# Did the Addams Family pervert me or empower me?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-addams-family-pervert-me-or-empower-me/757664>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [June 18, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-addams-family-pervert-me-or-empower-me/757664 "2016-06-18T04:29:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-addams-family-pervert-me-or-empower-me/757664/21 "2016-06-18T15:47:40Z")

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> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#):
>
> [Yes.](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/cd/50/8b/cd508b92ad1dc37c44c633bda12551b3.gif)

I was hoping someone would pick up on my word play there. 😃

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**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-addams-family-pervert-me-or-empower-me/757664/22 "2016-06-18T15:59:14Z")

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I never got to see the sitcom. Mom was of the firm opinion that the Addamses and the Munsters and Bewitched and Sabrina were all avenues to invite witchcraft and Satan into the house.

I discovered the movie in college, and loved it immediately and intensely. I loved that they love each other passionately, that they are obviously having a great sex-life, and that they were obvious about their love and respect for each other in public. That was really affirming to me, and very powerful.

I also (although I didn’t have the vocabulary for it at the time) was introduced to the whole concept of BDSM, and specifically the idea of couples who “switch” roles, or who only play roles in the context of flirting/sex. Portrayals of any of that wasn’t exactly common, and probably still isn’t. Seeing the two of them acting like that absolutely empowered me.

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**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-addams-family-pervert-me-or-empower-me/757664/23 "2016-06-18T17:21:33Z")

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Probably depends on your denomination. Traditional Catholicism carries with it an inherent fascination with the macabre - we put gargoyles on our cathedrals, collect and venerate the skulls and bones of our saints, inspire the over-the-top art of an Hieronymus Bosch or the Miracle Plays of the middle ages, and even decorate our monasteries with the bones of monks who have passed before, of which we make archways, chairs, and divans: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa\_Maria\_della\_Concezione\_dei\_Cappuccini](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_della_Concezione_dei_Cappuccini) Hallowe’en, the eve of All Saints Day, was celebrated in fine style in my parish - lots of ghosts and skeletons and witches.

Most of the kids and parents in my parochial school never missed an episode of either The Addams Family or The Munsters. I can’t remember anyone putting it down.

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