View source for Brains and Bondage

{{trope}}
{{quote|"''My thoughts ran to Rousseau and Swinburne, both masochists, both geniuses, suffering their mistresses' cruel lashes even as they cried out for perfect enlightenment. Perhaps the body is not our being's basest part after all. Perhaps it is the royal road to knowledge.''"|'''Presley Abbott''', ''The Oxford Girl''}}

In fiction, people who enjoy [[BDSM]] have a tendency to be intellectuals. (This correlation may have some truth, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140719080153/http://gloria-brame.com/therapy/bdsmsurveyresults.html one survey] found 20% of practitioners have post-graduate education.) Thus, an interest in BDSM can be used to underscore the character's intellectual side - making '''Brains and Bondage''' a mostly "positive stereotype" likely to be used on protagonists and other sympathetic characters.

However, it can also be used as a way to establish a villain as [[Wicked Cultured]]. This easily drifts into the [[Bondage Is Bad]] kind of [[Unfortunate Implications]], unless counterexamples are provided or the [[Safe, Sane, and Consensual]] trope comes into play.

In some works, '''Brains and Bondage''' will take the form of waxing poetic about pain or submission. In some [[Anti Intellectualism|Anti Intellectual]] works, it will instead be used as a blunt tool to make intellectuals look bad by invoking prejudice [[Abomination Accusation Attack|to make them seem "abnormal"]].

See also [[Casual Kink]].

{{noreallife|All The Tropes is not a gossip site.}}

{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Nana of ''[[Nana to Kaoru]]'' is basically a female [[The Ace|ace]] - on the student council, athletic, beautiful and a top student. When [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Kaoru's]] mother confiscates his bondage stuff and hands it to her for safekeeping—well, we won't spoil it. Suffice to say she finds that bondage clears her head like nothing else because she can step outside what everyone ''thinks'' she should be, and as a result her grades go up. Brains + bondage = More brains?
** And Tachibana, the sex shop owner and {{spoiler|personal slave to Kaoru's favorite author}}, went to graduate school at Todai, the most prestigious university in Japan.
* [[Hot Witch|Ruby]] from ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'' is [[The Smart Guy]] of the [[True Companions|Newspaper Club]], has extensive knowledge of various monsters and forms of magic, is a capable strategist, works as the direct assistant to the school's board chairman, and is a blatant masochist.


==  [[Comic Books]] ==
* In ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'', the character Lady Lys tends toward philosophical musing when it comes to pain.
** For the record, she is a demon and pain harvested from human souls and refined into a powder-like substance is a powerful narcotic for her kind; it's both the main currency and the most common form of recreation in Hell - the actual torture is just a job for most demons.
* In ''[[Global Frequency]]'' one of the organization's top scientific consultants is never shown out of his gimp mask.
* When [[No Name Given|355]] sends Yorick for therapy in ''[[Y: The Last Man]]'' it turns out that the process is basically an extended BDSM session with the therapist.
* In ''[[Sin City]]'', most of the female assassins of the Colonel's Guild are into S&M in one form or another. They are all very intelligent, battle savvy women. One of which, is a genetics expert.
* The Beef Boys from ''[[Wild CATS|Wildcats 3.0]]'' are never seen without their bondage gear, and the one who speaks (the other always has a ball gag when seen) is very intellectual.


==  [[Fan Works]] ==
* A recent{{when}} fanfic reinvention of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' features as science officer a Professor Polly Partridge, who... Well, just YES.{{context}}<!-- The least you could tell us is whether she's a domme, a sub, or switches. --><!-- You could always read it, y'know.  Once you find out, you can stop if it's not what you want. -->
* There is at least one [[LiveJournal]] community devoted to [[Harry Potter (novel)|Snape]] [http://community.livejournal.com/severusbound/profile bondage fic].
* This is not an uncommon characterization for ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'''s Engineer in [[Fanfic]].
** Not to mention [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul|the]] [[Mad Doctor|Medic]].
* In a large fraction of ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' [[Lemon]] fanfic where Hermione and Harry hook up, Hermione is frequently depicted as having an interest in some flavor of [[BDSM]], almost always as a sub; it is often painted as an explicit counterpoint to her "bossy" nature.  And sometimes it's played for gentle laughs.
{{quote|''"It's always the quiet ones."''}}
* There's an awful lot of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' fic in which [[Hot Scientist|Mohinder]] is involved in BDSM, mostly as a sub.
* Frequently a trait of Hermione Granger (and Harry Potter, to a lesser but still enthusiastically enabling degree) in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' fanfics of [[Doghead Thirteen]].


==  [[Film]] ==
* Severin in ''[[Shortbus]]''.
* Edward from ''[[Secretary]]''.


