Femdom Goes Mainstream? (Patreon)

Hello my dears!

Spring has sprung, March is at an end, and I return with the movie review you chose in last month's poll.

Let me say, at the outset, I've never been a fan of rom-coms. Most romantic comedies are made for the conventional woman to reinforce certain stereotypes and cultural paradigms that I would call traditional if I wished to be polite and vomit inducing if I'm being fully honest. Although there are exceptions to every rule, I suspect most dominant women aren't fans of the genre.

That said, "Love and Leashes" is a rom-com and it's the rare type I can get behind.

The film has numerous supporting characters, but the evolving relationship between our two main characters Ji-Woo (the aspiring Domme) and Ji-Hoo (the obsessed submissive) is 90% of the movie. From the start, we have to acknowledge how similar their names are. Wisely, the film takes this on the chin. At their mutual workplace, everyone finds their samey names amusing and it's decreed, as if by cosmic coincidence, that they're destined to work together. As it turns out, they're destined to do a lot more than just work.

Ji-Woo is a young professional who doesn't know where she fits in society. Her mother is still trying to mold her into the submissive feminine archetype that's promoted in traditional South Korean society. Traditional gender roles and her boss's piggish behavior are the kind of thing that disgust her. She doesn't yet know what she wants, but she certainly knows what she doesn't want.

Enter Ji-Hoo, who joins her workplace and immediately attracts the attention of every available female co-worker. He's poised, confident and hard working. He's a gentleman and ally to women in the workplace who calls out his boss's inappropriate behavior. By all appearances he is the quintessential "boy next door." A catch. A man all the ladies would love to date. But his charisma and steadfastness is like a costume he wears in public to conceal the real him. Ji-Hoo rejects most feminine advances because he knows most of these women are not the type he's looking for.

These are the billiard balls, neatly racked on the pool table, for the viewer to see. The cue ball striking them, and sending the game into total chaos, is when Ji-Hoo has a package shipped to work and it's accidentally delivered to Ji-Woo. She opens it and discovers a naughty accessory she wasn't meant to see.

This is where things get interesting, because while Ji-Woo isn't offended or turned off, she doesn't yet have a sense that being a Domme is something she might be into. She does, however, find Ji-Hoo attractive and she's clearly intrigued that he's leading a double life. It takes some time for them to peel away each other's defensive layers before it becomes obvious they both have what the other needs.

I want to pause here, since this has been a plot synopsis until now. I'd rather not just rattle off the entire story. First, because I don't want to spoil all the twists and turns for those of you who may decide to watch the movie. Second, because there are broader observations to make about this film that are more important.

1. Love and Leashes is a refreshingly decent primer for BDSM relationships. It spells out basic terms and what they mean. It creates a distinction between BDSM play and sex, making it clear that they can coexist, but often don't. It actively calls out and discourages toxic and abusive behavior. It showcases BDSM as something that can be deep, meaningful and mutually fulfilling between consenting adults. It even shows that romantic entanglements can complicate things in ways that aren't always good.

2. Despite its serious treatment of a traditionally taboo subject matter, it is otherwise cute, lighthearted and amusing. It doesn't take itself too seriously outside of a few moments of character development and high drama. This is a difficult balance to strike and they did it very well.

3. The scenes of kink are varied and go surprisingly hard at times. It isn't a movie that promises BDSM and then shows next to nothing (*cough* Fifty Shades of Grey *cough*). No, we get to see A LOT. From whipping, to hot wax, pet play, foot worship, rope bondage, slapping, sustained verbal humiliation, trampling... They showcased many fun activities in this film and I was grateful for every single one.

4. Here's where I'll offer some criticism. There are some aspects of Love and Leashes that are a little unbelievable. For example, a surprising amount of the kinky scenes happen at work. Lovers of the "workplace" porn tag will love this movie, because there are multiple scenes of our Femdom couple getting naughty at the office. Also, it's a little hard to buy how Ji-Woo goes from complete BDSM novice to a skilled, self-taught Dominatrix in three months or less. She has no mentor. She's just looking things up online, learning as she goes and deciding "hmmm, I think I'll try that next." I suppose it's not impossible that someone would jump into the lifestyle that quickly and fully, especially if they realized it was the core thing missing in their life, but that transformation would probably happen over a longer period of time.

5. Whatever its minor weaknesses, the most important thing this movie does is encourage people to explore their sexuality, to not be ashamed of their kinky proclivities and to treat play partners with tenderness and respect. It even highlights some examples of what NOT to do using supporting characters. For these reasons, it's definitely one of the better portrayals of BDSM in popular culture that I've seen.

In the end, I rate Love and Leashes 4/5 and eagerly recommend it. Give it a watch and make sure to hit that LIKE button when you're done! Let's tell the world we want more Femdom content on our streaming services!

Love and Leashes is a Netflix exclusive. I recommend watching it with the original Korean audio and English subtitles. If you're someone who hates reading subtitles, it appears to have a decent English dub (I only watched the preview in English, but it was serviceable.)

Our poll this month: Which is your preferred Femdom workplace fantasy? I've outlined three scenarios below. Be honest!

That's all for this month, my cherubs! Stay tuned for your next story drop and I'll see you in April. Until then, be a good boy (like Ji-Hoo.) Or a bad girl... (like Ji-Woo!)

Yours Truly,

Mistress Cereza