International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation■ Vol. 2, 2021 53
participating women were tasked with
extreme physical and emotional experiences
(United States of America v. Raniere, 2019,
pp. 808–811). The program required that
each woman needed “to learn that no matter
what you do, you’re going to be wrong”
(2019, p. 811). Sylvie explained to the court
that the program was an “exercise in
humiliating women” (p. 174). According to
former member Mark Vicente’s testimony,
SOP Complete left women like “shells of
themselves” (2019, p. 818). He testified that
they “looked like they were beaten in [to]
submission,”—an outcome that Vicente
believed Raniere intended. Women had to be
completely subservient to men, even when it
was detrimental to their well-being,
“following orders no matter what” (2019, p.
818).
In another course, Raniere proposed that
women like sex when men are angry
(Edmondson &Gasbarre, 2019,
p. 132), an idea that he took further when he
claimed that many women experience their
first orgasm only when they are raped
(United States of America v. Raniere, 2019,
p. 5169). Moreover, during a Jness Tracks
workshop, women watched a videotaped
lecture of Raniere questioning American age-
of-consent laws, stating that the age of sexual
consent is 12 in some countries (United
States of America v. Raniere, 2019, p. 308),32
indicating his preference for such rulings.
more about the men in their lives (Edmondson &Gasbarre, 2019, p.
129).
32 During a 1998 lecture, Raniere questioned what “molestation” is
(Natalie. 2019, p. 99). Then, in an audiotaped lecture, Nancy
Salzman taught her listeners about cross-cultural age-of-consent
variances, indicating that in the United States, society is “abusing”
young children by telling them that sex with adults is “bad” (Natalie
&Hardin, 2019, p. 100).
Natalie discusses a series of email communications from a Mexican
woman who worked in Raniere’s Rainbow Cultural Gardens
children’s school in Mexico. Apparently established to teach
multiple languages to children aged 10 and under (including his own
Research indicates that “one of the ways cults
subjugate women is by tearing down their
self-esteem” (Whitsett &Post Rosow, 2020,
p. 359). Raniere’s teachings and personal
interactions with many Nxian women did just
that: Women evaluated themselves
negatively, whilst being groomed to accept
men’s apparent virtue and superiority.
Raniere’s message was clear: Women needed
to change their attitudes and behaviors—and
he required that they recognize their inherent
inferiority and submit to men—and, more
specifically, to him.
D. Raniere’s End Game: Dominus
Obsequious Sororium
By the time new DOS initiates uttered the
words, “Master, please brand me, it would be
an honor, an honor I want to wear for the rest
of my life” (United States of America v.
Raniere, 2019, p. 2064), they had been
groomed, manipulated, and coerced into
accepting a wide array of distasteful and
abusive situations. Though they did not
realize it at the time, Raniere was in control
of the alleged female-empowerment sorority
to which they had just pledged themselves.33
With the branding of Raniere’s initials—also
unknown to them—near their pubic regions,
he had cleverly and deceitfully taken full
control. Each painful branding ceremony was
just the beginning of his plans to groom them
for further humiliation. Translating to
“master over the slave women,” the group’s
name, Dominus Obsequious Sororium,
son, Gaelen), the unlicensed schools employed nannies and others
who were unqualified to teach. The woman contacted Natalie with
her concerns about children being exposed to discussions about sex
at an early age. She alleged that young girls were being taught (i.e.,
groomed) how to become sexual partners, and that sex with adults is
acceptable (Natalie &Hardin, 2019, pp. 2016–2220). Natalie has
proposed that the normalization of sexual abuse was a recurrent
theme in NXIVM curricula (Natalie &Hardin, 2019, pp. 99–100).
33 Raniere kept his position as founder and leader of DOS hidden
from converts other than the first line (United States of America v.
Raniere, 2019, pp. 1509, 1602).
participating women were tasked with
extreme physical and emotional experiences
(United States of America v. Raniere, 2019,
pp. 808–811). The program required that
each woman needed “to learn that no matter
what you do, you’re going to be wrong”
(2019, p. 811). Sylvie explained to the court
that the program was an “exercise in
humiliating women” (p. 174). According to
former member Mark Vicente’s testimony,
SOP Complete left women like “shells of
themselves” (2019, p. 818). He testified that
they “looked like they were beaten in [to]
submission,”—an outcome that Vicente
believed Raniere intended. Women had to be
completely subservient to men, even when it
was detrimental to their well-being,
“following orders no matter what” (2019, p.
818).
In another course, Raniere proposed that
women like sex when men are angry
(Edmondson &Gasbarre, 2019,
p. 132), an idea that he took further when he
claimed that many women experience their
first orgasm only when they are raped
(United States of America v. Raniere, 2019,
p. 5169). Moreover, during a Jness Tracks
workshop, women watched a videotaped
lecture of Raniere questioning American age-
of-consent laws, stating that the age of sexual
consent is 12 in some countries (United
States of America v. Raniere, 2019, p. 308),32
indicating his preference for such rulings.
more about the men in their lives (Edmondson &Gasbarre, 2019, p.
129).
32 During a 1998 lecture, Raniere questioned what “molestation” is
(Natalie. 2019, p. 99). Then, in an audiotaped lecture, Nancy
Salzman taught her listeners about cross-cultural age-of-consent
variances, indicating that in the United States, society is “abusing”
young children by telling them that sex with adults is “bad” (Natalie
&Hardin, 2019, p. 100).
Natalie discusses a series of email communications from a Mexican
woman who worked in Raniere’s Rainbow Cultural Gardens
children’s school in Mexico. Apparently established to teach
multiple languages to children aged 10 and under (including his own
Research indicates that “one of the ways cults
subjugate women is by tearing down their
self-esteem” (Whitsett &Post Rosow, 2020,
p. 359). Raniere’s teachings and personal
interactions with many Nxian women did just
that: Women evaluated themselves
negatively, whilst being groomed to accept
men’s apparent virtue and superiority.
Raniere’s message was clear: Women needed
to change their attitudes and behaviors—and
he required that they recognize their inherent
inferiority and submit to men—and, more
specifically, to him.
D. Raniere’s End Game: Dominus
Obsequious Sororium
By the time new DOS initiates uttered the
words, “Master, please brand me, it would be
an honor, an honor I want to wear for the rest
of my life” (United States of America v.
Raniere, 2019, p. 2064), they had been
groomed, manipulated, and coerced into
accepting a wide array of distasteful and
abusive situations. Though they did not
realize it at the time, Raniere was in control
of the alleged female-empowerment sorority
to which they had just pledged themselves.33
With the branding of Raniere’s initials—also
unknown to them—near their pubic regions,
he had cleverly and deceitfully taken full
control. Each painful branding ceremony was
just the beginning of his plans to groom them
for further humiliation. Translating to
“master over the slave women,” the group’s
name, Dominus Obsequious Sororium,
son, Gaelen), the unlicensed schools employed nannies and others
who were unqualified to teach. The woman contacted Natalie with
her concerns about children being exposed to discussions about sex
at an early age. She alleged that young girls were being taught (i.e.,
groomed) how to become sexual partners, and that sex with adults is
acceptable (Natalie &Hardin, 2019, pp. 2016–2220). Natalie has
proposed that the normalization of sexual abuse was a recurrent
theme in NXIVM curricula (Natalie &Hardin, 2019, pp. 99–100).
33 Raniere kept his position as founder and leader of DOS hidden
from converts other than the first line (United States of America v.
Raniere, 2019, pp. 1509, 1602).
