Please, Ma'am

by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Men are the ones gifted with all sorts of power in our society, but a dirty little secret is that so many of them long to strip themselves of this power, to be tied down, gagged, spanked, taken, and owned. They want to ease the burdens of manliness, if only for a little while, to be "ordered" to do all the naughty things of which they've dreamed. Please, Ma'am shows some of the tantalizing possibilities out there for sniveling men and the women who love them. Best-selling erotica editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has gathered together top voices in the genre, including Stephen Elliott, Alison Tyler, Dominic Santi, and many more. In Please, Ma'am, men willingly submit to the deliciously dominant women who entertain their deepest desires and give them the treatment they crave. Table of contents
Introduction
 
I Live to Serve Teresa Noelle Roberts 
It's Not Me, It's You Charlotte Stein 
A Charmed Life by Isabelle Gray 
A Maze, and Grace Elizabeth Coldwell 
Inside the Pride Remittance Girl 
Modern Major General Craig J. Sorensen 
Mr. February Madeline Elayne 
Frozen A.D.R. Forte 
Thrift Store Whore Sommer Marsden 
Porch Swing Dominic Santi 
Paypig Michael Hemmingson 
The Crack of the Bat Heidi Champa 
Dressing for Dinner Giselle Renarde 
Living Rough Ariel Graham 
Pick a Color D.L. King 
Houseboy Rachel Kramer Bussel 
The Unhappy Table Lee Ash I'll Do It. For Her. Graydancer

Genres: Erotica, BDSM, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories, Sexuality

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

I'm the editor of the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series and over 70 anthologies including The Big Book of Orgasms and Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica. I've also written a wide range of erotica about everything from French fries to fishnets. I write about books, culture, sexuality and relationships, teach erotica writing workshops and consult with erotica authors and sex writers to help them advance their careers. I read a wide range of genres, from erotica to romance to mystery to memoir to graphic novels and anything that strikes my fancy. See my website for my newsletter with book giveaways and writing samples.

Reviews

[D.L. King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually review books in which I have stories (it feels somehow wrong). Actually, I never do, but I had to make an exception for Rachel Kramer Bussel's Please, Ma'am.

I poured through the book as soon as it arrived. Of course, I read my story first. I always do that. I don't know why. I guess just to make sure it's there--and doesn't come across as a stinking pile... Anyway, once that was out of the way, I was free to devour the rest of it.

I write femdom and, perhaps more importantly, I read femdom. Let me tell you, there's not a lot of it out there, or at least not a lot that gets my juices flowing. I'm very particular. I am not a fan of the man-hating shrew and I like my femdom to evoke realistic thoughts, feelings and emotions. That doesn't mean it can't be the wildest of sexual fantasy (I love that; I often write that). But it does mean it has to ring true; it has to speak to me of the actual bond between a woman and a man. Not only are these stories well written but they all have that "ring of truth," as well.

The book is full of great stuff. Some of my favorite stories were Teresa Noelle Roberts' "I Live to Serve," Elizabeth Coldwell's "A Maze, and Grace," Remittance Girl's "Inside the Pride," Ariel Graham's "Living Rough," Rachel's own, "Houseboy" and Graydancer's "I'll Do It. For Her."

Teresa Noelle Roberts' story is the perfect introduction to the book. "I Live to Serve" introduces us to what it means to be a sexual and service submissive, both to the submissive man and to his dominant partner. It feels real and gets us ready for what is to come. It introduces the basic nature of male submissives and female dominants, oh yes, and it's very hot. Very hot.

Remittance Girl and Rachel's efforts are stories I'd also classify as realistic. I could easily see these things happening (although "Inside the Pride" reminds me more of my youth, when there was more sex, or at least semi-acceptable sex-between college students and faculty) and Rachel's story, "Houseboy," is maybe a bit of wishful thinking. These are stories that not only do we wish would happen, but that could happen.

Then there's Elizabeth Coldwell's "A Maze, and Grace," a great fantasy. It's not going to happen. Well, maybe--if you knew fabulously wealthy women with manor houses on huge properties... But mmm, mmm, mmm, is it hot! Ariel Graham's Cinderella story, "Living Rough," probably isn't going to happen, either, but don't we all wish it would? Oh, yes, we do.

