I Was A Teenage Dominatrix: Kenney, Shawna: 9781928568032: Amazon.com: Books

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This fabulous new book chronicles the misadventures of a young woman who puts herself through college by working as a dominatrix. And it's a true story!

Shawna Kenney lets us in on her unique coming-of-age as she transforms herself from young, broke, and miserable in crappy jobs ("The worst thing was my boss who stared at my chest while he yelled at me") to sucessful and empowered as a self-made professional-dominatrix-slash-college-student.

"I couldn't believe that just a month before I was avoiding bill collectors' calls and now I was walking out the door nightly with at least $300 in my hand -- and for what?! Spanking some man who felt he needed it? Why hadn't I learned this sooner? I was the star of these men's fantasies,and I was the dominatrix and I was in charge -- not them. The ruler, the queen, the BOSS. My favorite role!"

This gutsy, honest and funny book is not only a revealing behind-the-scenes look at the underground world of dominatrixes, it's also a great read.

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Print length

128 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Retro Systems
Publication date

November 1, 1999
Dimensions

5.25 x 0.25 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

1928568033
ISBN-13

978-1928568032

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"You can only blame your parents for so much," says Shawna Kenney in her breezy memoir, I Was a Teenage Dominatrix, quickly disassociating herself from the common stereotype of the sex worker as a desperate victim of a male-dominated culture. Indeed, while Kenney's career choice may be shocking to some, her affable, conversational style reveals how an intelligent college student, short on cash, finds dominatrix work a viable way of making ends meet--there's no sex, it's great money, and there's plenty of time for homework.

After guiding readers through a largely uneventful childhood and rebellious adolescence, Kenney ranges through a wide collection of professional anecdotes that are by turns hilarious, downright disgusting, and even poignant. Cranky from having to wear uncomfortable stiletto heels, for instance, Kenney finds a creative way to gain relief: "'Remove my shoes, you stupid slut,' I ordered.... From then on I was the barefoot dominatrix. I'm sure high heels were designed by some man, anyway." Many of the most unusual clients, however, are those who aren't interested in heels or bullwhips--they pay just to talk. "My wife died twelve years ago," sobs one client. "I haven't been this close to a woman since." Another, a cross-dresser from Argentina, only wants acceptance: "I come from a country where it is very important to be macho. To be like me is a disgrace." Along the way, Kenney reveals keen insight into what goes on behind the closed doors of so-called "normal" people and gains greater understanding of her own attitudes toward friends and romance. With the conspiratorial tone of a best girlfriend conversing over coffee, she shares moments of laughter and tears (as well as a few other bodily fluids), but never once resorts to pure shock or self-pity. Those seeking a morality tale of how the "bad" girl gets her comeuppance should look elsewhere. This is a refreshing, honest portrait of a young woman determined to make something of herself on her own terms. --Ginger Dzerk

Review

Shawna Kenney's memoir I Was A Teenage Dominatrix breaks down the proverbial closet door, proving that "good girls" can go "bad", and not only emerge unscathed but richer both monetarily and through experience gained. Focusing on the S&M subculture and her role as a paid mistress, she not only provides prurient thrills, succulent professional tidbits, and painfully funny anecdotes the accent, of course, being on PAIN (be warned that this book is probably not for the faint of heart!).

This book is a page turner, a riveting romp with intellectual as well as sexual content, as well as being extremely personal in a universal way. This is no vanilla attempt at erotica or sterile study on sexual perversion -- the blood, sweat and tears of real-life experience rings through loud and clear. There's something here for everyone, from fetishists to punk rockers, sex-positive feminists to curious culture-vultures. Through this exciting work, Kenney proves that the pen is mightier than the sword ... or in this case, equal to, if not surpassing, the whip! -- --Pleasant Gehman, author of The Underground Guide to Los Angeles

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Retro Systems
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 1999
Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1928568033
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1928568032
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.25 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #9,694,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,263 in Sex & Sexuality
- #18,522 in Women's Biographies

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45 ratings

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Shawna Kenney

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Shawna Kenney is the author of the award-winning memoir I Was a Teenage Dominatrix (Last Gasp), co-author of Imposters (Mark Batty Publisher) editor of Book Lovers: Sexy Stories from Under the Covers (Seal Press), and co-author of Live at the Safari Club: A History of Hardcore Punk in the Nation's Capital (Rare Bird). She has covered arts and pop culture for Playboy, Ms., Bust, Juxtapoz, The Rumpus, and Transworld Skateboarding, among others, while her essays appear in numerous anthologies.

