Submission

            The English language is a constantly evolving entity, and the meaning of a word or its connotation, can change overnight.  To a writer, submission has a specific meaning. It’s the act of actually sending a piece of work—novel, short story, or screenplay—to an agent or editor with the hope of getting it published.

            But lately, with the phenomena of Fifty Shades, the mass market public has realized the word has a much different definition.  Romance writers have known this for years, but mainstream readers tend to shun romance novels, missing out on the best new fiction available. (Check out Siren Publishing’s website for a taste of what’s new in the genre.) Submission has become a sexual word, a naughty word.
            Perhaps the dominance and submission brouhaha is a reverence for what used to be the norm.
            Since the 1960’s, women have been taking a stronger role in their own lives, working outside the home, juggling work, spouse, kids, and home life. We are exhausted, overworked, stressed and sex is often the last item on the overburdened agenda.
            (Husbands are busy, too. Don’t think I’m putting them down. But women tend to take on the caretaker role to the extreme.)
            Prior to the sexual revolution, women submitted to their husbands.
            Husbands made all the decisions and women took care of the house and kids while their man provided the household income and made the important decisions.  He was in charge, financially, emotionally, and sexually.
            As a wife and mom and wage earner in 2012, going back to the ‘good old days’ of 1955 sounds like a wonderful idea. I’d get to stay home every day, leave all the worries of the world to my dear hubby, and cook a nice dinner every evening. In a sense, I’d do everything I already do at home, but I wouldn’t put in a full day at a job outside the home. Sounds like a perpetual vacation!
            Husbands around the world would groan.  Loss of income. Wife suddenly has time after dinner to sit and talk. Shirts are suddenly starched and pressed, as are boxers.
            The conversations we hear today about submission are focused on sexual submission. However, turning the act of submitting on and off can be complicated. Giving up control of your mind and body to your husband or lover is liberating. And like the women’s liberation movement of the sixties and seventies, it may become addicting.
            Food for thought:
            Do we want to go back to being pampered housewives, cleaning house, cooking dinner, and planting flowers?

            Tell me what you think.