Dominating women can surrender sexually precisely because they remain masters
Evidence
A sovereign such as Catherine the Great could even allow herself masochistic ecstasies: she alone remained the master in these games. Isabelle Eberhardt, who dressed as a man and traversed the Sahara on horseback, felt no less diminished when she gave herself to some vigorous sharpshooter. The woman who refuses to be the man’s vassal is far from always fleeing him; rather she tries to make him the instrument of her pleasure. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1041
Categorization
- XREF: The claim that sovereignty can be retained inside apparent sexual submission resonates with later discussions of BDSM and negotiated power — the ‘master in the game’ logic. — connects to: Passive sexual submission is not masochistic when the subject retains her freedom — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1009; Exploiting femininity to the extreme can paradoxically grant women near-masculine independence — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1684; Masochistic submission depends on the lover’s maintained prestige — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1863 (+1 more)
- CANDY: Catherine the Great allowing herself masochistic ecstasies while remaining master is a vivid, quotable example.
Broader Connections
- Passive sexual submission is not masochistic when the subject retains her freedom
#corroborates(0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1009 - Exploiting femininity to the extreme can paradoxically grant women near-masculine independence
#corroborates(0.82) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1684 - Female self-abandonment in love is actually an avid will to be
#corroborates(0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1849 - Masochistic submission depends on the lover’s maintained prestige
#complicates(0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1863