All Women are Doms, All Men are Subs: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''Hey, Mr. S? [[Makes Just as Much Sense in Context|Wanna help strap me into this thing?]]''|'''Jeff Fisher''', ''[[American Dad]]''}}

 

 

If you want to know what we're talking about then, quick, think of the last time you saw BDSM portrayed in someway on popular television. What position was the man in? He was wearing a ball-gag and being dragged around by a collar and chain, you say? Well then, you've just encountered this trope. [[All Women Are Prudes|Only slightly less common]] are women in BDSM, and without even checking you can't deny that ''they're'' never the ones tied to a bedpost and being whipped. Well, not unless it's an outright porno. If there was a woman involved, she was a dominatrix, without exception. Men might be in a dominant role, but only if they are dominating another man because [[All Men Are Perverts]] and because [[Double Standard Rape (Male on Male)|rape isn't nearly as stigmatized when it's male on male]].

This trope tends only to be in effect when [[Bondage Is Bad]] is at least toned down. If the villain is the one being portrayed as BDSM enthusiast, then he stands a good chance of torturing women; just don't expect anyone but a really evil villainess to enjoy it. The main purpose of this trope is to make BDSM imagery viable for comedy. Secondarily, it can also make BDSM relationships palatable enough to the common viewership for our characters to explore the idea... via ancillary characters who only exist until the end of the episode.

 

 

Another part of this trope is the implication that all men secretly desire to be dominated and all women secretly desire to dominate. This adds to the comedy since it is a reversal of traditional roles and consequently, as the contradiction easily lends itself to pop psychology leading some to propound that at least this part of the trope is [[Truth in Television]].

 

 

{{examples}}

 

* An episode of ''Zoku [[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'' featured the standard image of a salaryman on a leash by a beautiful blond bombshell as a comedic representation of someone who didn't understand his proper place in life (Ugly people don't deserve happiness) and suffered as a result.

** On a side note, the original ''Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei'' almost averted this by flashing some images of girls tied up in shibari position at the beginning of its opening. It was intended to be comical which should have averted the trope, but the comedy is derived from the juxtaposition of the seriousness of showing such images as opposed to the general comedic content of the show.

** In fact as he ends up being bound and whipped by Izumi and some french girl in one episode.

** However, there is that one picture in the third episode we get where Izumi is imagining where things will go if Anna becomes Yoshitaka's maid, and that's pretty much a full aversion as it is totally [[Played for Laughs]] (But it was probably only allowed because nothing actually happened).

** Not to mention Shuusuke's masochistic fantasies in later chapters (Though he'd probably be happy on either side of the kink as long as he gets to have sex somewhere along the way).

* ''[[MM!]]'': The series revolved around Tarou masochistic instincts, but he's trying to cure them. Meanwhile, all the women are rather dominating, except [[Does Not Like Men|Arashiko]], who tries to be this to appeal to Tarou. Subverted with the [[Wholesome Crossdresser]], who is a guy but acts dominant. Then again, he's in drag.

* Averted in [[Nana to Kaoru]]. [[The Ace|Nana]], and later {{spoiler|Tachi}}, are submissive to the male Kaoru. Both of the girls do it to release tension, though {{spoiler|Tachi}} prefers bondage to the whole "submissive" thing.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* Mistress Lisa spanking Citizen Elliot in ''[[Exit to Eden]]''

* Averted hard in ''[[Secretary]]'' where Maggie Gyllenhaal is a submissive woman in a sexual relationship with a dominant man portrayed by James Spader.

== [[Literature]] ==

* May or may not be in [[The Diamond Age]] by Neal Stephenson. During a portion of the book, Nell works as a scenario director at a bordello (she literally sits in on sex sessions behind one way glass and directs the actions of the actors/prostitutes). S&M seems to be big in this establishment and it is acknowledged (or rather, vaguely implied and only once) that some of their prostitutes act as subs some of the time. However, the only scene which is narrated is described in the book is definitely F/m and as it is used to draw certain conclusions about the effects of Neo-Victorian culture on a person it does take advantage of the secondary purpose of this trope. Also, as the male sub mentioned is a high-ranking authoritarian figure, it also takes advantage of the primary purpose.

