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The "myth" of the Amazons may have its beginnings in the fantasies of males, especially with seafaring men who might spend months at a time on the seas without any type of female contact. In creating such fantasies males could very likely have been seeking a controlling woman, not only to appease their sexual needs but also to provide the nurturing comfort and reassurance that females often represent to society. Throughout history females have been portrayed as alluring creatures, wickedly tempting, powerful, enchanting, and deadly. Yet, men have been drawn to females, especially powerful and controlling females, even if their desires for these women ultimately led to their own destruction. Amazon women are only one example of the power and enticing fantasy men have of women throughout time. In Greek mythology the allure of females was also evident in the tales of the Sirens. The Sirens were mysterious and alluring because of the seductive song they sang to entice sailors — a song that would lead the sailors to their untimely death. No male, prior to Odysseus, had lived to report on the Sirens’ song or appearance. Odysseus took a trip knowing he would have to travel past the islands where the Sirens would be close enough to entice him and his crew with their melodious voices. "These were marvelous singers whose voices would make a man forget all else, and at last their song would steal his life away" (Hamilton 214). Odysseus determined that he would hear their song and commanded the crew to plug their ears with wax and tie him tightly to the mast so he would be unable to escape. Just like the draw of the song from the Sirens, the myth of Amazons has continued to draw interest throughout time and history. In 1542 the Spanish were navigating a vast river in the South America region. Just as the seafarers of Greek mythology had told stories of Amazon women, these Spanish explorers perpetuated the story to life again. The sailors reported sighting Amazons and thus the great river of South America eventually bore the Amazon name. After this time period the myths and stories died down until archeologists began to find evidence of societies that might well have included female warriors (Osborn 1). Archeological digs have uncovered evidence of female warriors in burial sites. "Jeannine Davis-Kimball is the head archaeologist of a site in Kazakhstan at which burial sites have been unearthed which support the existence of women warriors. Females buried with weapons, as well as other women, some priestesses, some apparently homemakers, give evidence that women did indeed participate in battle" (Snider 1). Although there are no direct links to support the existence of the Amazons, there is growing evidence that women shared equality with men even if they were not dominant in the communities and societies at the time. Even as society looks on the archeological finds with renewed interest the Amazon myth continues to evolve in current time mainly through media. Powerful, warrior-like women have been a part of the present age. By invoking a fantasy like creation in everything from comic books and literature to television and movies. Although the modern day powerful woman may not be a man-hater as the Amazons were considered to be, she is still a force to contend with. There are hints of the Amazon type woman in areas such as the circus, female wrestling, roller derby, and television shows depicting females who right what is wrong through their use of magical power. There is still another area of society where the myth and fantasy of the Amazon woman is strikingly familiar. It is an area that is kept more secret because of the negative connotations it often brings to the normalcy standards of society. This more secret society is labeled by the acronym "BDSM." BDSM, spelled out, refers to "bondage and discipline" and "sadism and masochism." Both of these elements require an exchange of power between the partners involved and thus BDSM players are considered to be a part of the "dominance and submission" community. Dominance and submission is usually noted by a capital "D" and a lowercase "s" with a slash dividing the two. Players are noted according to which side of D/s they play on although some consider themselves to be "switches" and play on either side of the slash. The evidence of a continued male fantasy interest in the Amazon woman can be found in the dominatrix and the power and control she exudes over a submissive. Although there are males and females that fall into varying categories in their interest within D/s relationships, the club scene finds that "submissive males in search of a mistress make up the bulk of any given night’s attendance" (Warren 38). The dominatrix (a/k/a domme) tends to portray the current day spin off of the Amazon and the power and control involved in both roles. The Amazons were creatures of fantasy and allurement. Modern day dommes are also creatures of fantasy and allurement. Both are considered almost magical in their ability to entice and control men. The Amazons' fury and wrath brought terror to men. Dommes bring men to their knees as a controlling goddess who must be