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Customers find the book thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining on every level. They appreciate the story quality, with one customer describing it as exciting.

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10 customers mention "Readability"9 positive1 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining on every level.

"...Overall it's a good addition to your library, whether it's the first time you read it, or a companion of the original first editions if you own them." Read more

"...on every level, and more often than not, educational and enlightening. My hat's off to this remarkable young lady and her amazing book." Read more

"Not your typical teenager for sure. A very interesting book. I don't think Shawana is ever going to be a soccer mom...." Read more

"...So I bought and read it. Shawna is charmingly honest about the dungeon trade and free-lancing as a dom...." Read more

3 customers mention "Story quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality of the book, with one customer describing it as exciting and another noting it's about a young woman.

"Shawna Keeney tells a wonderful story of a young woman doing some pretty bizarre things to make a move up the socio-economic scale in an America..." Read more

"...She brings you right into her living room, sits you down, and starts telling her story. Reading this book feels rather cozy...." Read more

"...It is well written and an interesting story about a young woman working her way through school" Read more

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Angie
20 Years Later
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2024
Verified Purchase

I bought the Last Gasp edition of IWATD in the 2000s, and I got wrapped up in Shawna's story of self-discovery through whips and chains. I always wanted to know what happened with the characters from her story, so I got the reissue of her memoir.

The artwork is lovely and more tame than the original one, but it reflects the essence of the punk rock girl that she is. The edits filled in the gaps on her story, and some verbiage was changed to reflect current sensibilities. And I was so excited to find out what happened to the characters in the afterword; a little sad I didn't know what happened to Norman, but glad to see that Tony is doing very well.

Overall it's a good addition to your library, whether it's the first time you read it, or a companion of the original first editions if you own them.

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Angie

20 Years Later

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2024
I bought the Last Gasp edition of IWATD in the 2000s, and I got wrapped up in Shawna's story of self-discovery through whips and chains. I always wanted to know what happened with the characters from her story, so I got the reissue of her memoir.

The artwork is lovely and more tame than the original one, but it reflects the essence of the punk rock girl that she is. The edits filled in the gaps on her story, and some verbiage was changed to reflect current sensibilities. And I was so excited to find out what happened to the characters in the afterword; a little sad I didn't know what happened to Norman, but glad to see that Tony is doing very well.

Overall it's a good addition to your library, whether it's the first time you read it, or a companion of the original first editions if you own them.

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Adrian Vance
Very meaningful and touching book
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2006
Verified Purchase
Shawna Keeney tells a wonderful story of a young woman doing some pretty bizarre things to make a move up the socio-economic scale in an America where such things can happen. She also nibbles at the edges of an idea that she provided a service that is of real value as it seems a large number of men have not resolved some of the issues of childhood and transference from mother to lover.

Spanking is an act of mother love done to teach the very young in situations where words won't work, time is of the essence and she needs to reinforce her authority. In the past boys moved their focus from mother to young, pretty female teachers all of whom were armed with paddles put into use daily. Many such teachers felt a boy's education was incomplete until he had taken ten swats from someone in high heels. It worked very well until Dr. Spock came along and put child rearing in a tailspin from which it did not recover, but crashed and burned.

Shawn's story is exciting, but far more important than its' text would seem to imply. It deserves serious study as does the entire world of the dominitrix. They are clearly onto something.

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6 people found this helpful

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Jesse Ellyson
A fantastic view into world most never get to see
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
What a funny little thing! Really, it wasn't meant to be funny. It's just that the writer has a great conversational way of writing. She brings you right into her living room, sits you down, and starts telling her story. Reading this book feels rather cozy. Strange that a book about sexual domination can feel so utterly comfortable. But that's part of Shawna Kenney's gift. She is able to set her readers totally at ease while discussing things that might not be within most peoples' comfort zones.

