I think the premise is on some level alright, but to me the problem is actually in the execution. I read the manga as the mistress commanding the maid to give her a real answer to her next approach, and then bringing the top energy. But I think the flow of the conversation and the specific words used made it seem like she was commanding the maid to go out with her, which is... eh.
On the one hand, I agree with Kirin (as usual) that without the support to keep everything in the realm of fantasy, you run the risk of your scenario resonating with real abuses of power that makes it feel like oppression, rather than sexy fantasy ones á la a BDSM scene. My interpretation--that she was only, "commanding" the maid to give her a direct answer--might be wrong, but if it's right, I think we have less of a case of abuse of power and more of the author/TL team (I can't read JP so I wouldn't know) possibly flubbing the delivery into squick territory.
With that in mind, I think it becomes a question of execution.
I suspect that's a large part of the problem. I've seen another piece, with a similar dynamic and less obviously appreciative maid, that somehow felt less abusive and I think I can point to a few key differences.
One is definitely context. The other piece is strait up hentai, which gives it a different feel, but neither piece is meant to be taken particularly seriously, so I'm not sure how much that actually matters in this case.
The next obvious difference is the length. The other piece is short, but it's still a bit longer at 12 pages, which gives the dynamic more room to breathe; there's room for byplay, as well as an ebb and flow of control. Conversely, this work spends it's first page on a strong rejection, it's second on an even stronger reason for that rejection, and it's third page is a threat based off the reason from the second page. There are only two positive panels and they come at the very end. Put another way, three quarters of the work is progressively more negative and the last 6th is trying to reverse that.
The final, and probably biggest, difference is the lack of nuance. (Yes, that does mean I'm saying literal porn has more nuance in its presentation than this.) That's not necessarily a bad thing, on it's own, it just causes some problems here.
Because of its brevity, each panel needs to do a lot and part of how the author tried to accomplish this was an emphasis on somewhat exaggerated reactions. This works great for conveying strong, pure, emotions, but it doesn't really have the bandwidth for underlying feelings or gradual changes.
Again, exaggerated reactions and a focus on one emotion at a time can work really well, when used correctly. However, in this case, it undercuts the Maids acceptance, because it feels so disconnected from her earlier reactions and we don't see a gradual shift to bring her to that point.What's more, the very final panel undercuts her change of heart by partially breaking from the prior trend. Sure, she's still blushing and eating ice-cream on a date, but she's also confused about how she got there and clearly frowning. It's a fairly classic gag, but it's also one of the only panels with mixed emotions.
Earlier, when I said there were only two positive panels? That was only partially true, because there's only one fully positive panel and it's sandwiched between a strongly negative one and an ambivalent one, which removes most of it's impact.
[Complaints about moralizing.]
Given what I just said, I feel like I should clarify:
I'm perfectly aware this isn't a serious story. I'm not saying it should be taken as one, nor am I saying people who enjoy it are bad or wrong; I'm not even saying the author is bad or wrong. Mainly, what I'm saying is I didn't like the story and I'm trying to analyze why and where it went wrong, because I enjoy analyzing literature and figuring out how its pieces work together. Even short, non-serious, pieces can exhibit craftsmanship and teach us about writing and how we view the world we live in.
Not like the girl has any actual power here you know - the maid's employers are her parents not her, and what with being a minor and all she as-such has no say in the matter. Tellingly the maid's objections revolve entirely around sensible worries over getting sacked for any funny business with the young lady; said lady's possible disappointment and/or ire do not appear to be a concern.
Nominally, you are correct: On paper, the girl probably does not have the authority to fire the maid. However, in practice, the reverse is true: Parents that raise a child to be as entitled as this one (at least in some interpretations), are also likely to side with their child over the help, either because they don't care about the later or because they're two worried about pleasing the former. What's more, even if the parents are more reasonable, the girl could still cause the maid quite a bit of trouble. At a minimum, she could lie and say the maid was flirting with her, which would be very inappropriate behavior for any employee, let alone an adult employee (remember, the rich girl isn't an adult). They wouldn't even need to fully believe the lie, just that their daughter felt like the maid was flirting with her.
That might not fit if your interpretation of the girl is less malicious and entitled, but if that's the case you also don't need "she technically doesn't have the authority" as a defense. It's the kind of argument that only works when you don't need it.
If you were to ignore the context and feelings of the M partner, and say that only the actions of the S partner matter, then the S partner tying her partner up would be criminal. But, if the M partner wants to be tied up, the action of tying her up goes from creepy and awful to kinky and fun. Context is everything.
The maid is super into the mistress being assertive, and that's what makes it okay. It's not - by definition, can't be - coercion if she wants it, and the visual cues indicate that she very much does want it.
That's only partially true. Consent is definitely a major factor, but it's not the only factor and there are certain scenarios where it can be overridden. Most notably, a child can't consent to an adult, nor can an inebriated person fully consent to someone who's sober*. One thing that can cause that sort of situation is an inherent and enduring power difference, where one party is largely dependent or at the mercy of the other.
That type of power imbalance is a stark contrast to a normal S/M relationship, where the sub has a significant say in what's acceptable and what's not.
*: Those examples are, perhaps, a bit extreme for what we're discussing, but my other go to example would be a manager sexually harassing a subordinate that finds them attractive, which is a bit too close to the manga to be helpful.
last edited at Jan 2, 2021 4:01AM