The Story of Wait, What?
One thing that rather amazes me is that, despite both my parents being anti-SM, I've heard them both tell me that they read The Story of O in their youths.
This is probably more a function of the times than of anything else. I've heard that back then (wow, I'm making it sound like my parents are antique statuary or something. Ack, I don't mean that.) it was one of a few dirty books that young people easily could get a hold of. (The other I usually hear about, for whatever it's worth, is The Happy Hooker.) They spoke about looking at it because everyone did, or because doing so was basically what amounted to passing porn around in their circle of friends. It was just something that you did, and vaguely arousing because it was smut, if that. But they both said they were really pretty weirded out by it.
And that's always flabbergasted me. I read the book myself, but I'd never gone near it until long after I knewI was interested in BDSM. If I hadn't been at all I don't really think I ever would have picked it up. I'd seen and liked a series of Poser pictures someone on the 'Net made illustrating scenes from it. When I actually read it, I didn't like it nearly as much as I expected I would. The men were totally wooden characters. I get that porn isn't always supposed to be intellectual, but it was written well and made me interested in O's character and in Jacqueline.
I wondered why, if Rene was such a driving force that O submitted so completely, he was a cipher as a character, a wimp who couldn't even beat her himself. What would drive her to such devotion? (Sure, maybe the answer is "her own need to submit," but that's really unsatisfying. In the real world, I can't imagine even a deeply-driven submissive-souled Twoo Slaveheart (soon to be a Mel Gibson movie!) not giving up on the guy out of sheer "Gods, are you boring" frustration.)
When Sir Stephen took over, I found the transfer totally puzzling and unnerving, but hoped that maybe he'd be an interesting top. And he wasn't either -- just mean, in a cold and aloof way that made no sense to me. Here was a woman that had invested her whole life into her slave training, and he not only didn't love her for it (HUH?!?) but seemed vaguely annoyed that she existed at all. It wasn't anything that I, as a novice top, could look at to model my behavior or my attitudes, and worse than that it wasn't even hot. If I want to do that kind of breaking down, I'm going to be emotionally invested in it, as much as I ever would be in anything.
But anyway. My parents. Reading this as oooh look, Joey found some PORN! Yeah, I can't imagine it. Because it's hot, sure, and it's X-rated and all that. But what it's really about is not her cunt or her ass or her tits or her rings (yes, one of the hot bits for me) but her psychological descent into slavery. And it's hard for me to imagine anyone who isn't wired to be interested in that, on one side or another, actually finishing the book. I mean yeah, when you're sixteen or whatever just reading the word "cunt" is a thrill, I get that. But surely that's not so titillating that you'll stick with the story to the end. And I can't imagine my mom doing so, what with her visceral squick about submission. But apparently she had, as she brought it up to me to explain why she didn't like my choices.
I dunno. I suppose, as they said, that this was common, and they skipped "the slavery thing." I just find it hard to imagine that one could do that. Maybe it's just that I grew up around enough erotic media of various sorts that I didn't have to ignore something totally crazy and way out, man to get my rocks off. I dunno.
Any thoughts?
This is probably more a function of the times than of anything else. I've heard that back then (wow, I'm making it sound like my parents are antique statuary or something. Ack, I don't mean that.) it was one of a few dirty books that young people easily could get a hold of. (The other I usually hear about, for whatever it's worth, is The Happy Hooker.) They spoke about looking at it because everyone did, or because doing so was basically what amounted to passing porn around in their circle of friends. It was just something that you did, and vaguely arousing because it was smut, if that. But they both said they were really pretty weirded out by it.
And that's always flabbergasted me. I read the book myself, but I'd never gone near it until long after I knewI was interested in BDSM. If I hadn't been at all I don't really think I ever would have picked it up. I'd seen and liked a series of Poser pictures someone on the 'Net made illustrating scenes from it. When I actually read it, I didn't like it nearly as much as I expected I would. The men were totally wooden characters. I get that porn isn't always supposed to be intellectual, but it was written well and made me interested in O's character and in Jacqueline.
I wondered why, if Rene was such a driving force that O submitted so completely, he was a cipher as a character, a wimp who couldn't even beat her himself. What would drive her to such devotion? (Sure, maybe the answer is "her own need to submit," but that's really unsatisfying. In the real world, I can't imagine even a deeply-driven submissive-souled Twoo Slaveheart (soon to be a Mel Gibson movie!) not giving up on the guy out of sheer "Gods, are you boring" frustration.)
When Sir Stephen took over, I found the transfer totally puzzling and unnerving, but hoped that maybe he'd be an interesting top. And he wasn't either -- just mean, in a cold and aloof way that made no sense to me. Here was a woman that had invested her whole life into her slave training, and he not only didn't love her for it (HUH?!?) but seemed vaguely annoyed that she existed at all. It wasn't anything that I, as a novice top, could look at to model my behavior or my attitudes, and worse than that it wasn't even hot. If I want to do that kind of breaking down, I'm going to be emotionally invested in it, as much as I ever would be in anything.
But anyway. My parents. Reading this as oooh look, Joey found some PORN! Yeah, I can't imagine it. Because it's hot, sure, and it's X-rated and all that. But what it's really about is not her cunt or her ass or her tits or her rings (yes, one of the hot bits for me) but her psychological descent into slavery. And it's hard for me to imagine anyone who isn't wired to be interested in that, on one side or another, actually finishing the book. I mean yeah, when you're sixteen or whatever just reading the word "cunt" is a thrill, I get that. But surely that's not so titillating that you'll stick with the story to the end. And I can't imagine my mom doing so, what with her visceral squick about submission. But apparently she had, as she brought it up to me to explain why she didn't like my choices.
I dunno. I suppose, as they said, that this was common, and they skipped "the slavery thing." I just find it hard to imagine that one could do that. Maybe it's just that I grew up around enough erotic media of various sorts that I didn't have to ignore something totally crazy and way out, man to get my rocks off. I dunno.
Any thoughts?