BDSM and Social Justice

At first BDSM and social justice are not complementary ideas. For those who don't know BDSM is actually 6 ideas. BD is Bondage and Discipline. D/s is Domination and submission. S&M is Sadism and Masochism. Social justice is the idea that all people deserve dignity by society. It is my BDSM experience that leads to my deepest thoughts about social justice.

BDSM is often viewed through a sexual lens. People think that people who are into BDSM are into kinky sex. While kinky sex may be part of BDSM for some people, to me it is about a conscious relationship that clearly identifies power roles and where both partners are working together to "master" the roles. This means that both partners are required to communicate about their experience. BDSM, if well practiced, is 90% communication, and about 10% actions. It is consciousness raising.

To be a "Master" or "Mistress" the goal is to master techniques of power. But you can't master something without knowing a lot about it. We see people working on being a master at power everyday. It is often the same as leadership. It means setting the best example, striving to improve Ones self, and using small details in ones life to control it. Being a Master/Mistress or Dom/Domme (Dominatrix) to another means that as they lead, they also are teaching self control to the submissive partner. This means that there must be correction. Correction is discipline.

Discipline has a long history of use and its place in society. The most thorough explanation of the history of punishment and society is in the book "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison" by the philosopher, Michael Foucault. He also wrote "The History of Sexuality" because power and sexuality cannot be disconnected. Power is, in this descriptions a political technology. It is also the tool that social justice must use to bring about equality. Social justice can't pretend power doesn't exist, but it needs to be used responsibly. Discipline is one way of wielding power and can also be a tool of good. This is how it should also be viewed by those practicing BDSM.

Being a good Domme, in BDSM, means knowing how and being able to perform as a good submissive in the correct context. At work in the business world, not all Dommes are in positions of power. They must know when and how to be submissive to give power to others. That is what leads to true mastery of the skills of power.

Dommes must also be very conscious of lower participants power. I learned a lot about this from the paper "Sources of Power of Lower Participants in Complex Organizations" by David Mechanic. In the social justice world, power use doesn't happen just in the board rooms, it happen in a very real way and the most often at the doors of organizations. Dommes recognize that it also happens in personal relationships and is called "topping from the bottom." Submissives who engage in this behavior (especially sexually) are sometimes referred to as "power bottoms." Real masters have to recognize this, not just as a flaw, but as a power disruption that has to be addressed by communication. This is also how it works in organizations. The secretary is the gatekeeper to people, and influences access and information flow. Their sort of power should be respected. A Mistress knows how to use this external power in a positive way. So does a good manager and a good leader. In the end, this person is sometimes the best ally for change.

In organizations striving for social justice, we have to understand and use
coercion and persuasion
influence (overt and subvert)
Power and communication
Marketing and image control
Submission and social powerlessness as an exercise of power dissection
Affective best practices for change
Ritualized expression of pain as a group and as an individual


In BDSM the successful Mistress or Master is also responsible to be very conscious of these things. I know my BDSM experience is what influenced and continues to influence my work in social justice. Anybody else?