Coming to Power: Writing and Graphics on Lesbian S/M

by Samois (Editor)

Coming to Power is more than an attempt to put sex back into lesbian politics. It is an attempt to show, through stories, graphics and analysis, just how political lesbian sex really is. It is an attempt to remind all of us that we must continue our fight to define sexual relations in our own terms as something valid and important. And it’s the best thing that has been published on feminist theory/practice in a long, long time. So let’s go for that long-awaited walk on the wild side. (from the back cover)

Genres: Queer, Sexuality, Feminism, Lesbian, Nonfiction, BDSM, LGBT

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this back when I thought I was a leather dyke. It helped me realize that I am not a leather dyke.

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

extra points for being a lesbian feminist classic written/published during the feminist "sex wars" by the legendary SAMOIS. minus points for one of the essays suggesting that paddling one another is a good way to resolve jealousy/other interpersonal conflicts within a relationship.
plus points for hot/thoughtful writing on what was, at the time, an incredibly contentious subject, and providing a diversity of viewpoints.

[Agnieszka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic piece of second wave feminist history, showing the very beginnings of the schism between the anti-porn and pro-sex branches. It's not as simple as it looks in hindsight. Interestingly Samois (the women's SM organization that put out the book) didn't have an official stance on pornography and the essays don't address it much, focusing instead, as the title says on Lesbian S/M. I think this book is an important read for anyone interested in the history of feminism, lesbians, and the evolution of BDSM.

The essays are from a variety of writers and don't even all agree with each other. The book is part essays, part erotica. I mostly found myself skipping the erotica. I'm sure it'll be enjoyable for some readers but for me there was something just kind of dated and silly about it. The essays on the other hand were great, and full of fantastic insights on the nature of power, S/M, and life as a lesbian.

Most of the writers were based in the SF Bay area so another group that might be interested in it is Bay Area historians.

[boocia]

i did skim the back half more than not, and some of the erotica too. But! a VERY cool, clarifying piece of history, of the discourses around "the sex wars" -- anti porn / anti bdsm in the feminism community and its battle lines specifically in the lesbian community. there's also a v cool gayle rubin essay in this. i think what becomes trans-exclusionary radfeminism is already here, and the seeds of it are the fear of masculinity and patriarchy -- there's even an essay where a woman discusses working through her shame around being into using dildos (and fantasizing about her partner having a bio-dick that could make her pregnant). apparently dildo usage was super shameful and taboo for some lesbians at the time, because why would you crave the phallus? nowadays lesbians are always about the concept of slinging "strap" so idk, wild how things change. and wild how things stay the same, too. the fear around bdsm in lesbian communities is the fear of patriarchy, of woman battering as a patriarchical practice, of reproducing patriarchy. i was very taken with how, in Pat Califia's final essay on the history of SAMOIS / the SF lesbian kink scene, she discusses how as women's book stores and spaces shut the door on women's kink groups, the gay men's scenes and spaces were very welcoming. anti-bdsm is framed throughout this book as a woman's issue, a woman's neuroticism, a neuroticism around masculinity and patriarchy and therefore power dynamics. i guess more charitably, a traumatic response, a knee-jerk misapplied cultural suspicion (firework vs gunshot).

theory and politics aside, i was also inspired/taken with these v personal missives on what bdsm does; the classic stuff, though very submissive/bottom-minded; about the practice of pushing past and through boundaries, of becoming a sharp point of sensation, of accessing nonverbal forms of knowledge. inspires me to bottom again lol, or to want to push bottoms harder in the pain department. or something. i like this religionisation /therapeutization of the practice, it defo feels like Something is there, about types of personhood or animalhood or nonpersonhood you can reach through kink. fun stuff!

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a submissive bi female, I really enjoyed reading this older [from the 1980s] combined fiction and nonfiction book that really covers a diversity of topics, including of course lesbian S&M, feminism, politics, relationship development, and some practical guidance. The task to complete it quickly was directed by my BFF and Domme. She is quite persistent in seeking out interesting and informative reading materials to enhance our partnership. For my part, I always so love her attention, control, direction, and domination. This book is edited by SAMOIS. It was the first feminist / lesbian S&M organization [from the late 1970s to the early 1980s]. The name of the group came from the fictional French estate of the lesbian Dominatrix portrayed in the Story of O. OMG, it makes me so very, very wet just thinking about Anne-Marie of that classic tale and her training of O:) Please read this book.

[cosima concordia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming to Power was the first substantive leatherdyke anthology put to print, and when I finally got my hands on it I found myself alternatively both blushing and moved to tears basically constantly. Finding substantive leatherdyke history and writings is a difficult task as much of what was written only existed in long defunct zines, and even this title is long out of print and usually runs for over one hundred bucks. The members of Samois that put this title together in the early 80s are the first to admit that they could never agree on anything, and so you should take all of the content within the context it was written and with a grain of salt especially as some bits have not aged well. That being said, I hope that this deeply important anthology makes it back into print sometime in the future so more leatherdykes can read about their ancestors and feel a little less alone.

[Squirrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than 40 years later, this is still hot as hell. I'd also encourage my fellow queers to read the nonfiction articles at the very least. Not only do they add important context for why kink belongs at Pride, but they also show how the current anti-trans talking points are the same exact anti-kink and anti-porn talking points from 40 years ago. The safety advice is also still solid. Maybe even more so because it goes into issues of emotional safety as well.
My main criticism of this book is how white-woman-centric it is. Yes, it's pointed out that no people of color submitted work for this publication. I do also wish that Califia et. al. had actually listened to women of color about issues of terminology like mistress/slave instead of grouping their criticism with the criticism of anti-kink white feminists. Then again it's still a problem for many S/M orgs.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating coverage of the lesbian/feminist infighting that happened in the 70s and 80s. Should be required reading for dykes.

[Juniper Copley-Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot explain how grateful I am to have found a copy of this book at a local used book store. It has been such an amazing piece of history and such a good, surprisingly timely read. The erotic scenes in some of the essays are still unbelievably hot and had me having to read with one hand- it made me so happy to see that dykes in 1980 were planning scenes that are beat for beat the same scenes I fantasize about and plan for myself in 2025. This book made me feel a sense of community I haven't felt since reading Leather Folk, a sense that my love of leather is as deep apart of myself as my queerness and just as queer as my other dykery. The political essays were poignant and interesting- and in this current political zeitgeist I love to read about the people and groups on the forefront of anti-gay movements past, for the knowledge of what to do in anti-gay movements now. The wedge that seeks to divide queer communities was positioned between S/M queers and vanilla queers, now it's being shifted between trans and cis, and reading about the work of leather dykes to love and play and connect despite it all tells me that we will make it through this and it will be fun and sexy and happy and euphoric and erotic in the mean time.

[springsnotfail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an extremely interesting book, and at times inspiring, but it's such a product of its time and place that it's difficult not to read it as part of a historical moment. It's a combination of essays, short fiction and poetry pieces, memoirs, autobiographical fragments, rants/opinion pieces, and other kinds of writing from an American lesbian BDSM community in the eighties. Some of the short pieces are super hot; some of them are so bogged down in a particular kind of political language and set of ideas about pornography and feminism that they're more offputting than anything else. Some of the essays are great and wise; some of them are annoying and/or profoundly dated. Worth reading, overall, but I think there are better books out there about the history of lesbian BDSM, and better books out there about exploring a BDSM-oriented sexuality now.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

wanted to like this more than i did. in some ways this changed my life as it was the first book on bdsm i ever read and opened my eyes to that being possible as a thing that wasn't shameful. but there's a lot of weak points in here - from the usage of the word 'fags' to describe gay men in one section, to the outdated 70s language, to the relatively repetitive erotica, to Gayle Rubin's essay .... it's a really important historical document but not essential reading.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided a lot of insight into the so-called "lesbian sex wars" that Third Wave feminists are too young to remember. The mix of erotica, analysis, history, and memoir is a bit odd, but it manages to provide a multifaceted account of a virtually unknown chapter in lesbian feminism in the US. This is a very important book.

[Dharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book at least twice, though not for a very long time. It is probably the first book I ever read on bdsm and it holds a sweet spot in my heart. It may be time to reread it, with the acknowledgment that I and the bdsm world have grown and changed.

[Elizabeth Cage · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great book. Intelligent and very erotic. I first bought it from the Uni bookshop when I was a student, devoured it and then lent it to a friend. I never got it back but recently bought it again. Must re-read.

[Alden Hollow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this were interesting from a historical standpoint and I have a lot of respect for how radical it was in its day and for the women who paved the way for modern acceptance of BDSM in the queer/lesbian community. As a modern read, It was a honestly little boring.

[fausto]

No me atrevo a darle una calificación concreta.
Para cualquier persona entendida en teoría feminista (especialmente feminista radical) Coming to Power es un trabajo difícilmente digerible, los distintos ensayos y narrativas de la antología muestran la gran variedad de miras respecto al S/M por parte de las propias integrantes de Samois. Hay algunas que intentan integrar el S/M a una visión separatista-lesbiana, otras que lo entienden como una expresión más de la sexualidad lesbiana, otras politizan al S/M como una práctica de resistencia, otras la integran a la "diversidad sexual." En general, todos los ensayos teóricos intentan cohesionar una visión feminista-lesbiana y sadomasoquista a la vez, aunque algunas como Gayle Rubin ya coqueteaban con una teoría queer temprana. Las narrativas de ficción son explícitas, y varias de ellas me hicieron dudar que las propias S/M dieran importancia alguna al "consentimiento" (concepto defendido en toda la antología.) Algunas de las historias más crudas que describen fetiches con excrementos, laceraciones y "fist-fucking" son demasiado problemáticas para cualquier visión feminista (a menos que la violencia extrema ahora sea también "feminista")
Algunos de los textos están muy bien escritos, otros son un tanto repetitivos, particularmente rescato los ensayos de Rubin (sobre la política del S/M) y de Califia (sobre la historia de Samois)
¿Recomiendo su lectura? Sí.
¿Concuerdo con su política? Ciertamente no.

[Elliotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although it was interesting to learn about the history of the pro-bdsm movement in the 70s/80s, this book was hard to get through at times. It opened my eyes to how deeply rotten that movement is. Patrick Califia and Gayle Rubin's essays argued for the right of older people to have sex with underage people, and showed support for the lowering of the age of consent. They frequently lumped trans people and sex workers in with pedophiles. Certain essays and works of fiction in this collection sexualized domestic violence, rape, animal abuse and child abuse. Tw for child physical abuse and pedophilia for the spoilered section: One of these works featured a character masturbating to a story about a little girl being punished by her teachers. The language in other works was overtly religious, idolizing bdsm and portraying it as a spiritual experience connecting the participants to a higher plane. It gave the impression that they were in a cult. I was already critical of bdsm going into this book, but even if I had been a supporter, I think this book would have turned me against it.

[Leor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend reading this now. A different time, but relevant during the current moral panic, as it was written during a different moral panic. Lots of history here that I was not aware of; lots of analysis that pre-dates the acceptance(?) of BDSM into mainstream lesbian sexuality, and which is still vital.

My favorite essays in the book:

"If I ask you to tie me up, will you still want to love me?" by Juicy Lucy

"Being Weird is Not Enough: How to Stay Healthy and Play Safe" by Cynthia Astuto and Pat Califia

"Report on a Conference on Feminism, Sexuality, and Power: The Elect Clash with the Perverse" by Margaret Hunt

"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Dildo" by Sophie Schmuckler

"Girl Gang" by Crystal Bailey

"The Art of Discipline: Creating Erotic Dramas of Play and Power" by Susan Farr

"The Leather Menace: Comments on Politics and S/M" by Gayle Rubin

[Diana Gutiérrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una pieza muy difícil de conseguir que me ha dado una panorámica extraordinaria de cómo era el mundo del BDSM, el feminismo lesbiano y las tormentosas guerras feministas acerca de la sexualidad en los años 70-80. Probablemente uno de los mejores textos sea el de Gayle Rubin. Los fragmentos de ficción erótica son interesantes (sobre todo por su intento de crear una erótica igualitaria Y sadomasoquista), pero el punto fuerte de este libro-fanzine son los ensayos. Conviene leerlo y releerlo para entender de dónde vienen ciertos debates cíclicos y cómo evolucionan.

[Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished it. My crops are watered and my heart is full.

In all seriousness though, it's really amazing to learn about what S/M lesbians before my time went through to find community and combat stigma. I'm immensely grateful for them. Special love for Gayle Rubin's essay "The Leather Menace" and for Pat Califa's "A Personal View of the History of the Lesbian S/M Community and Movement in San Francisco."

[Sabina Husberg Götlind · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit of a time capsule from the 70-80’s lesbian S/M community and/vs the lesbian feminist movement and/vs the women’s movement on the west coast (mostly) of the U.S.
A mix of fiction, fantasy, relationships, politics, essays etc. and imagery 🔥
Shorter and longer pieces.
If anyone ever finds this in print, buy me the copy!!
E-books are great but this is one I would like to have as a physical copy for sure. Sadly it’s hard to come by.

[Layla · Rating 4 out of 5]

i learned a lot from this book, glad i finally finished it. there is some beautiful and weird erotica (ft. ecosex and furry sci-fi as well as more straightforward bdsm stuff), poetry, photos, and a pretty comprehensive history of samois at the end. of its time obvi, but really valuable for anyone interested in queer histories.

[Graveblanket · Rating 5 out of 5]

Combines historical lessons+guides with erotic stories. Such a good story in Jessie (by Patrick Califia) and final chapter describing the lesbian sex wars. If you're at all interested in leather sex and you're queer, it's a must read. At worst you'll walk away with a much better understanding of the political factions in lesbianism that are still present today

[MangoLoverReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 — Interesting look at BDSM in the lesbian community in the 1980s and gives perspective.

[Joy Anyanwu · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up really didn’t like it as much i thought i would

[Saoirse Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

gayle rubin and pat califa’s essays rly slay,,, there’s some hot erotica and some real cringe erotica that i skipped through,, love that this book exists and makes me feel very inspired. excited to read the second coming next!!!!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

some hits some misses. cest la vie! super cool as a historical cultural piece

[C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, the position of pro-S/M lesbians seems to be summed up by "If it feels good, it must be good." There is simply no serious academic writing in defence of S/M. The arguments of actual feminists are either grossly misinterpreted or ignored, partially or wholly.

Also, can I just say that S/M fiction is shit. And also, ew. Gross.
______________________

I predict hilarious times to come.

[Niki · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my all time favorites. fashion on the cover is priceless, as well as the short stories, visuals and political herstory. i heart.

[Joey Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

mmm ok, a lot of this is dated as all hell. But it's kind of the essential sex wars text. And it has really killer lez fashion. And the gangbang scene is still really hot.