Privelege Was Re: [lbo-talk] Re: Maoist cleanup drive hits

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Mon Jan 8 15:50:24 PST 2007



> CB: Ignore the fact that to non-BDSM people, that some BDSM seems to
> simulate violent acts toward women, and therefore may feed into the
> misogynist mentality of men who beat/rape women.

It doesn't. The burden of proof is on you to substantiate such an assertion. Dominant male/submissive female is not the, um, dominant form of BDSM; I don't see how a minority discourse within a minority discourse (and one that's reached the public consciousness only in the last decade or two) can have much of an influence on men beating women, which is a pretty pervasive practice and has been for a long time.


> If you
> are trying to convince people that there isn't misogynist mentality or
> torturer's mentality in it, you need to think about the obvious,
> and stop
> acting like it's obvious how BDSM doesn't seem like purveying violent
> mentality.

Appealing to the "obvious" isn't much of an argument. You're a lawyer, Charles - what do you think a judge would make of that?


>
> CB: How do you know that ? Maybe most domestically violent men and
> rapists
> are just sadists trying to bring out the "inner masochist" in the
> women they
> violate ?

No. Most sadistic men (and women) wouldn't harm someone who didn't very explicitly ask for it.


> You need to explain in detail how BDSM/kink is
> not like domestic violence or rape.

In one, the recipient of abuse asks for it, even craves it. In the other, s/he doesn't. How could it be more different?



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