The punitive and the tragic

[cal]

Representations of mortally wounded women, whether in texts, drawings, paintings, photos, movies, stagings, or even just in the imagination, arouse some people sexually. When this response is automatic and involuntary, it’s an instance of sexual fetishism. The representations that elicit the response are called the fetish, and the person who has the response is called the fetishist.

Fetishists who get sexually aroused by representations of mortally wounded women would not get aroused by a real woman who was really wounded. The actresses who play characters who are wounded in stage plays are real women, but their wounding is represented, not real. Fetishists who get sexually aroused by representations of wounded women are just as protective of real women as any nonfetishist is, and are just as unlikely to harm any real person.

No one knows how many people in the world have this fetish. The websites that serve them probably attract fewer than 100,000 repeat visitors a year. The fetishists’ demographics are also unclear. In their web posts they typically report having felt the first stirrings of the fetishism around the age of puberty, and even the oldest ones, some in their seventies, say they still have it. Most of them say they are men, but some say they are women. That’s about all we know.

Representations of mortally wounded women aren’t the only sexual fetishes that people can have. Many different objects or situations can be fetishes for different people. Some people have no fetishes, some have one, and some have more than one. Multiple fetishes in the same person can be distinct and independent. If so, the person is a multiple fetishist.

The mortally wounded woman fetish usually includes some context, some narrative or scenic setting. The woman, for example, might be figured as an Amazon, a cowgirl, or a spy, each with the pertinent costumes, habitats, and behaviors. Some fetishists find the Amazon more compelling than other types of mortally wounded women. Other fetishists find the cowgirl more compelling, and so on.

The context of the fetish usually includes some explicit or implicit explanation of why the woman is wounded. For many fetishists it’s because she deserves it. The reasons are explained in the scenario or assumed in the setting. If she’s figured as an assassin, for example, the fetishist can assume she has killed other people, and therefore deserves to be killed in retribution.

Since the context of the fetish for these fetishists includes the sense that the woman is being justly punished, the aesthetic of their fetish can be described as punitive. The punishment inflicted, however, often goes far beyond the crime. In some scenarios the guilty woman suffers agonizing pain before she dies. She may be tortured or degraded. She may be riddled with bullets or stabbed repeatedly. Her corpse may be sexually molested. She may be disemboweled, dismembered, even cooked and eaten.

Representations of such punishments, disproportionate and extreme though they be, arouse punitive fetishists more than representations of a woman simply getting wounded and dying. The woman represented in these extreme scenarios enrages them. They gloat at her degradation and exult in her agony.

These accompanying feelings, like the sexual arousal itself, are automatic and involutary. Punitive fetishists don’t hate women in real life. They’re as kindly toward real women as any nonfetishist is. The rage, gloating, and exultation come only in response to their fetish.

Punitive fetishists aren’t the only ones who get aroused by representations of mortally wounded women. There are also some who respond to a tragic aesthetic. These fetishists love or admire the woman represented because she’s beautiful or brave. When she gets mortally wounded they pity her, and when she suffers and dies they grieve.

Why does she get wounded in the first place? Maybe she’s an officer or agent fighting the bad guys. Maybe she’s an innocent civilian protecting someone. Maybe she’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe she has gotten mixed up with bad company but could atone in the future. Alas, now she has lost her future. And besides, she was a beautiful or admirable woman. Alas, now the world has lost her forever.

Tragic fetishists do not enjoy scenarios portraying humiliation, degradation, overkill, agony, torture, sexual molestation, or dismemberment.

Typically the woman in a tragic scenario lingers longer after being wounded than a woman in a punitive scenario. Instead of twitching or writhing, she dies peacefully, perhaps uttering some poignant last words. No blood dribbles from her mouth.

It’s a cliché of tragic scenarios that the woman dies in the arms of the hero. The hero models the fetishist’s grief and hears the woman’s last words. Of course, there are also tragic scenarios that provide other audiences for the woman’s last words.

When producers of representations of mortally wounded women hope to sell their products to fetishists, they improve their chances of success by pitching each product either to punitive fetishists or to tragic fetishists, and not to both. Each aesthetic has elements that bore or offend fetishists who prefer the other aesthetic, so when producers try to appeal to both aesthetics in the same product, they end up appealing to neither.