==  [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Gravity's Rainbow]]'' includes a character expounding on the virtues of "sado-anarchism."
* ''The End of Mr. Y'' has a measure of it. The heroine is every bit the brainy academic stereotype... and she likes to be bound during sex. Kinky.
* ''[[Kushiel's Legacy]]'' is made of this trope. Terre D'Ange is by and large highly accepting of any sexual kinks, and while there's less talk among the general public about the S&M practices, they're also considered sacred. This view is magnified exponentially by the main character, who experiences pain as pleasure (the mark of her patron god). She is a high class prostitute, and engages in a wide range of masochistic sexual encounters. Many of these are portrayed as loving, cleansing, or just downright fun. The negative BDSM scenes are a result of true malice on the part of her client, and are portrayed as perversions of the kink, rather than the entirety of it. Moreover, Phedre is extremely intelligent, and the books often wax philosophical on the nature of pain, pleasure, and sexuality.
* Tarl Cabot of ''[[Gor]]'' is a Professor on Earth. Unsurprising, as he is a [[Marty Stu]] [[Author Avatar]].
* Vishous of the ''[[Black Dagger Brotherhood]]'' is a sexual dominant. It's not until the end of his book that he allows himself to be the one tied up and caned.


==  [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Dr. Chase from ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' is a brilliant surgeon who turns out to know the [[Dominatrix]] whom one patient has been seeing - they used to hang out at the same BDSM club.
* Lady Heather on ''[[CSI]]'' appears to be an intellectual match for Grissom, eventually getting a degree in psychology.
* Abby on ''[[NCIS]]''.
** As well as another case where the boyfriend was suspected, until he was found tied and gagged. Quite the alibi.
* In one episode of ''[[Castle]]'' the victim is a doctoral student who was a dominatrix. Her boss at the dungeon was a former lawyer.
* Chuck and Blair are considered to be the most intelligent charactersd in ''[[Gossip Girl]]'', and they have a ''lot'' of fun.
* Dr. Charlotte Lewis, Sawyer and (hinted) Dr. Juliet Burke in ''[[Lost]]''.
** In the {{spoiler|fifth}} season, Juliet is living in the village with her live-in boyfriend Lafleur {{spoiler|who is actually Sawyer undercover}}. One evening they get a unwelcome visitor {{spoiler|who has found evidence that there's something wrong with Lafleur/Sawyer}}. Lafleur beats him up and asks Juliet to get some ropes to [[Bound and Gagged|pacify]] him. Without hesitation, she turns to the bedroom. Of course. Where else would she be keeping the ropes?
** In episode eight of the sixth season, Sawyer is on a date with Dr. Charlotte Lewis. When she says she's an archeologist he asks her if she's like Indiana Jones. When she says yes, he asks her if she have a whip. She smiles and says "maybe". One minute later into the episode they are naked in bed. Charlotte says "Wow. Not bad, considering we didn't have that whip", and Sawyer replies "Bring it next time". Both lines said while cuddling, and said in a very friendly tone of voice.
* Worf and Dax in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' frequently end up in medical during the middle of the night with dislodged limbs and broken bones. While Worf is more of a highly traditional [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]], Dax is a scientists with literarily several lifetimes of experience first, and treats klingon martial arts just as a sport. It's not explicitly said how they did it, but they certainly like it rough.
** A lot of Klingons enjoy the rough stuff. On the same morning after Worf and Dax's first night together, Quark and Grillka also showed up in the infirmary with similar injuries. Data even once mentioned that in Klingon culture a broken clavicle during sex is considered a blessing on the future marriage.
*** But that's OK really because Klingons have a spare set of clavicles ([[Fridge Logic|don't ask how that works]]) along with redundant spares for almost everything, up to and including higher brain function - it's when they get involved with another species that problems occur.
* In the ''[[Dollhouse]]'' episode "A Spy in the House of Love", Echo is first shown imprinted with a dominatrix personality, and waxes philosophical to Boyd that it's about trust rather than pain.
* Implied in ''[[Doctor Who]]'' with the Doctor and Dr. River Song.
{{quote|'''Doctor''': Why would you even ''have'' handcuffs?
'''River Song''': Spoilers! }}
* Probably skating the line here, but in ''[[Farscape]]'' you have [[Wicked Cultured]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] Scorpius who ''really'' has a thing for black leather and masochistic tendencies. Yes ''that'' way. However, this being ''[[Farscape]]'', there are a ''lot'' of very intelligent people/aliens enjoying ''really'' kinky stuff. There is a reason it's been described as an American man's descent into the Australian BDSM scene.
** Scorpius isn't a stretch at all. The first (and only, IIRC) time Scorpius and Sikozu are...intimate...onscreen involves Sikozu sitting on Scorpy's lap while he wraps a rope around her neck. Yeah.
** In the episode "Crackers Don't Matter," the mental clone of Scorpius implanted in Crichton's brain ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]), which had been previously encouraging him to slaughter his shipmates, advises him instead to tie [[Ms. Fanservice|Chiana]] up and " save her for dessert."
* Hinted at in ''[[Angel]]'' with Wesley, who has [[Encyclopaedic Knowledge]] of demonology. In episode 2.20, we get the following exchange (while researching how to keep together while going through a dimensional portal):
{{quote|'''Angel:''' "What, we handcuff ourselves together? Who do we know that has handcuffs?"
'''Wesley:''' "Well, I--" ''*pauses and looks uncomfortable*'' "--wouldn't know." }}
* In ''[[Sherlock]]'', a modern day version of the [[Sherlock Holmes]] canon, [[Femme Fatale|Irene Adler]] is a dominatrix who caters to the rich and powerful, using her "access" to gain sensitive material for blackmail and leverage. She's also, in [[Spank the Cutie|every]] [[Worthy Opponent|sense]] [[Batman Gambit|of the word]], the only one to ever [[Out-Gambitted|beat]] Sherlock Holmes, and much more thoroughly than in the original story. {{spoiler|For a while, at least.}}
{{quote|'''Sherlock:''' A power-play with the most powerful family in Britain. Now that *is* a dominatrix. Ooh, this is getting rather fun, isn't it?}}


