Male subs on TV: Rick Castle
Posted at 15:40 on 25 Aug 2012 by Pandora / Blake
A couple of nights ago I watched the first few episodes of the TV show "Castle", which I'd been interested in ever since I discovered that it featured Nathan Fillion as a murder mystery writer playing poker with real life authors Michael Connelly, James Patterson, and Stephen J. Cannell.
It's a silly, stylish, entertaining little show. The basic premise is that Rick Castle, a bad boy bestselling author played by Nathan Fillion, ends up helping hard-hitting, no-nonsense New York detective Kate Beckett to solve homicide cases. So far, so implausible. But it does have one very interesting theme running through it. Rick Castle is sexually submissive. In fact, he's a brat. From the very first episode, the sexual tension underpinning Castle and Beckett's relationship is full of kinky references.
At their first meeting, Beckett questions Castle about some of the antics he's got away with. He defends himself saying, "If it makes you feel any better I'd be happy to let you spank me."
Instead, later that episode, she has him arrested, but his reaction to being cuffed is to quip - "Ooh, bondage!" - and then, looking her in the eyes, tell her "My safeword is 'apples'." Her reaction? To tell the guys who are cuffing him, "No need to be gentle."
Later still, Castle remarks, "You're very good at bossing men around. I've noticed." And so on.
The references are not subtle, and apparently, they continue to build; google tells me that one episode I've not reached yet, called The Mistress Always Spanks Twice, explicitly visits the New York BDSM scene. The context is a bondage-related murder - which normally rings alarm bells, but in the context of a murder mystery show that doesn't seem quite as kink negative as usual.
Rick Castle getting handcuffed also seems to be a recurring theme; he gets tied up more often than Wonderwoman, often by Detective Beckett. Castle's mischievously open sexuality is contrasted with Beckett's self-discipline and control. Okay, it's still sexual stereotyping, but here are some things I like about how this relationship is presented:
Dominant does not equal predator
Beckett, clearly presented as a dominant woman both sexually and professionally, is not a sexual predator, not a "vixen". Castle is the one pursuing her, trying to draw her out of her shell. It's a fairly common romance theme, in fact, that just happens to be played out in an F/M pairing.
Kinky does not equal broken
Neither character's sexual taste is presented as a flaw, a sign of them being "broken". Instead, it's a charming sort of quirk. Beckett has issues, but her issues aren't why she's kinky; they're why she's a cop. In this show, a career with NYPD is seen as being far more questionable than liking a bit of bondage in the bedroom.
Castle lives with his smart, sensible teenage daughter and eccentric single mother. I don't know if the show will end up connecting his lack of a father figure with his sexually submissive tendencies, but the woman-dominated household he lives in is presented as healthy, positive and loving. The strong presence of his mother and daughter in his life seem to be the factor that have kept Castle on the "cheeky but basically nice" side of the bad boy stereotype, rather than creeping over into arrogant selfishness. He's cocky, but he's not a prick.
Male submissive does not equal unsexy and pathetic
Castle is charismatic, likeable, and successful. He's good looking (well, played by Nathan Fillion, duh) and a good dad. This is the first TV show I've seen to so explicitly say a big "fuck you" to the stereotype of male submissives as lonely or messed-up men who like to be treated as snivelling worms. Castle is not pathetic, he's not a worm. He's a creative, smart, interesting man, who loves his family, and just happens to enjoy being on the receiving end of some playful domination in the bedroom. I can't remember the last time I saw a guy who likes being tied up and spanked presented on TV as someone for the audience to fancy, not laugh at.
So that's three F/M stereotypes out of the window, and I'm only a few episodes in.
It's a shallow, style-over-substance show, so I'm expecting a fair few overdone stereotypes. But so far, this is looking like the sort of kinky relationship I'd like to see on television. Beckett and Castle are both likeable characters who happen to be a bit kinky. They're both successful, functional, and attractive. Above all, throughout their flirtation they're both obviously having fun.
Somehow I doubt we'll get to see Castle actually getting spanked, but hey... I can live in hope.
Comments
Prefectdt
I actually LOVE that they made him a strong, masculine sub/bratty bottom... there's not enough representations of strong masculine submission, in either kinky porn or the mainstream, and quite aside from the political and feminist perspective, it's hot hot hot.
I really need to watch NCIS, don't I?
Perhaps I am biased because in my view Nathan Fillion is SO dominant because he is Malcolm Reynolds (Captain of Firefly), but Castle definitely likes his sex kinky!
For me, the best place to see men who could sub on TV is on NCIS, because everyone would get spanked by Gibbs, but those are traditional male dominants who would be spanked by a more father type figure... so not kinky so much...
Great post as always sweetie! Always makes me think
I actually LOVE that they made him a strong, masculine sub/bratty bottom... there's not enough representations of strong masculine submission, in either kinky porn or the mainstream, and quite aside from the political and feminist perspective, it's hot hot hot.
I really need to watch NCIS, don't I?
Personally, I'd subsume that into the general category of "submissive", in the sense that he's clearly turned on by sexual domination. You don't have to be an obedient, meek, boot-licking subby sub to enjoy sexual submission in a more broad sense, which is simply getting turned on by (consensually) sexual control. But yeah, I do see what you mean: the vibe from Castle is more playful, bratty bottoming than deep D/S.
I think I remember those references in Friends, one of the many reasons why Phoebe was always my favourite character! But yeah, this is the first time I've seen the entertaining F/M kinky flirtation played with genuine sex appeal, as well as for laughs.
Personally, I'd subsume that into the general category of "submissive", in the sense that he's clearly turned on by sexual domination. You don't have to be an obedient, meek, boot-licking subby sub to enjoy sexual submission in a more broad sense, which is simply getting turned on by (consensually) sexual control. But yeah, I do see what you mean: the vibe from Castle is more playful, bratty bottoming than deep D/S.
I think I remember those references in Friends, one of the many reasons why Phoebe was always my favourite character! But yeah, this is the first time I've seen the entertaining F/M kinky flirtation played with genuine sex appeal, as well as for laughs.
I'm reminded of later episodes of Friends, where strong hints were dropped that Phoebe and her husband Mike enjoyed a kinky relationship, in which spanking, paddling and handcuffs eatured, and in which clearly they both switched. It was played for laughs, of course, but I don't think anything was said to suggest that this made them in any way bad people.
I think I remember those references in Friends, one of the many reasons why Phoebe was always my favourite character! But yeah, this is the first time I've seen the entertaining F/M kinky flirtation played with genuine sex appeal, as well as for laughs.
Its one of the few series where Kinky sex isn't treated scandalously or as a bad thing, and that carries on, and the whole series is pretty sex positive. It makes such a nice change to the usual american cop show attitude to sex
Not to mention one of my favourite scenes ever, featuring Ryan, Esposito and a marvellous pair of boots...
Regards
Lily
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