BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes and Sadomasochism

Posted: Thu, Oct 3, 2024

Please keep an eye out for the following questions, but you are not required to write out answers. The questions are arranged in the rough order in which they come up in the documentary, though do note that sometimes a question may get addressed slightly later on.

1. How was sadomasochism received by society at the time of the documentary (1995)?
2. What did feminists back then think of S/M?
3. How did lesbian sadomasochism challenge feminist theory and politics?
4. Note the extensive involvement of trans people in lesbian BDSM/leatherdyke communities: for example, Tala Brandeis was a trans woman, and both Patrick Califia and Robin Sweeney later came out as trans men. What about the leatherdyke community do you think may have provided this space for gender expression/exploration/play? And what limited it?
5. Note also all the subtle distinctions being made: leather vs. SM, macho femme vs. (femme?) femme, lesbian vs. dyke, submissive top vs. dominant bottom, etc.
6. How is consent understood in the SM context?
7. Note the idea of a community as a family/kinship/social system. How does this differ from how, for example, the term “LGBTQ community” tends to be used today?