Feminization (sexual activity)
Submissive sexual practice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Feminization or feminisation, sometimes forced feminization (shortened to forcefem or forced femme),[1][2] and also known as sissification,[3] is a practice in dominance and submission or kink subcultures, involving reversal of gender roles and making a submissive male take on a feminine role, which includes cross-dressing. Subsets of the practice include "sissy training" and variations thereof, where the submissive male is "trained" to become feminine.
Feminization as a sexual fetish is different from being a transgender woman, and the submissive partners engaging in it are typically cisgender men.
Practice
Feminization is a practice in dominance and submission or kink subcultures, which involves reversing gender roles: a submissive partner – typically a man – takes on a feminine role, often for humiliation-based sexual pleasure.[3][4] This may include them cross-dressing in feminine clothing such as lingerie, wearing makeup, jewelry, and perfume, acting in a feminine manner, getting referred to by a feminine name,[3] or role-play scenarios together, for example, as a "damsel in distress".[5] HuffPost described one dominatrix's sissification sessions as involving humiliating the submissive by "parading them around" in high heels, make-up, and lingerie, and another dominatrix as "cheerleading" men into exploring femininity.[4]
Whereas not all participants are interested in the BDSM aspects of feminization, and only enjoy dressing up, it may also include things such as spanking, pegging, and bondage.[3] The feminized partner is sometimes called a "sissy" if male.[3]
Society
According to a HuffPost feature interviewing sex workers, including dominatrixes and escorts, forced feminization is one of the most common sexual fantasies among sex workers' clients: one dominatrix said that a vast majority of her clients want to be sissified.[4] In Danielle Lindemann's book Dominatrix, about a third of a sample of 305 sex worker clients were interested in being made to cross-dress.[5] The fantasy is to a large degree practiced by heterosexual, cisgender men as the submissive partners, although Vice noted that there were also bisexual and pansexual men present at a feminization meet-up they reported on, as well as some genderfluid and transgender people.[3]
Some people also use feminization as a way to explore their sexuality.[6] As a BDSM role-play practice, being feminized may appeal to the submissive through making them feel vulnerable and reinforcing their role.[7] Dominant partners may enjoy feminization for getting to bring out the submissive's female persona,[2] or for getting to erotically humiliate them for their lack of masculinity.[8]
In her book Fetish Sex, writer Violet Blue says that although the kink may seem like it is devaluing women from an outsider's perspective, submissive partners engaging in it often have a lot of respect for women.[9] In Gender Reversals and Gender Cultures, Sabrina P. Ramet writes that although the fantasy may seem contradictory in its treatment of femininity as a source of humiliation, since it is often combined with femdom – as one could assume that the submissive's feminine clothing would be a symbol of the female superiority within a femdom–feminization role-play – the two fantasies are independent even within the role-play, with the humiliation coming from the cultural taboo of wearing women's clothing as a man.[10]
Feminization, as a sexual fetish, is not the same as being a transgender woman.[9] According to Ana Valens, writing for The Daily Dot, forced feminization is still a common fantasy among trans women, however, because of how trans women's stigmatized need to be women, through feminization fantasies, can be met before a trans woman has even admitted to having that need.[11]
Cultural depictions
Visual artist Río Sofia created a series of self-portraits in 2019 themed around forced feminization, influenced by the Forced Womanhood! magazine and sharing its name.[12] Feminization was featured in an episode of the television drama series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which was described as an unrealistic portrayal by author Helen Boyd in her book My Husband Betty.[13]
See also
- Cuckoldry
- Cuckqueanry
- Chastity belt
- Gynecocracy (1893), by Viscount Ladywood (Pseudonym)
- Masculinization (sexual activity)
- Sissy