This article explores questions of sexual agency and consent in mainstream representations of BDSM using Pauline Réage's Story of O and EL James's Fifty Shades trilogy as examples. It addresses normalizing tendencies and explores to what extent BDSM can be represented before being rejected by mainstream readers. Based on critiques of both novels, I outline the degree to which the concept of consensual non-consent, that is, the illusion of suspended consent in order to facilitate erotic power play, works in both novels. A close reading reveals a return to more traditional notions of femininity and female sexual agency in Fifty Shades, as well as a growing tendency to normatively limit the depictions of sadomasochistic desires.We act on our desires -or at least, we try to. Human interaction is governed by a multiplicity of rules and expectations, and in sexuality, more than in other areas of our lives, expectations dictate the process of events. Agency, the capacity to act in a way that leads to accomplishing a set goal, defining our sexual needs, deciding on activities we might want to engage in or not, and the ability to stop are necessary for a fulfilled sexuality. In BDSM 1 subculture, consent and sexual agency are seen as integral parts of interaction. Any erotic encounter is necessarily preceded by negotiations in order to establish boundaries and safewords, as well as discussing preferred practices and limits. While these procedures have become commonplace