** Another episode averted this by portraying one married couple as enjoying rape fantasies (with the woman being "raped"). But, as it turns out, the wife was poisoning the husband, so either [[Bondage Is Bad]] or she really wasn't enjoying it so much.

* In an episode of ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'', the male victim is found murdered inside a dog cage where his wife had left him over the weekend for "being bad". Incidentally, she didn't murder him and thanks to this trope she comes off as quirky and sympathetic.

** In that ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' episode, Vaughn also plays a submissive male for Sydney to dominate. There's even jokes about how this is pretty much their actual sex life.

* Shown once (and implied several times) in the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' episode "Pleasure is my Business".

* Like many [[Police Procedural|police procedurals]] ''[[Castle]]'' played the trope straight in an episode where the victim-of-the-week is a sociology PhD student studying BDSM {{spoiler|by becoming a dom}}. But it did feature a hilarious example when ''Beckett'' interrogated a suspect using dom psychology.

{{quote|'''Castle:''' [[Pass the Popcorn|We're gonna need popcorn.]]}}

* One of Belle's clients on [[Secret Diary of a Call Girl]] asks her to dabble in this in one episode. Of course, she vamps it up to the nth degree.

* [[Game of Thrones]] is a debatable case. Certainly, men are seen dominating women, but this is typically shown as a bad thing. However, the acts of domination are typically shown as non-consensual, and going WELL beyond SSC. When Joffrey was with a pair of whores they had no objection at all to light spanking, and became distressed only when Joffrey demanded that one of them beat the other first with a belt, and then with his sceptre.

* Subverted in [[Rome]]. It's initially hinted that Octavian will be an abusive husband because of his sadistic tendencies, but we later see him and his wife having mutually rough sex and loving every second of it.

* Used and mildly averted in ''[[CSI]]'': Lady Heather is a female dom, but the episode that introduced her had her teaching a male client to accept his dominating tendencies, and later having one of her professional male doms teaching that client's new wife to be a sub (while the client watched). Another episode involves a professional dominatrix who {{spoiler|sometimes played the sub and was killed by her (male) client during one such session}}. In both episodes the woman-as-dom is the dominant theme, however.

* The American remake of ''Shameless'' shows Kevin and Veronica in a BDSM relationship with Veronica as the dominatrix.

* Subverted in an episode of ''[[General Hospital]]'' where Maxie is handcuffed and having sex with Cooper in a hospital closet.

 

== [[Web Comic]] ==

* In ''[[Shiniez]]'', the main couple of the comic are Allison and Lisa, who are in a dom/sub relationship. The other couple, however, inverts this trope, with Alan, Allison's friend, as a dom and Anne as his sub.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Back when ''[[City of Villains]]'' came out this enforcing this trope was used as the explanation for the inability to tailor the appearance of a Mastermind's minions. The game already allowed for giving minions lines to speak and emote commands (meaning they could be visually abused in various ways), and as a result the designers wanted to ensure all minions would be clearly male or sexless.

* The very obscure [[H-game]] ''Otome Rensa: Heart of the Distortion'' revolves around this.

 

* Lighter example because you can only have chains in fanfic and also nobody will hesitate to throw a punch, but [[That Guy With The Glasses]]. The boys tend to be easily dominated and enjoy it ([[The Nostalgia Critic]] likes dommy women so much that he's willing to be snuffed by them if they play a good song), while the girls are [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy]] at least or [[Bastard Girlfriend]] at most.

* Averted in ''[[Chakona Space]]'', in foxtaur society vixens are expected to be the dominant gender, Lorene had a lot of trouble finding a mate as she was a natural submissive. Then Garrek was raped by his sister using pheromones that screwed up his hormones and made him more aggressive, the village shaman suggested he try "venting" on Lorene.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** Inverted with Mrs. Cartman and her German fetish videos.

* All the time in ''[[Family Guy]]'', with instances including Lois and Peter's sex life ("the safety word's banana") and some of Quagmire's escapades, like being with two dominatrices, and being tied to a chair and blindfolded by several Asian women.

[[Category:Sex Tropes]]

[[Category:Gender and Sexuality Tropes]]