Strangely, I haven't read these books. I would have loved them as a teenager, but the thick volumes and sprawling series were too much of a commitment for me. I preferred to read Orwell, Huxley, Bradbury, Hineline, Asimov, Clarke, etc. I'm thinking about picking them up this summer.

I can see your point in the Dominatrix archetype from the movies. There is a strange amount of gender equality but separation, as could be imagined in 1965. However, the Bene Gesserit sisters are not all that different from their male counterparts. House Harkonnen definitely controlled with sex and violence. I believe it's pretty common to fetishize someone with power, who is a little dangerous, and really interesting to see how it's evolved through the lens of pop culture. I have quite a few opinions and observations about this, but I'm getting way of topic now.

I look forward to having a more nuanced, book-specific discussion with you after those tomes travel on the plane/train/beach with me this summer.