keyword_expert's profile

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Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 4:33 AM

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What do the "-domination" and "-objectification" keywords even mean?

Can someone please explain exactly what these keywords mean, and can the meanings be proven?

male-domination (30 titles)

female-domination (530 titles)

female-objectification (926 titles)

male-objectification (4460 titles)

In the "-domination" keywords, is the male the one dominating, or is the male the one being dominated? Can the keyword "female-domination" apply when one female "dominates" the other, or does the keyword on its face imply the domination of one gender over the other? 

In the "-objectification" keywords, is the female the one doing the objectifying, or the one being objectified?

How do we know on the face of these keywords what they mean?

Over the years I have occasionally added the keyword objectification-of-women to titles because I think that keyword is more precise and clear on its face. Unfortunately, the keyword objectification-of-women has sometimes been changed by other contributors to female-objectification (whatever that means). 

These keywords remind me of the keyword "child-rapist." Does that keyword mean a rapist who is a child, a person who rapes a child, or a child who rapes another child? I assume that most people intend for this keyword to mean somebody who rapes a child, but wouldn't "child-raper" be a more accurate keyword?

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Champion

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3 years ago

I understand the terms female domination and male domination are a reference to bdsm sexual fetishes. They are the long forms of femdom and maledom which are also on the IMDb, so the best way to go would be to merge them, rather than deleting them and blocking them.

In this context, it is not the dominance of one gender over the other. A Man can either dominate another man or a woman. A Woman can either dominate another woman or a man. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_dominance_(BDSM).

However, looking at the titles in each keyword, it seems many, but not all the titles can be considered under this definition, so probably some users added it with something else in mind. Something more accurate would be a good idea, specially considering this keywords will appear in many adult titles.

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@Pencho15​ That is a very good point about the BDSM angle.

With that said, it looks like a lot of the instances of "female-domination" were added to wrestling titles featuring female wrestlers.

Champion

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@keyword_expert​ We should find a way to differentiate all meanings, otherwise this keyword would be useless as it will be a mixed bag of many ideas.

I made a search for female domination in wrestling in Google, and I got a lot of adult content much of it seems to include the idea of humiliating a defeated rival. That may link them to the BDSM angle

But I have never seen professional wrestling and I have no idea if the titles have that concept as part of the fights.

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@Pencho15​ These are some good points.

I also wanted to point out that currently, all instances of "maledom" as a keyword are on Adult titles.

https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?keywords=maledom&adult=include

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3 years ago

Regarding male-objectification, I've heard from people who add these keywords all the time that the movie/series itself is objectifying the male actors by presenting them topless for an extended period of time. And I also think it implies gratuitousness as well.

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@abdurahman​ 

Regarding male-objectification, I've heard from people who add these keywords all the time that the movie/series itself is objectifying the male actors by presenting them topless for an extended period of time. And I also think it implies gratuitousness as well.

Thank you for that clarification. It would be reasonable to assume that many of the instances of "male-objectification" were added for exactly the scenario that you describe.

In my opinion, this is an improper keyword to use in that context. First, keywords are supposed to be about the plot. (There are a few exceptions, not relevant here.) For example, if a character in a film is chauvinistic and sexually harasses multiple women in a workplace, or if a character literally captures a woman and keeps her in a cage and treats her as an object, then "objectification-of-women" could be an appropriate keyword. Again, that is about the plot, which is an appropriate use of keywords.

Second, the scenario you are describing involves subjective value judgments about the motives of  filmmakers. One person may believe a movie featuring a topless male actor represents objectification, while many other persons would not share that opinion. This is an inherently subjective use of keywords, yet keywords are not supposed to be subjective.

Based on this, I am beginning to think that I should ask for the "objectification" and "domination" keywords to be deleted and blocked from the system.

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If I recall correctly, I have never submitted an addition nor a deletion nor a correction of female-objectification and male-objectification keywords even though they have always seemed unnecessary to me.  In addition to the issues raised above, isn't any man or women appearing in a title, in a sense, being objectified, and perhaps even exploited.  (I've even hard the phrase "camera-rape.")

Domination is a more specific and debatable issue that could refer to a plot element.

(edited)

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3 years ago

@bradley_kent @Pencho15 @abdurahman 

How would you feel about a proposal to delete and block these specific "objectification" keywords?

female-objectification (932 titles)

male-objectification (4434 titles)

Based on the feedback in this thread, I feel like the "objectification" keywords are being added largely on the subjective feelings of the IMDb contributors who add the keywords, rather than as actual plot keywords. And as I have pointed out, the keywords are poorly worded and facially vague. These "objectification" keywords seem to confuse things rather than provide clarity. 

Champion

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@keyword_expert​ I can see a world where they are useful, but under the circunstances I guess its fine.

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@bradley_kent @Pencho15 @abdurahman 

I just wanted to give everyone in this thread a heads up that I have indeed asked IMDb staff to delete and block the keywords "male-objectification" and "female-objectification." Hopefully staff will do so.

Here is the link to my new post:

https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/imdb-staff-please-delete-and-block-these-keywords-mp-russophobia-maleobjectification-femaleobjectification/62e4a8f21b2f176c0012cf92