Basic Guide to Objectification, Dehumanization, and Depersonalization (ODD) in BDSM

Milking the nurse cow

This is the first in a series of posts that will deal with fetishes that have been labeled as objectification, dehumanization, and depersonalization in BDSM, which I will refer to as ODD for short. To see more writings on this topic, click the ODD label below this article.

Some of the more extreme aspects of BDSM are found in a broad range of fetishes that have been categorized as objectification, and which I'll lump into a group (Objectification, Dehumanization, and Depersonalization  or ODD) for the purposes of this post. These range from some less objectionable types of play such as dressing up someone to change their appearance, to more extreme fetishes, such as treating a person as a toilet or a mere piece of meat to be used at will by anyone.

There has always been some confusion about ODD. This is mainly because some of the definitions used are so all-encompassing that they have been ascribed to more than one type of fetish, or the delineation between the types are sometimes vague and you get a range of play that merge from one type to the other with no real distinct boundaries.

This post is an attempt to provide some structure to the various fetish plays that fit into the broader ODD grouping. It is not meant to be a final and unalterable dogma on the topic, but rather a work in progress that can be updated and modified.

Listed below are definitions of the subcategories of ODD and some examples of each.

A. OBJECTIFICATION

Clockwork Doll

This refers to treating the person as a mere inanimate or non-living object, and may include the following types of play, where the person is treated as:

• A living doll or mannequin
• A toilet or various other degrading objects that deal with human waste
• A sushi platter or various other similar objects
• A piece of furniture such as a stool or chair (forniphilia)
• A piece of art such as a statue
• A robot
• A sex toy (e.g. gimps)
• Glory-holes and other similar contraptions such as slut-in-the-boxes where the person is whittled down to a set of functionalities
• Forced transformations into objects

B. DEHUMANIZATION

Pony Girl

This refers to treating the person like an animal or a beast, and may include the following types of play:

• Pet play (dog, puppy, kitten, etc)
• Pony play
• Service pets
• Breeding and Milking (maiesiophilia)

C. DEPERSONALIZATION

Generic slave

This is the least extreme of the various ODD subcategories, and refers to treating the person as if he or she has a different identity or no identity and human rights at all. The amorphous nature of this subcategory means that it oftentimes seamlessly merges into broader role play fetishes, and so in this post I will try to define the term as it applies to ODD.

For our purpose we will restrict this subcategory of ODD to those situations wherein the person is stripped of all personhood or unique personal characteristics, such that he or she is perfectly interchangeable with another physically similar person who can fulfill the same exact role. That is, one can swap the subject person with another person who is physically similar without creating any significant problems or loss of enjoyment/pleasure for the partner(s) or target audience.

As such, this may include such things as:

• Slaves
• Ragdoll and corpse play
• Forced modifications of physical appearance
• Dressing up

As I noted above,  this post is not meant to be a final and unalterable dogma on the topic, but rather a work in progress that can be updated and modified. I welcome any comments and suggestions regarding the topic, and you may get in touch with me via my main avatar in second life, MK (monkeyking2011 resident).

More in the series:

Ten important features and goals of Objectification, Dehumanization, and Depersonalization (ODD)

The Alanis Angels at Alanis Gallery in Xaara

Depersonalization during anonymous sex rituals

Austin Sculptures