies?

I believe this is actually a fairly common theme (see the popularity of Disney’s “Villains” series, for example—honestly, who is paying any attention to the male villains, with the possible exception of the foppish Hook?). Some of these ladies’ powers are supernatural; some are more along the lines sexual sirens (a term derived, of course, from more ladies of the supernatural type), a la Marlene Dietrich. Female power is troubling and attractive and has to be tamed, with the villain safely vanquished. Feh.

I have been quite taken with Evil Bitch villainesses from my earliest youth, starting, I suppose, with Disney’s Wicked Queen, who wasn’t even given a name. There were many of us who were very disappointed when Disney deliberately decided not to go with a classic, svelte, attractive villainess for “The Little Mermaid.”

A brief list of my personal standouts: Maleficent from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, throwing the Prince in irons.

Ursa, from Superman 2.

She, who I haven’t actually seen in the movies yet (but oh, I want to). Poorly written and fixated on one man…but I was willing to overlook that and imagine how she could have been.

Grace Jones’ character in “View to a Kill,” who climbed on top of James Bond. (Hard to dislike a film that starts with Grace Jones jumping off the Eiffel Tower.)

The Snow Queen who imprisoned a little Dutch boy with a shard of ice through his heart.

Servalan from “Blake’s Seven” graces my hard drive and probably belongs here too. I always think of her together with “Lady A” from EE Doc Smith’s d’Alembert space opera series.

Even the ridiculous latex-outfitted villainesses in the Power Rangers (after my time) and the laughable but beautifully made-up villainess of “The Neverending Story 2” (which I have never watched all the way through, nor do I wish to) hail to the same tradition. They’re poorly-written and derivative, but I love them anyway (or at least lust after their outfits) so long as no one makes me listen to the ridiculous dialogue that’s been written for them.

But then, I spend my Saturday nights playing a chiffon-draped, stocking-clad red-headed alien referred to lovingly (?) by the audience at the end of the Rocky Horror Picture Show as “Cosmic Space Bitch,” so it’s probably to be expected.

To be honest: I think my first images of domination were all male.

But D/s and S&M were all just background noise for years.

When I first consciously connected with the idea of a woman as a sadist I was leafing through a bunch of old Playboy magazines that had been left at my shop. When the image of a female sadist really sunk in I went through them trying to find women with “the look.” A magical mix of hauteur, indifference: you don’t matter and will do whatever I say. Not a fertile ground for looking for women of power.

When I saw Tura Satana her sheer animal force left me feeling that all I wanted to do was fall into the dirt and lick her boots. It was hard to imagine her doing more than kicking me out of her way.

When I discovered OWK I was captivated by a couple of women whose expression embodied confidence and indifference: I would be something to be exploited without any concern for my feelings.

Coming to this – as I did – fairly late in my sexual development I sometimes see models and the like who look as if they are above it all and would treat me as something functional at best.

I can, say, appreciate Angelina Jolie’s lips. But my fantasies tended to revolve around women I saw in real life. They looked smart and strong. While they’d probably be appalled it was easy to imagine them using me as an end table or footrest.

And it has pretty much remained the same. Some old images from OWK and women I’ve passed on the street. If something makes me feel she’d slap me down or put me in a cage and forget about me I’m enraptured. This is very hard to see in women.

So much of my sexual imagery derives from women I’ve never seen a photo of. But who have expressed pleasure in owning and using men. When I read women write of how they expect their husband to be kneeling at the door when they come home I’m more excited by that than anything I can remember in a book or movie.

Though I do remember the woman from the second Superman movie and I think Ken Russell included a woman equally cruel in Lair of the White Worm.

Half tempted to delete that: never type when you are tired and hungry.

I’ll have to come back to this.

Yes, Tura Satana is a Domina to be reckoned with. (I reckon I’d like to be with Her!! ;-))

There are plenty of wonderful cinematioc dream Dominas … Raquel Welsh in The NAgic Christian, Anouk Aimee in Sodom and Gomorrah, for example.

But the horrible bad jokes in Eating Raoul and the silly film version of Exit to Eden are enough to sour you on the whole idea and go back to The OWK.