obeyed. Just as Amazons had tools and methods used for controlling, dommes have similar tools and methods. A domme often wields a leather flogger rather than a bow and arrow. Instead of dislocating the joints of male babies in order to keep them from rising up against the females in charge, a domme will use both physical and mental bondage to exert power over males. A domme’s toybox may include handcuffs, rope, and chastity devices for controlling men. Kali, a mythological goddess whose teeth were like sharp fangs, is the source for one such male chastity device called the "Kali’s Teeth Bracelet" [#1] (Kitten 1). This type device allows a domme to control the sexual pleasure of her male submissive, keeping him chaste unless she allows him to experience sexual gratification. Amazons controlled men sexually by only allowing them sexual gratification in order to procreate. Amazons have been credited with being the first to tame horses. Some dommes use a method called "pony training" to harness a male submissive and train him to a level of compliance with her wishes. The use of a riding crop by dommes is another example of a seductive controlling mechanism. The kiss of leather as it swats the flesh of a male submissive is considered an element of pleasure and pain and very desirable to the submissive as he surrenders control to his domme. The fact that there is such a market for professional dominatrices and their dungeons gives evidence to the fact that men still find the image of the Amazon warrior-like female to be enticing. A survey conducted by The Eulenspiegel Society, considered to be one of the most long lasting D/s communities in the world, points out that the people involved in this alternative lifestyle are usually very well educated. Out of 130 responses, ten people had only a high school education. Fifty [# 2] of the respondents had postgraduate or an advanced degree, while the remaining forty-two had a college degree or some college (Warren 313). The educational factor tends to line up with the fact that services of a professional dominatrix are not inexpensive and would require an income able to support this type of indulgence. Warren, in his book The Loving Dominant, reports that "submissives I have talked to find that their attraction to the scene is based largely on this contrast between having power and control but releasing themselves to experience powerlessness at the hands of another whom they trust" (Warren 37). The dominatrix wields power over men today but it is a consensual agreement between the partners unlike the Amazons who killed off or enslaved the males in their society without their consent [#3]. The domme is viewed as a goddess in the eyes of her submissive and he relinquishes control to her, trusting that she will use him for her pleasure without causing permanent physical or psychological harm to him. There is a very real combination of sexuality along with the nurturing comfort and reassurance within a relationship between a dominatrix and her submissive. Amazons provided a fantasy of sexual enticement and allurement to the Greeks through their mythological stories. The dominant female factor continues throughout time to provide men with a way of fantasizing about edge play and submitting to a powerful and seductive temptress. Males are still living out these fantasies today whether by the images of powerful women on the screen, through literature, or by the kiss of her leather flogger while his ankles and wrists are bound to a St. Andrew’s cross [#4] or flogging bench in her dungeon. The fantasy and fiction of the Amazons has evolved into fact in various areas of current day society. The power wielding dominatrix goddess is certainly an example of the transformation from the fiction and fantasy of the Amazons to the factual evidence of an ever-growing segment in society that "worships" a woman in control. Works Cited Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1969. Kitten. "The Power Exchange." <http://www.tpe.com/ktb/sizes.html> Osborne, Lawrence. "The Women Warriors." Lingua Franca, Inc. 1997. <http://www.sevenbridgespress.com/lf/9712/nosborne.html> (Nov. 1997). Snider, Elizabeth. "Wild Women: The Amazons." <http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/> Warren Ph.D., John. The Loving Dominant. New York: Masquerade Books, Inc., 1998.
Comments from Three Professors Grading My Paper: [comment 1] - Okay – thanks for not telling me more than I wanted to know… well handled! [comment 2] - VERY INTERESTING! [comment 3] - Nice contrast…WOW, this is your best paper. Very well done. You have genuinely drawn some significant points of comparison (and contrast) between the classic and the modern through the development of this theme. You imply throughout that the Amazons (if not based on fact) are the creation of men. If so, then men, by inventing Amazons, have established a consensual relationship with them a la the D/s pattern. This is what a good paper does. It drives the reviewer to want to engage, not just grade. [comment 4] - The Confederate symbol on Mississippi State flag! {he didn’t know what a St. Andrew’s cross was before I told him.} |
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