Dominatrix
A
dominatrix or
mistress is a woman who takes the
dominant role in
bondage and
discipline,
domination and submission or
sado-masochistic sexual practices, which are commonly abbreviated as
BDSM. The male equivalent is
master. A common form of address for a
submissive to a dominatrix is "Mistress" or "Ma'am". Note that a dominatrix does not necessarily dominate a male partner; a dominatrix may well have a female submissive.
The term
domme is a coined pseudo-French female variation of the slang
dom (short for
dominant). There is confusion on its pronunciation, with some pronouncing it identically to
dom and some pronouncing the final
e as a second syllable, e.g. saying
dom-MAY or
DOM-may. It appears that more
BDSM authorities prefer the first pronunciation (identical to
dom), by analogy to one-syllable French-derived words like
femme or
blonde. [
1] [
2] [
3] [
4].
Older woman-younger man relationships are much more common in female dominant relationships than among
vanilla couples.
The term
dominatrix is most commonly used to describe a
professional dominant woman (or
pro-domme) who charges money to engage in fantasy play with
submissive clients, but in reality most dominatrices are not professionals, but
lifestyle dominants. A lifestyle dominant is a person who is assertive and in control of their relationships both inside and outside the bedroom.
Women who engage in female domination recreationally are known as Dommes, Dominatrices, or simply Dominants, though they are rarely referred to as Dominatrices. A high percentage of dominatrices are lifestyle dominants, but some simply play the dominatrix role because it is a high-paying profession.
It is common for professional dominatrixes who are also lifestyle Dommes to have both paying clients and a "personal slave" or slaves, who are not paying clients. A personal slave will typically perform a Domme's housework and run errands for her. A personal slave may or may not live with his or her Domme. Most Dommes engage in sexual activity with personal slaves, but this is not always the case. Some Dommes limit the sexual activity to the slave performing oral sex on them, while others engage in the full gamut of sexual activities.
Most
famous dominatrices (with a few notable exceptions) are professional dominants, since most other people's sex lives remain private.
The stereotyped image of a dominatrix is of a woman wearing a rubber
catsuit and
thigh-length boots with high heels. Many professional dominatrices do indeed wear similar outfits for their work in order to meet client expectations. However, for non-professional dominatrices, the question "What does a dominatrix wear?" is best answered "Whatever she likes!"
* The
19th-century British dominatrix Mrs
Theresa Berkley, inventor of the
Berkley Horse.
* The American author, sex therapist, and counsellor
Gloria Brame is also a lifestyle dominant.
* The French professional dominatrix
Maîtresse Françoise (real name Annick Foucault) has written a book about her experiences as a dominatrix
*
Ilsa Strix is a Los Angeles based professional dominatrix who has appeared in female domination videos and has been romantically linked to
The Matrix creator
Larry Wachowski.
* Professional dominatrix
Mistress Matisse is also a columnist for the Seattle weekly alternative newspaper
The Stranger and a noted blogger.
* Professional dominatrix
Mistress Yvette From Sioux Falls, South Dakota is an active XXX adult actress and model, internationally known woman motorcyclist and writer.
* Professional dominatrix
Mistress Rattan From Toronto, Ontario, Canada is an active dominatrix and has been featured in various news releases, interviews and publications.
* Mia Kennedy is a professional lifestyle Dominatrix from Sydney Australia. Outside of her dominant work at Salon Kitty she produces tools of the trade, notably cages.
* The novel
Venus in Furs, by
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, deals with a man who is so besotted with a woman he becomes her sex slave. Also, the song of the same name by
the Velvet Underground deals with the same subject matter.
* The film
Preaching to the Perverted, starring Guinevere Turner, depicts a dominatrix.
* The
television drama
has featured a recurring professional dominatrix character,
Lady Heather, who is depicted in a sympathetic manner.
* The film
Eating Raoul features Doris the Dominatrix, who, when off the job, is a married mother.
* The film
Maîtresse, starring
Gérard Depardieu and
Bulle Ogier, depicted a professional dominant.
* The 1999 film
Payback, features
Lucy Liu as the dominatrix Pearl.
* Several of the stories in the comic book series
Sin City feature the character of Gail, a
prostitute and dominatrix whose speciality is knot-tying. She is one of the authority figures in Old Town, a part of the city run by female prostitutes. In the movie adaptation, she is played by
Rosario Dawson.
* The popular
DC comic books character
Catwoman bears a strong dominatrix
motif: her stylized mask, the skintight outfit and the whip, in combination with her strong-willed and at the same time sultry personality are the most striking of these characteristics.
* In the 1993 film
Love and Human Remains,
Mia Kirshner received a
Genie nomination for her role as the dominatrix and
psychic Benita.
*In the film
EuroTrip, Cooper Harris has an encounter with a dominatrix during the night when the group visits Amsterdam.
* In the MMORPG
Ragnarok Online, the
Zealotus monster appears in the Underprison levels of the Glast Heim dungeon. She wears a mask that covers half of her face, sports a whip, and can summon several 'Injustice' monsters to attack players.
* In the
Soul Calibur fighting games, the character of
Ivy Valentine is thought of by players as a dominatrix with her bondage clothing, whip-like weapon, and some suggestive attack names (Spiral Dominance, Pleasure Change, and Punishment Change).
*
Female domination*
Professional dominant*
Fetishes (documentary)*
Humiliatrix*
The Dominatrix in Print and Other Media — detailed bibliography
*
It's a living: Dominatrix — professional domme article
*
The Dominatrix Story Interview with a Mistress
*
"I Was a Teenage Dominatrix" — professional domme article from
Salon about award-winning author Shawna Kenney, who put herself through college in D.C. working as a dominatrix
