Diary of a Dominatrix

This week I read Diary of a Dominatrix, by Molly Kiely, which is an interesting tale to say the least and is extremely explicit to be honest. The work is categorized as erotica, but, at least for me, does not seem to be erotic rather then simply honest. When I think of erotica or something that is considered erotic I would think of something that is more fantastical and is based in fiction. This comic tells a story from the point of view of a dominatrix and her day-to-day life and struggles to live life as normal as “normal” is. Even if someone is into this Dominatrix fantasy I don’t believe it would be very appealing to that type of person either, this is definitely a comic meant for women more then it is for men.  Her day-to-day problems discuss topics that most women deal with and are not meant to be interpreted as something erotic.

            The thing that I find most interesting about this piece is that even though the protagonist is a dominatrix, someone who dominates his or her partner, she still has to worry about her image and how she is seen by the opposite sex so that she does not lose her image as a dominatrix. Being a Dominatrix is not considered normal to the average person, but being a women and dealing with image issues certainly is.

            I can understand why it would be hard to categorize this comic in genre that is appropriate with the subject matter that is discussed in the story, but being considered an erotica does not feel one hundred percent correct to me. I don’t know myself where I would place it, but it screams out to be something very different from an erotica, because in most cases erotica tend to objectify women and this piece the protagonist is brought to us as a human being who we sympathize for even when we find her trade maybe a little repulsive.