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Adventures in Bondassageland

Sensation Play Tips

Spanking 101 ~ The Basics

Spanking 101 Part A: The Basics
pipedream 

You don’t have to do it out loud, but admit it, spanking totally turns you on. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, erotic spanking has been around since the Victorian era, but even to this day it’s a fetish some people like to keep quiet about.


If you haven’t explored your secret spanking desires yet, or if you’ve dabbled and it was awkward, we hope this blog post with basic techniques for beginners will help make your experience more pleasant.

Quantity not Quality

Warm your lover’s bottom up slowly until the cheeks begin to flush, then pause and caress. Once your lover starts to feel soothed, repeat the process remembering it’s all about the quantity of slaps, not the excessive force. This “slap, stop, caress” method can be even more fun with the help of some feather ticklers or the strands on a cat-o-nine-tails whip.

Know Your Zones

Find out which areas of your lover’s bottom are more sensitive, so you know where you can spank a little harder once he or she is warmed up. Traditionally, the lower buttocks (the area where your tush turns into legs) are more sensitive on most people. So be gentler on those areas that are more sensitive & always ask for & listen to feedback from your partner to make sure he or she is enjoying it.

Clap Your Hands, Say When?

When using your hands to perform a spanking, you automatically have a built in gauge for pain. If it is stinging the palm of your hand, it’s stinging your partner’s bottom. Pull back and use the caress method when the pain becomes too intense.

Clothing is Okay

For some, spanking on the bare bottom is too intense. It’s perfectly okay to start out slow while wearing something to cover your bottom, until you build up a tolerance.

Get Equipped

There’s tons of equipment you can use in addition to your hand to make the spanking session better. Pipedream offers a wide variety of spanking products from wood canes and stingers to light bondage paddles and slappers.

Positions

Some of the most popular positions for you beginner’s to consider are as follows:
- Bent over a chair
- Bending your lover over your knees
- On the bed, laying face down
- Kneeling by the bed or ottoman
- Getting down on all fours

We’ll be back with another installment of our spanking guide with ways to incorporate role-playing, some advanced techniques, and more product suggestions in a future blog post.

Feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions in the meantime.


For more information, please go to www.bondassage.com

Best Bondage Erotica 2012

Best Bondage Erotica 2012

Review Mia Moore 

As someone who has only read the highest class of smut from far too early an age, say Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series at age 12, I can highly recommend Best Bondage Erotica 2012 for both the kinky minded and vanilla alike.

The book is 226 pages of bondage from both sides of the male and female paradigm, which is markedly different than the normal male dominated, literally and fictionally, bondage novels.

Best Bondage Erotica is edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel with a forward by renowned bondage artist, Midori.

These stories made me hot, made me squirm, and reading the book had to be broken up over several days, as I had to take breaks.  Study breaks, if you will.

The story by Elizabeth Coldwell, called A Night at the Opera, where a woman dominates her lover during an opera performance, gives me chills and makes me think of Milan’s famous La Scala opera house, where I’d love for this to happen to me.

And Laced by Elizabeth Silver, which contains a male on male was so viscerally arousing, and yet so tender for a hard-edged story about sex and domination.

This anthology features 21 short stories, so the reading is very quick, like verbal porn, just enough to get you hot and get you off, but linger in your imagination.  And you know what they say; a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Thanks to Cleis Press for providing this book in exchange for a fair review!


www.bondassage.com

5 Valentine's Day Surprises ...


5 Valentine's Day Surprises That'll Get You Laid - For the Ladies



There's less than a week til that holiday we love to hate and much of what makes Valentine's Day difficult to bear is the pressure put on guys to be "the man" and get their chicks some kind of boat or pony to show they love them fo' realz.
But spending big bucks on a present that may or may not make a difference is not in the picture for most of us these days, and honestly ladies -- you've gotta stop expecting your guy to do all the work.

So here are 5 affordable ways to show the guy of the moment (or the one you want to keep around for a while) that you care -- and that you're definitely interested in getting laid that night.

1. Role-play. With Costumes.
Ask any guy -- one of several ultimate fantasies involves his partner wearing some kind of get-up that resembles a super-hot female figure from pop culture (or real life). Some usual suspects? Princess Leia. Jessica Rabbit. Lara Croft from "Tomb Raider." Any character portrayed by Angelina Jolie.
Whatever his turn-on, try putting together an ensemble that gives him the right idea.

And if fantastical ladies aren't his bag, use the tried and true French maid or naked chef (with an apron for safety) idea. Don't make him wait until Halloween to see you wearing a sluttified version of an everyday outfit.


2. Cook.
Food and sex -- believe it or not, they're up on there on guys' "want all the time" scale higher than oxygen and high-5's. And who wouldn't want to come home from work/play to find he's got a full meal waiting for him and he doesn't have to do a damn thing in order to eat it?

Figure out his favorite food and see if you're capable of making it. Surprise him with a nice spread (pun intended) and if you're feeling extra saucy (pun also intended) serve him wearing just an apron and a smile.
Make sure to drop a napkin more than once and give him a good show as your bend, twist and reach for it. And no need for dessert, as whatever he eats after he takes that last bite of steak is up to him.


3. Plan a Bedroom Adventure.
This takes a bit of time and thought, but if that's a problem for you, you might want to rethink your goals.
At this point you and your man probably have boned a few times and you might have picked up on a few of his favorite sex positions - and possibly a few he'd like to try but you haven't felt up for yet.
Show your man how much you want him -- and want to please him -- by rallying, stretching and prepping yourself for some selfless sex.
He'll love knowing you spent at least a few minutes thinking about exciting ways for him to fuck you and you to suck him, and if he sees some sexy accessories by the bed his boner will be at full mast before you touch your toes.