Graydancer's "I'll Do It. For Her" ends the book. This story, perhaps, rang most true for me. This story proclaims, "This is me. Regardless of my public persona, this is who I am and who I will always be." A perfect ending to a very well-chosen group of stories.

These are only a few of the stories (and, oh yeah, my story, "Pick A Color," is pretty good too.). Explore the rest of the book. Take my word for it, if you're a submissive male, a dominant woman or simply fascinated by the genre, you'll love it.

[Dhfan4life · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some interesting stories. Unfortunately only a slim few that actually stirred enough of my own person interest. But I still appreciated the mini sneak peeks/glimpses into other people's versions of one shared kink/lifestyle.

[A Connelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

And outstanding collection selected by Rachel Kramer Bussel. She has the "eye" to find the right width and breadth of story types not just one type of store in BDSM Femdom.

[Karielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please, Ma'am edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Release Date: June 1st, 2010
Publisher: Cleis
Page Count: 216
Source: Naked Reader Book Club via EdenFantasys for review

Women Who Rule
"I crave the pain she gives me, but it's more than that... I crave the person she becomes."
-- from "I'll Do It. For Her."

Go ahead, say the words out loud: "Please, Ma'am." If these words make you long for a woman to grab you by the scruff of your neck or control you with one fierce, all-knowing look, then this is the book for you. Whether playing servant, student, or nude model, the submissive men in Please, Ma'am revel in the attention of stern mistresses who know exactly what punishments they need. With stories by Michael Hemmingson, D.L. King, Graydancer, and many more, bestselling erotica editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has gathered together today's best erotic tales of men who crave the cruel intentions of a powerful woman.

What Stephanie Thought: Previously, female dominance was portrayed physically -- with the woman literally being on top (remember my review?). Please Ma'am is just as fierce of a ride, but it covers the more psychological and emotional aspects of the divine mistress.

You wouldn't guess that in dominance, there would be tenderness. Especially in sadism and masochism; tenderness is the last thing you'd expect. But it's all a mind's game, you see. Some people see the practice of dominance and submission as unequal power play and gender condescension. Taking a closer look, it's not like that at all. The reason a woman and a man can endure such debauchery is because in them, is the knowledge that only the strongest can put up with the humiliation. Only the strongest can stand to be beaten and tied up, but still have the dignity to be considered an equal.

Fortunately, there are no whips nor chains in this book; the whipping and blood-drawing of BDSM stories typically makes me queasy. Most of the anthology deals with the type of admiration a submissive male has for his dominant female partner, and the compassion a dominant woman secretly, desirously, has for her surrendering man.

There are many scenes that bring tears to my eyes. It's sublime how much love and passion emerges from both the dominant and submissive parties. It's also perplexing how big of sacrifices lovers are willing to take for each other, to please each other, and that, for me, defines for me what love means. It has nothing to do with physique and societal acceptance; love is a burning connection that has no boundaries, and the controlling hand of Please, Ma'am is what makes it all the more profound.

Stephanie Loves: "I take the pain for her -- no matter how much, how hard -- but I'm not a young man, and sometimes in the face of it my spirit is thrilling but my flesh is meek." -- from Graydancer's "I'll Do It. For Her.", probably one of the most emotionally touching stories I've read, being erotica at that.

Radical Rating: 8 hearts- Would recommend to lots of really good friends. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[JW David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found it listed on Goodreads Best Domme / Fem-Dom list #28.
I give a solid 4 stars, there are several 5 star reads in it.
It appears to be all Short-Shorts.

