A while ago I discover this beautiful image by artist Andrew Tarusov. Belle in full control of her Beast. Disney wouldn’t approve but it is clearly femdom related. Then all of a sudden it hit me. Beauty & the Beast is exactly the same as Fifty Shades. Think about it.
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| She will set him free – from his current form. Despite his grumpiness he follows her lead. I do not understand why The Beast doesn’t look happier. He should, Belle is.(Image: Disney pin-up princess by Andrew Tarusov) |
Even the most diehard Fifty Shades fan is disappointed by how the story ends. Sadist abuses innocent young girl. Young girl blossoms into a woman despite everything and domesticates wealthy sadist. In the end it didn’t turn out to be his fault at all. It was his childhood.
The book received a lot of attention from the kink community. The real message, however, was lost upon us femdom lovers. The trilogy’s main message teaches you kink is not acceptable. The lucky ones get cured and in the process discover they are not to blame for it. Almost as if a victimless crime does exist.
Deeply disguised dominance
A quarter of a century before – in 1991 – Disney released its animated version of Beauty & the Beast. It was a huge success. Belle, whose father is imprisoned by the Beast, offers herself instead, unaware her captor is an enchanted prince. Le Beast is a French prince, placed under a spell because he cannot love. Enter the many parallels between Beauty & the Beast and Fifty Shades.
The modern day equivalent of an European prince is an American tech billionaire. Both of them seem unable to love. Over time they learn, but not before they bury the claws in some innocent young woman, who is somewhat naive, yet curious about the world out there. Being forced out of your comfort zone is another element both stories share as is the female lead – a heroine who at least is a bit a-typical.
Predator meets innocence sets the stage for a lot of misery. One of our heroines is locked up, the other suffers from mental abuse untill she makes hubbie sees the light. Both are forced to be spend their time in a place they don’t want to be. Of course the two heroines posses a striking beauty. In the end, they and no-one else, heal their captors. Not only do they cure them, they turn them into relationship material (enter your definition here). When the curtain closes, the women, not the men, are firmly in control. Most people don’t see it that way and simply think of it as a story of love, but in the end it is all about control.
So who is really in control? Kinky folk obsess about it all the time. The one who makes the other suffer or the woman who gets what she wants? My guess is the one behind the throne is the one in control. For control to be effective, it is best invisible. Both women succeed in “rescueing” the man they one day will love. If you can turn a bad guy into a good one, you are definitely dominant. Or perhaps it is the power of love. Or both. Whatever.
La Femdomme, c’est plus belle
Fifty Shades was never really my thing, but you know that already. Let’s forget about the parallels and focus on Beauty & the Beast instead. One of its most inspiring elements is how covert strenght, applied subtle and gently allow her to lead. What man would not surrender to such a force coming from the woman he loves? Yet, it is not something the casual observer will ever notice. Guidance, effective and with a purpose, also deepens power exchange between mistress and slave. It becomes something more intense and far removed from your average “action, baby.” Screaming and shouting never aided anyone of us achieve our goals – which after all is the purest definition of dominance. And yes that goal can be the happiness of the one you love. Belle leads her Beast, gently yet firmly. Only she can lead him to where he has to go.
In the end it is a love story. But where power exchange is crude and glaring obvious in Fifty Shades, it is displayed more subtle in Beauty & the Beast. Life together is about your mistress being more than that. For the lucky ones, she is above all the woman who guides you because she loves you. Why else would you follow her lead? I did it again, didn’t I?
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| A tamed tiger is a happy tiger. Jasmine has tamed hers. The predator looks more appreciative than Belle's Beast. Perhaps because that annoying brat Aladdin is nowhere to be seen. (Image: Disney pin-up princess by Andrew Tarusov) |
Most people don’t see it like that but Beauty & the Beast teaches us how power dynamics are an integral part of life. It also shows dominance and submission exists on many levels. We happily surrender, most of the time without being aware of it. But we feel it. What is there to see for the outside world, is not what is really going on – a characteristic it shares with Fifty Shades. Yet some things take time. Of course they do. After all no man accepts guidance from a woman, whose horizon is limited to the here and now.
Which brings me to the complicated part. The good thing about her dominance is when you realize, she craves to own you. She does. But she is also a sadist. Love always hurts, so better suffer by the hands of the woman you love and trust.
Of course there are many differences between Beauty & the Beast and Fifty Shades. You may have noticed how the castle of the beast lacks a red room of pain – unless you count his private quarters where he keeps the red rose of doom under glass. It is not common knowledge, but Belle had installed a room of pain in the castle later, painted in Belle-yellow of course. But that was long after Disney left the building. Even Disney princesses are not always what they seem. Don’t believe me? Check out Disney Ladies from last night on Tumblr.
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Browsing IMDB for Beauty & the Beast, I stumble upon one particular question in the FAQ. “Is the prince really eleven years old when the spell is cast?” It never stops, now does it? Woo hah!
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