The book is thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining on every level, and more often than not, educational and enlightening. My hat's off to this remarkable young lady and her amazing book.

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2 people found this helpful

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Just Me
Kingsters Unlimited
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2010
Verified Purchase
Not your typical teenager for sure. A very interesting book. I don't think Shawana is ever going to be a soccer mom. A teenager with a very steely reserve. I admire she used what resources she could. Being thrown out of the house at such a young age and making a go to better herself is admirable. I wonder though, if seeing such a seedy side of men will skew her for life. I wish her the best of luck.

This book certainly was incredible and very funny in many spots. As she said, she never did anything to these men they didn't want. One thing for sure, there are certainly many more kinksters out there than just me. I've never understood the whole Dom thing but to each there own. I'm glad she had limits and didn't cross the line into prostitution. Would it be fun to spend an evening with her just to listen to her stories. Incedible!!!

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John E. Harrigan
Plenty of Bad Boys Around.
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2009
Verified Purchase
The Professor and the Dominatrix
Shawna Kenney's I Was a Teenage Dominatrix caught my eye as it was displayed next to my novel The Professor and the Dominatrix. So I bought and read it. Shawna is charmingly honest about the dungeon trade and free-lancing as a dom. Imagine working in a dungeon and attending college and succeeding in both. Cheers. You might wonder where do all the bad-boy customers come from? Consider, many religious people believe that sexual behavior is evil (the Opus Dei insanity), where people must atone for sex by pain. Yet, some masochism derives from life experiences where pain and love/sex have been intermingled. Anyway, I like and recommend the book.

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4 people found this helpful

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J. Romeo
A WASTE OF TIME
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2005
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Where should I start? The list of how horrible this book is unimaginable. I am not talking about the subject matter either. I am talking about how bad this book is.

This had to have been self published. I can not think why any publishing house would actually waste money on publishing this book. It was written like a high school term paper. Very amateurish. I am not saying that I know all there is to know about alternate lifestyles, but there are things that just do not jibe right in this book. If anything it should be filed under fiction, very uncredible.

Luckily, I only paid three dollars for this dretch. I would not reccomend this to anyone. The only reason it got one star is because Amazon does not have any lower rating than that, but if they did it would definitly get it.

Do not waste your time on this book. If this sort of thing is your thing I am sure there are thousands of books on Amazon that are much better than this book.

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8 people found this helpful

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Penelope
... read this book years ago and it was so good that I did not put it down until I ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
I originally read this book years ago and it was so good that I did not put it down until I was finished. Shawna Kenney's candid memoir of becoming a professional dominatrix was inspiring and hilarious. A great read for anyone curious about professional bdsm.

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2 people found this helpful

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John Legge
Surprisingly good
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2017
Verified Purchase
This was a very enjoyable read, not what I expected. It is well written and an interesting story about a young woman working her way through school

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Alice
Fascinating read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2018
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I can’t recommend this book highly enough, I was totally fascinated!

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pelicanzed
Lighter than I expected, but entertaining
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2002
Verified Purchase
This was a book I couldn't put down until I'd read the final page. Our protagonist comes across as both likeable and inspirational - she's totally dedicated to achieving her goals, very organised, is always ready for a bit of fun, and doesn't care about society's silly standards. A combination of that, and the opening chapters providing a desire to see what bizarre or scary situation she ends up in next and how she deals with her problems made for compulsive reading.
The description is vivid, without being weighty or repulsive. Usually, I'm thoroughly disturbed by mentions of certain sexual practises it covers, but they're mentioned with a light and humorous touch which prevented me from treating the book to a roman shower. (Its terminology was somewhat educational too.)
Problems? Too short - I finished it in two hours and was hungry for more - and, contrary to my expectations, her profession didn't seem to give her much cause for soulsearching - I would have found a more in-depth look at the good and bad features of her chosen lifestyle interesting.
Having said that, that would have interrupted the flow of the book; its intention was to entertain, and that it certainly did.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read!

4.0 out of 5 stars Lighter than I expected, but entertaining

Fascinating read!

Lighter than I expected, but entertaining