I LIVE TO SERVE by Teresa Noelle Roberts *****
IT'S NOT ME, IT'S YOU by Charlotte Stein *****
A CHARMED LIFE by Isabelle Gray *****
A MAZE, AND GRACE by Elizabeth Coldwell *****
INSIDE THE PRIDE by Remittance Girl ***
MODERN MAJOR GENERAL by Craig J Sorensen ****
MR. FEBRUARY by Madeline Elayne ****
FROZEN by A D R Forte ****
THRIFT STORE WHORE by Sommer Marsden *****
PORCH SWING by Dominic Santi ***
PAYPIG by Michael Hemmingson ****
THE CRACK OF THE BAT by Heidi Champa ****
DRESSING FOR DINNER by Giselle Renarde ***
LIVING ROUGH by Ariel Graham *****
PICK A COLOR by D L King ****
HOUSEBOY by Rachel Kramer Bussel ****
THE UNHAPPY TABLE by Lee Ashe ***
I'LL DO IT, FOR HER by Graydancer ****

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that will get your fantasies and turn them to reality! I love this book and despite not reading it
for months at a time it stays with me and gives me the same level of excitement every time I pick it up!

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially chose this book because I was intrigued by the idea of male submission. In most erotica I have read it is always women submitting and I thought it would be interesting to read about men submitting and how that is portrayed. I was suprised that I had a really hard time with this anthology. I didn't expect to. I actually thought that I would be cheering for the dominate women in the stories, and while there was some cheering I was not always comfortable with the plotlines. I think that some of stories portrayed submissive men in ways that I associate with the perviness of sexually harassing men. I understand that I feel this way because of how that harassment feels. It's gross and violating, but that's not what the stories were trying to do. I think that because the places were public and all I could think is what if some women had accidentially seen them and how violating that would be. There was a story where a guy was masturbating at his desk in the office because his mistress told him too. And there was also the story of the guy who had a foot fetish and started working at a nail salon. Those things creeped me out. I think that while there may have been consent between mistress and submissive, there wasn't consent for bystanders. As far as we know with these stories there weren't any bystanders. Also my heart went out to the story of the guy who cross dressed because I feel like he viewed himself as female. I spent the whole time thinking that I should be thinking of him as a she/her instead. I wondered if they were transgender. I couldn't reconcil myself to the way the story was told. And why this person's mistress was fierce and sweet, I still wondered if the mistress was missing her submissives emotional and mental needs.

I think that none of the stories spoke of subtlety of getting off like the stories of women's submission that I read. I wonder if that's because physically male genitalia is external which makes subtlety harder. I don't know. Also I'm not sure what the whole worm thing is about. I've only heard that phrase used in military/war movies to refer to new recruits so I wasn't sure how that works in a BDSM space.

So positives. I really liked the stories were consent is exists. I appreciated that most of the stories were from the male perspective. I particularly liked that dominate women were called goddesses and queens in addition to mistress. I liked the story about the maze party and the one about the thrift show even thought it made me borderline uncomfortable. The first story I liked because he really wanted to serve Milady even though he loved and hated it. The last story is similar except he's dominate in the world and submissive for his woman and only for her. With her there are no games and I thought it was a good sentiment to end the anthology on. My absolute favorite story was "Inside the Pride." I really liked that this took the hot professor trope and twisted it on it's head. Mistress was the head of this group of boys and they worshipped her, but they also were there for each other. It was sweet and crazy. "Mr. February" was another favorite because it was a sweet story of a husband telling his wife that he's submissive and has been for years and her response was game on. I really enjoyed it because it was love and adult communication.

All in all, I would like to read another anthology about male submissives and see if there are ways to portray kink without the unintentional perv factor.

[Antonomasia]

All the stories in this collection are told from the viewpoints of male subs (either in first or third person) - I wish I'd known that before buying. Two earlier collections edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, She's on Top and Yes Ma'am, have more variety, and therefore more stories from the domme's perspective. Cleis Press short story anthologies always have pretty good quality writing, and certainly better than that in the torrent of trashy erotica that's appeared since 50 Shades of Grey.

[Zofia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly have no idea who is rating these books because they are not up to par, and I'm buying them BECAUSE they had a high rating score! It's just not right or fair to do this, they were not good reads and shouldn't have been labelled such.
SERIOUSLY, IS THERE ANY REALLY GOOD FEMDOM BOOKS OUT THERE THAT ARE NOT TOTALLY MISANDRISTIC???????

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most are great. 3 I didn't like so much.
I want MORE. It's just a shame, there isn't that many of these Anthologies out there.
Honest opinion of this series! But everyone, has their own taste.