Women in Control

Images of the dominant female were once the exclusive property of secretive fetishists, guiltily celebrated in underground books and videos and unknown to the mainstream. Today provocative characters like the dominatrix, the unattainable goddess, and the cruel temptress have become familiar, if still controversial, figures in pop culture. Women in Control showcases images and icons from this heady world. Noted fetish photographer Larry Utley offers both the aficionado and the curious observer a visual feast of unconventional, individualistic, strong women in control of their own sexuality — and, frequently, that of those around them. Vivid tableaux range from the playful (a cowgirl in chaps hog-ties a grinning cowpoke) to the perverse (a woman is clad sensually in a live rattlesnake). Printed in a large format and lavishly illustrated, this book goes beyond documenting the expected to pay tribute to women's power in the S/M scene.