NDLI: German dominatrices’ choices of working names as reflections of self-constructed social identity

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Wilson, Andrew
Copyright Year	2005
Abstract	Professional dominatrices tend to practice under pseudonyms. On the assumption that generalizable patterns in their pseudonym choices may reflect the self-constructed identity and emphases of professional domination and submission, this paper undertakes a detailed linguistic analysis of the working names chosen by 141 dominatrices based in Germany. The most typical form of name chosen involves a title and a personal first name without an accompanying surname (e.g. Lady Barbara), suggesting an ambiguous position on the continuum between distance and intimacy. Foreign-language titles (e.g. Lady) are also found to be preferred to German-language ones (e.g. Herrin), pointing to the role of language symbolism in creating a sense of sophistication and internationalism. The most preferred title choices also largely avoid direct references to power. In terms of name choice, although direct references to aspects of sadomasochism are not unrepresented, the predominant choices seem to identify a group of women who construct themselves as cultured, educated, classy, and feminine. Elements of mysticism and mythology are also present, which seem to support psychoanalytic—and especially Kleinian—theories of fetishism and sadomasochism. Further research should aim at replicating the analysis with dominatrices based in countries other than Germany.
Starting Page	31
Ending Page	41
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	10955143
Journal	Sexuality and Culture
Volume Number	9
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	19364822
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2005-01-01
Publisher Place	New York
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Studies Personality & Social Psychology Psychology Regional and Cultural Studies
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Gender Studies Cultural Studies

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
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