==  Video Games ==
* ''[[Vagrant Story]]'': It's not quite clear ''why'', but about half of the cast is walking around in BDSM gear. And spouting faux-Shakespearian dialogue.
* A throwaway line from ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]]'' hints that Elaine (typically the franchise's [[Only Sane Man]]) enjoys being tied up (but not for too long, or else she gets cranky).
* Caster from ''[[Fate/stay night]]''. She's a [[Squishy Wizard|mentally powerful yet physically weak mage]] who gets off on seeing  {{spoiler|Saber}} tied up and tortured.
* Kinzie Kensington of [[Saints Row: The Third|the third]] ''[[Saints Row]]'' game, who was a FBI computer analyst and hints that she is a regular at a BDSM club that even squicks out the main character. Pierce even points out the leather dominatrix mask she keeps in her hacker cave.


==  Webcomics ==
* While not overly philosophical, Sixx from ''[[Collar 6]]'', is a very intelligent and successful hotel tycoon.
* [[The Faceless]] necromancer from ''[[Anti-HEROES]]''.
* In ''[[Fansadox]]'', ''Women Hunt'', Mad Satan is the only one capable of running a supercomputer, as he was the one who built it. He also enjoys (and now has the chance to do this extensively) raping and torturing women.
* Anna in ''[[Fansadox/Birthday Gift|Birthday Gift]]''.
* Clarice of ''[[Girls with Slingshots]]'' works in a porn store, is a [http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/comic/gws157/ dominatrix on the weekends] and has a [http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/comic/gws-1159/ Master's in Library and Information Science].
* Equius in ''[[Homestuck]]'' is a play on this, as he has a submission fetish and a love of breathplay, as well as a ridiculously flowery vocabulary and an interest in building robots. However, his inability to adjust his stupid prejudices in the face of plenty of evidence shows that despite his book intelligence, he isn't very good at learning from his experiences. It's his prejudice which leads to his eventual downfall.
* {{spoiler|Shizune Hakamichi}} of [[Katawa Shoujo]] uses bondage on Hisao in her first sex scene. Her disability comes into play, as {{spoiler|[["Shut Up" Kiss|if Hisao's hands are tied, he can't sign]].}}


==  [[Web Original]] ==
* [http://www.cracked.com/article_18559_6-famous-geniuses-you-didnt-know-were-perverts.html?wa_user1=2&wa_user2=Sex&wa_user3=article&wa_user4=moreon This list] is not restricted to bondage specifically, but it is notable.
* [[Ask That Guy With The Glasses]], while evil, is however intelligent and has advocated the use of leashes, handcuffs and many other kinky things.
** [[The Nostalgia Critic]] is a [[Genius Ditz]] and has big things for masochism, humiliation and strong, dominating women.
** Speaking of dommy ladies, [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s a parodied [[Brainy Brunette]] and has told anyone bitching about how ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'' being not like the Greek myths to "stick a ballgag in your mouth and sit in the corner".
* Sharon, a mechanic from ''[[Darwin's Soldiers]]'' casually mentions dreaming about [https://web.archive.org/web/20140208165941/http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/index.php?showtopic=7319 handcuffs].

==  [[Western Animation]] ==
* Frylock on ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', though the "bondage" part only comes up in one or two episodes.
* In ''[[Helluva Boss]]'', Stolas (the protagonist's [[Evil Mentor]] and lover) seems the intellectual type, skilled in magic, astrology, astronomy, and alchemy, and he is very much into BDSM. Curiously, despite being a high ranking infernal noble, he prefers being the sub. 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Sex Tropes]]
[[Category:Intelligence Tropes]]
[[Category:No Real Life Examples, Please]]
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