sexyred1
Posts: 8998
Joined: 8/9/2007 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: MariaB quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyPact quote:
Whilst it may all feel a bit soft and fluffy to us and I do believe that some BDSMers are feeling quite threatened by this sudden huge influx of interest. They see more people coming onto the scene as a threat. If it gets people reading more about BDSM then I personally believe that's a very good thing. But that's not the whole of it, Maria. I didn't have to live through the internet revolution. I was completely ignorant to those who were using the net for their fantasies. Once I got to know some old time leather folk, I heard of it. The same will happen. Tourists with little or knowledge will be entering our clubs and venues. People will get hurt, as they did in the last/current generation. They read things on the net, so they must be true. E.B. Webb has been quoted for saying people will believe everything they see in print. It's hard to deny. We've already had a few who see that book as gospel. How many more are there out there? Much as I respect your judgement LadyPact, I can't agree with you on this subject. Pretty much everyone coming onto the scene or trying out a little BDSM within the confines of their own home, do so because they have a fantasy. Maybe they watched 'Nine and a half weeks' or 'The Secretary' both of which could be seen as un-consensual abuse!! A small number of those people will want to take it a step further and engage in the BDSM environment. But this book is a work of fiction just like Harry Potter. Are we saying that we can't have romantic D/s or S&M novels in case we don't clarify the rules clearly enough? Books like 50 Shades have been written time and time again. What about 'Accidents Do Happen' and 'The Philadelphia Incident'. These books were just as raunchy with incredibly similar story lines but they didn't sell in their millions. Barbara Cartland wrote hundreds of books but they are all the same story because she discovered after her first successful book on historical romance, that women loved the sexual connotations behind the wealthy, cold hearted and sometimes cruel Master who surprise, surprise, always softened in the end. Its all about writing the right book and giving it the right marketing at the right time. At best, this book is titillation aimed at middle class, middle aged women. They may come on sites like this to explore more of what its all about. They may even meet someone for that much needed spanking! and they may put themselves in danger because they don't understand the 'rules' or they may come to sites like this and read and discover about protocol, safe words, consensual acts and the rest. A lot of education can be had from sites like this. I truly agree with you and I have stated this a million times on the boards where thread after thread discusses these books. It is interesting...I had read the Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Ann Rice many, many years ago and loved it. I knew then that is was a twisted fairy tale and not a true depiction of anything other than what the author wanted it to be. It was hard to find back in the day, as it was considered subversive and only small publishers had it. I lent the books out and never saw them again. Yesterday, I was in Target and saw the books right next to the 50 Shades books. I picked up the book and re read it again after so many years. The forward is written in June 2012 by Ann Rice who now does not have to use a pseuodnym as she did then. Her forward was very interesting; it discussed how hidden the books were years ago and now, due to the popularity of 50 Shades, her publishers were coming out of the woodwork to re-issue her books. She herself said that she feels her books were far more intense in the BDSM sense than 50 Shades, but that she was happy that any books that made people feel it was ok to have fantasies, whether romantic or erotic or wild, are out there. It amused me to see on the Target shelf a sign saying, If you liked 50 Shades of Grey, you will LOVE the Claiming of Sleeping Beauty series. In my opinion, those were FAR more intense and would scare people than 50 Shades of Grey. The difference between the two series is that Ann Rice is a much better writer and the fairy tale was really hot to me, while 50 Shades was just a romantic novel with a few spanks thrown in. Either way my point is that none of these books should be worrisome to anyone that there will be hordes of horny people running out and doing crazy things. I understand LadyP saying that there is a safety issue to contend with, but seriously? If you are so stupid to rush madly into a BDSM club and trying things without educating yourself fully after reading these books, then no one can help you. And you cannot blame a book for that.
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