[Grace X]

Cal, I love this post, not only for its fascinating observations on the psychology of death fantasy, but because it so actively acknowledges the emotions of female participants in those death fantasies. We gals who are fetishists all approach our pleasure in the genre as individuals, and to be respected within those individual preferences is so fulfilling. I love the way that you -- and so many of our friends -- look long and with caring into the partnerships that we build within our fantasies. Awareness of where the fulfillment in those fantasies comes from is such a huge key to enjoying them together.

XOX G

[xj900uk]

As much as I love seeing a helpless girl (or perhaps a bad girl) getting her just deserts, in a lot of my own fiction the girl fights back and doesn't go gently... What do you think about that scenario - not even sure if the girl dies in the end or the perp(s) who are trying to end her life

[Grace X]

I'm with you on the fighting back! In my fantasies I am always tough and smart and go down hard. (and I sometimes take my assailant with me...so watch out!)

[Egeek]

lately I have been writing about lovely but deadly as hell women type characters. female hit woman or a female demon. they are strong and are hot in their own ways. they cant be killed easily or won be killed at all. their vics well thats a different area. they may go down easy but you may feel least feel sympathy for them when they do or their may be a very good reason why they were killed. like if they are a rat and a hit woman is hired to off their ass. so even though my female main characters are the killer human or non human. they arent weak.

[xj900uk]

Mine usually aren't weak. In fact if you find one that is genuinely weak in my jottings, it usually means she's about to bite the bullet.
Most of my female characters are tough, they have an inner strength which isn't always readily apparent (Egeek you'll find out what I mean later) - well, lets face it, they have to be tough, considering what happens to them in my world...

[Egeek]

Mine usually aren't weak. In fact if you find one that is genuinely weak in my jottings, it usually means she's about to bite the bullet.
Most of my female characters are tough, they have an inner strength which isn't always readily apparent (Egeek you'll find out what I mean later) - well, lets face it, they have to be tough, considering what happens to them in my world...

ya Im sure I will. ya my characters are strong. the female killers anyways. their inner demons or actually being a demon pretty much says that. vic characters are a different thing. maybe they may fight back but could they win against a demon?

[xj900uk]

Depends I guess - are they prepared to be as bad if not worse than the demon(ess)?

[Egeek]

Depends I guess - are they prepared to be as bad if not worse than the demon(ess)?

it always depends. a killer can be a vic in a way because of the past. her inner demons in a way killed her or a actual demon took over her and her old self is dead. Also her own inner demons is what makes her strong. A both a gift and a curse you can see it as. the black crane is a example of both. As for actually fighting a demon. try to fight it or not. its probably going to be the end of the road for her. In our stories there really is a different types of vics. ones that are innocent or misunderstood because the inner demons take over or ones that deserve in our scenes because they are either rats or what ever. When I think of the term the punitive and the tragic. it translate no happy ending. one way or another. In reality we have both and everything else that I mentioned. In the fantasy world why be a happy ending?

[xj900uk]

Well in my fantasy world, Egeek, there are rarely any happy endings...

[Egeek]

Well in my fantasy world, Egeek, there are rarely any happy endings...

thats why I love your work. that and you know how to flesh out your characters and scenes. I love it. I learn from it as well.

[xj900uk]

Thanx, I always take time to work on the characters (even those that don't survive very long!) and also the scenes/background/flavour of the entire setting

[Egeek]

Thanx, I always take time to work on the characters (even those that don't survive very long!) and also the scenes/background/flavour of the entire setting

I learned from you on that. its sometimes a challenge.e specially when you are working with a timeline. How past event from reality coincide with the fantasy scene. make reference to. Its fun to go from the past to the present. then to just write about the present. that could get boring sometimes.

[xj900uk]

Yeah that happens with me, the timeline jumps all over the place. Bit of a challenge to tie it all up at times. But yes there are sub-plots brewing and a lot of what happens in the past influences the present and also the future.

[PatrickPayne]

The punishment inflicted, however, often goes far beyond the crime. In some scenarios the guilty woman suffers agonizing pain before she dies. She may be tortured or degraded. She may be riddled with bullets or stabbed repeatedly...... Representations of such punishments, disproportionate and extreme though they be, arouse punitive fetishists more than representations of a woman simply getting wounded and dying. The woman represented in these extreme scenarios enrages them. They gloat at her degradation and exult in her agony.

I couldn't have found a better thread to reply to as my first post. You make several interesting points and what I've quoted above sums me up better than I could have ever described myself. I'd love to read more of your thoughts on this.