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quote:
ORIGINAL: BambiBoi
quote:
ORIGINAL: ARIES83
Bambi:
How about you start with just your thoughts.
I know it's a bit of a broad question but I really
am very interested so I hope a lot of you will
share.
-ARIES
Dehumanization is a taboo because our culture so rarely treats us as sub-human. Effectively, it is a form of humiliation, and shares the inherent danger of damaging the psyche. No one is going to be irreparably damaged by being made into an ottoman for a few hours, but having the idea that they are only valuable as a sex object reinforced with hours of use as a sex object, might do some harm. There's a powerful thread on emotional masochism that covers this topic very well.
I like various methods of dehumanizing. Objectification and animal roleplay come to mind. One of the hottest things I've ever done was kneel and have my mouth used as a bowl for lube. The top would stick her fingers in and scoop some out, or press a toy into my mouth. The taste was terrible, but the idea was wonderful.
Lol, our culture pretty much always treats us as subhuman, and has a long history of doing so, in fact I'd say that's true of any culture larger than the tribal level, individuality is invariably treated as "dangerous" it's tolerated only when it has has economic value.
Which is why objectification, like a lot of things in BDSM, is both a conundrum and a contradiction in terms - to be seen as an object is in some sense to be seen as yourself stripped of all the political-economic associations that are projected on you.
I think this is what Poise is getting at, there is no escaping the expectations of others, our family, friends, employers, etc., all have expectations of us, all want us to be something that is convenient for them, and reflects well on them, to the point we have to hide ourselves in the bedroom with the blinds drawn, in constant fear of discovery, just to be ourselves.
NuevaVida is talking about something else entirely, an attempt to permanently erase identity and make you into something else entirely which can be traumatic, carried to pathological extremes.
On the other hand there are people who are so used to being told who they are from a very early age, they have never developed much of a self to preserve, although this is more common in religion, where roles are very clear cut, and little or no deviation is tolerated.
It's why rebellion is common in religious families, especially during the teenage years, when individuation processes are at their peak.
It's really just an adaptive response, most people accept the roles they are offered, often without even realizing they are being objectified, partly because it's practical and there are few alternatives.
Much of it can be explained in gestalt terms, i.e., Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but in that hierarchy, objectification, in BDSM terms, can be a path to self actualization, breaking free of all the other things people want us to be and which we conform to out of fear of punishment or ostracization.
For others, it's simply more comfortable not to have to make decisions, but again, outside of religion, I don't think Ive ever seen anybody so objectified they cannot assert their identity if need be, and most people I've known that were into sexual objectification have been quite functional, sometimes even higher functioning, perhaps due to the fact they weren't always tripping over their own egos.
i.e., Narcissistic self-worship is not exactly the same thing as an individual identity, it's another thing that is expected, promoted, and it's absence punished - it's a very convenient marketing tool.
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Walking nightmare...
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RE: Dehumanisation - 
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