Hypnofetishism

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Hypnofetishism is the linking of hypnosis (or other forms of mind control) to sexuality, sometimes known by other names such as "hypnophilia", "erotic hypnosis" and "erotic mind control."

[edit] History

Hypnofetishism has a long history, stretching as far back as the ancient world. Western culture (and many others around the globe) is filled with early myths of seduction by some form of mind control: the Sirens of the Greeks and the witches of the Middle Ages both had a hypnotic aspect in their sexuality.

Premodern stories and legends -

The Story of Lorelei^[1]

The Incubus

In medieval legend, an incubus (plural incubi; from Latin incubare, "to lie upon") is a demon in male form supposed to lie upon sleepers, especially on women in order to have sexual intercourse with them.

The Succubus

In medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi; from Latin succubare, "to lie under") is a female demon which comes to men, especially monks, in their dreams to seduce them and have sexual intercourse, drawing energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death. This legend was an explanation for the phenomena of wet dreams and sleep paralysis. From mythology and fantasy, Lilith and the Lilin (Jewish), Lilitu (Sumerian) and Rusalka (Slavic) were succubi.

Lilith

Mark of Cornwall

Modern Tales

Götterdämmerung

Trilby (See also: Svengali)

A special note should also be given to the tales of vampires, one of which being Carmilla. From the wiki entry:

Carmilla is richly atmospheric, eerie, unsettling and deeply frightening to those of a nervous disposition. It was first published in a collection of short stories, "In a Glass Darkly" in 1872. Its setting is a parochial section of Styria province, Austria.

Carmilla, the title character, is the original prototype for a legion of female (and often lesbian) vampires. Though Le Fanu portrays his vampire's sexuality with the circumspection that one would expect for his time, the reader can be pretty sure that lesbian attraction is the main dynamic between Carmilla and the narrator of the story. Carmilla selected exclusively female victims, though only became emotionally involved with a few.

Erotic Hypnosis began to surface in the popular imagination over the past fifty years. Many books and pamphlets (external link to the 'Hypnosis in Media' website) on hypnosis contained open sexual themes.

As well, many cosmetic advertisements use the theme of hypnosis.^[2]

Hypnosis on the Silver Screen

On the silver screen the fetish began to make inroads into the mainstream. Films such as "The Hypnotic Eye", "Flash Gordon", and "The Manchurian Candidate" exposed the public en masse to the idea of hypnosis. The following descriptions are from the Hypnosis in Media website:^[3]

A B&W thriller about Desmond, a suave, handsome French stage hypnotist who hypnotizes and seduces beautiful women and then lets them be disfigured by Justine, his jealous (of their beauty) assistant. Acting on Justine's prompting, Desmond exclusively selects pretty young women for the final segment of his act, giving one a post-hypnotic suggestion to return to his dressing room at the theater later that night, where he re-hypnotizes them into a compliant but normal appearing trance state and takes them out with him on the town. When he is finished and they return to their home, his assistant Justine takes over, suggesting the women perform some apparently innocuous act (like taking a shower) that will actually disfigure them (the water being scalding hot). (Source)

A second example of this can be seen in 1936's "Flash Gordon":

In the second chapter of the series, 'Tunnel of Terror', Dale Arden is ordered placed in a hypnotic trance by Emperor Ming's 'dehumanizing' machine, which projects a flickering light onto Dale's face, entrancing her. The machine's operator's instructions are to ensure that the hypnotic trance lasts only as long as needed to perform the ceremony. Ming plans to marry the entranced Dale, but Flash rescues her in the nick of time.

In both these films an evil male hypnotist is using woman to his own ends, but in the Manchurian Candidate the situation is changed dramatically. Here a soldier is manipulated by others with little sexual connotation. What is important about this movie however is that the idea of mind control is no longer a fiction resting on outer space or improbable assaults but on the perceived real world activities of the communists. Mind control arrived as a possible reality.

The premise of the film was that, in the 1950s, the Soviets had developed a technique based on "brainwashing" and akin to hypnosis, whereby a person could be snapped into and out of a trance, ordered to do things with full compliance, and have no memory of such actions afterwards. United States soldiers fighting in the Korean War were thus captured, taken to the People's Republic of China to be brainwashed, then covertly released back to the American forces. To cover their tracks, the Communists would implant false memories in the American soldiers' heads and provide a subconscious trigger whereby the soldier could be snapped into and out of hypnosis. Even after full reintegration with American society, they would have no knowledge of their having been brainwashed or the triggers which set them off. (Source)

An interesting look at the actual beliefs in the public mind concerning brain washing since the Korean War can be found here.