Anne O. Nomis
'The History & Arts of the Dominatrix' was somewhat serendipitous in its coming-about. I was at the time managing a Melbourne design showroom located off Fitzroy's famous Brunswick street, the carpark entrance of which backed onto the same street as one of the largest dungeons in the city. Stiletto high heels clicked down Fitzroy footpaths in confident stride, with these intriguing women typically entering the mysterious gate with a duffle bag slung over their shoulder, stuffed to brim.
I met them out at the local bars, who had cocktails named in their honour ('The Red Stiletto, 'The Mistress') to lure these women to spend their Dominatrix dollars which were their own special currency. I got to meet them at a birthday party in Gertrude Street, fuelled by Dirty Russian martinis. I asked them about what they did, and how long the Dominatrix had been around. They did their best to share me with something of their professional craft, but didn't know themselves the history or how far back it went. I was fascinated and intrigued, and looked for information. There was no such book on the subject.
As an art historian, I decided to research the Dominatrix's history and craft, involving taking on a year's dungeon apprenticeship (requiring three shifts of six hours a week), observing their sessions. I went on to London to research the Dominatrix's history with rare books dredged up from the British Library collection, and the storage of the British Museum. While studying a Masters in comparative art and archaeology, I was able to trace material that others would struggle to access, of the ancient world and 17th-19th Century. Other sources came Internationally and from people within the fetish underground, recounting the ladies of the bizarre 20th Century underground.
The reason no book had previously existed on the topic was that all the material was itself underground, metaphorically and literally. A taboo of a taboo of a taboo - the site of the powerful sexual female and professional dominant holding (and practising) wisdom of the dark erotic arts.
I met them out at the local bars, who had cocktails named in their honour ('The Red Stiletto, 'The Mistress') to lure these women to spend their Dominatrix dollars which were their own special currency. I got to meet them at a birthday party in Gertrude Street, fuelled by Dirty Russian martinis. I asked them about what they did, and how long the Dominatrix had been around. They did their best to share me with something of their professional craft, but didn't know themselves the history or how far back it went. I was fascinated and intrigued, and looked for information. There was no such book on the subject.
As an art historian, I decided to research the Dominatrix's history and craft, involving taking on a year's dungeon apprenticeship (requiring three shifts of six hours a week), observing their sessions. I went on to London to research the Dominatrix's history with rare books dredged up from the British Library collection, and the storage of the British Museum. While studying a Masters in comparative art and archaeology, I was able to trace material that others would struggle to access, of the ancient world and 17th-19th Century. Other sources came Internationally and from people within the fetish underground, recounting the ladies of the bizarre 20th Century underground.
The reason no book had previously existed on the topic was that all the material was itself underground, metaphorically and literally. A taboo of a taboo of a taboo - the site of the powerful sexual female and professional dominant holding (and practising) wisdom of the dark erotic arts.
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