TV Portrayals of Dominant Women

In the early days of TV married couples normally slept in separate bed. How sad. And kids probably did think that babies were delivered by a stork.

American television loosened up in the 1970s: prostitutes appeared, normally as murder victims. There were even a (very) few positive references to gay men (I don’t think lesbianism had been discovered yet).

Sex is a commonplace even in prime time network programming. Women even talk about penis size and the pros and cons of foreskin. Even kink makes a rare appearance.

The first I recall is an episode of Law and Order: a dominant woman tricked one submissive guy into unknowingly killing another. Yep, that sure sounds like what we’re all about.

Lady Heather

Most surprising has been the appearances of Lady Heather on CSI: Crime Scene Investigations. As of last week I’ve seen all four episodes that feature her. Mostly I’m surprised.

Lady Heather is a professional dominatrix. In her first appearance she has the whole safe, sane and consensual rap down. While I might argue with her saying that the submissive is always in charge:

1. That is probably the best way for a ProDomme to view what are business transactions. She is a service provider.
2. It is a minor nit to pick with an overall positive portrayal.

In the second episode she and the central character, the primary investigator have an affair. It ends because he’s a bit of prig but BDSM isn’t put in a bad light.

The third and fourth episodes with Lady Heather feature her mostly in her role as a mother. In the last her intelligence is emphasized. One character is hostile to her but that isn’t unreasonable in the overall context.

Given that I only watch TV shows when they are released on DVD and very few of those I wonder what portrayals of dominant women I’ve missed. And what impression they made on you.