4. Practice Tantric Sex
You've read about it, seen Sting talk about it on Oprah, but it still seems like a completely fantastical act that only hippies and Grammy winners practice.
Not true.


It's not as hard as it looks. (That's what she said?)

5. Use Sex Toys.
Yeah yeah, we all say we love sex toys, but chances are we probably haven't dived into the couples toy world as deeply as we probably should. There are apprehensions and nerves to bypass, and it's not always easy to get him in the mood using something with a whirring motor.

So how about getting a few sex toys that are made specifically for his pleasure that you also can use together? The Fleshlight and other masturbator sleeves make handjobs feel better than ever, and you can make eye contact and all kinds of sexy talk to each other as you slowly work him with your newly vagina-ized hand.

Or bring over a cock ring, especially one with a vibrator. This will make his cock and balls look even huger than they already do (ahem) and give him an extra-hard erection thanks to its blood flow control.

And with a vibrator you (aka your clitoris) gets some pleasure, too. Chances are that little vibrating cock ring might give you an enhanced orgasm as you're fucking, which will make you feel like a million bucks and him feel like a fucking STUD.

But if sex toys ain't your bag, pick up some special lube -- flavors can be fun -- or maybe some massage oil. That stuff is much easier to introduce to a sex toy phobe and are still hella fun to use together.

Just remember -- this sex toy shopping trip is for him. Remember that "Simpsons" episode in which Homer bought Marge a bowling ball for her birthday? Do you think he really purchased that gift with his blue-haired wife in mind? Nope.
So don't pull a Homer - leave the glitter, pink bows, and rhinestones for your own personal pussy time.

Our First Sex Toy

Our First Sex Toy

Posted by Anonymous

Jan 30, 2012 


I was never the type of guy who thought I would ever use any type of sex toy. That was until I got with my fiancé who opened up a new world for me and her. She’s the kind of girl who knows what she wants in the bedroom, and you sure as hell better give it to her. She slowly introduced me to my first sex toy, but that wasn’t our last!

One night while we were talking, she mentioned how much she would love for me to use a vibrator on her. I wanted to but she’s been my only partner and I never bought a sex toy. Of course I was a bit embarrassed when I knew she was sending me to the store to look for a treat for her. Leaving the house with money in hand, and my stomach was in knots. How did I know what to get her? All I could think about was wanting to please her, so I knew exactly where I was heading. I nervously opened the door and all I saw was porn. I walked inside and started to look around. A man asked if I needed any help, so I joked about coming in here and not having a clue what to get. He made a few suggestions and I went with something pink. It’s her favorite color. Walking up the stairs to our apartment seemed to take forever. She looked my way with a huge smile on her face. “You actually went” she said. I tossed her the box, and she didn’t hesitate to open it. Within the next year, I discovered new ways to make her world spin. My curiosity was starting to get to me.

The next toy we bought was a butt plug. She was never interested in anal till the past year or so. I slowly gained her trust and showed her all the pleasures she had been missing out on. To my surprise, she was the one who bought the plug and lube. I was shocked to see that she enjoyed anal that much. I was even more surprised to see the size she had picked. She admitted to me it was much larger than she expected, but with a little patience and lots of lube, she was in heaven. Another purchase she made shortly after was two more plugs. I had never suspected that she would love anal so much. I love the fact that she always wants a plug in during sex. It’s really sexy, and knowing she can get off from anal alone is a turn on in itself. I love that she enjoys it so much mainly because I was the one who made her love it. Which is rare when it comes to sex, shes normally showing me what I like!

Our next purchase was the first one for me. It included a few c-rings and a lovely masturbator. My girl knows me apparently. She was the one who suggested we get these items. A masturbator is something every guy has to try at least once. I rarely masturbate, so I didn’t see a need for one. If I’m horny, I just get laid. Then I started thinking of all the fun things that I knew she would do to me with it. So we ordered it and used it as quick as we could get the packaging off and wash it. It was like a gift sent from god. Having more toys for the both of us just means more foreplay and more fun! The masturbator feels life-like and you can have a lot of fun when it comes to partner play.

The c-rings she had bought were a new experience I didn’t even know was possible. My girl was pleasantly surprised to find my cock was much thicker. Since I have ordered my rings, I wear them every time we have sex, and it has made it a new experience for us both. I get amazing head for hours a day because my girl loves the way the veins pop out of my cock when I wear it. I love the results we both get from me wearing one. It’s funny how a simple ring can cause such a drastic change in your sex life. But if people have been using c-rings as long as they have, somethings got to be good about them! C-rings really are a must have for any man who is sexually active. If you don’t own one then you are really missing out.

My girl has turned a virgin into a sex addict. I feel that I am lucky to be with her. She keeps showing me new sides of sex I never would have had the courage to try without her next to me.

5 Less Obvious Places To Touch ...

5 Less Obvious Places to Touch Each Other


Jewely Hoxie, who is studying Human Sexuality at the University of California Santa Cruz — you can read her blog here — has a confession to make:

There are some perks to being a Human Sexuality major — and I’m not just talking about its potential as a pick-up line. Take the time I used my favorite places to be touched during sex as a way of remembering where we have the most nerve endings. Or my discovery — thanks prof! — that the parts of our body with the least amount of hair have the most nerve endings. Some of the nerve-rich areas are pretty obvious — lips, genitals, duh. But then there are body parts — with sparse to no hair — that don’t get nearly the amount of attention they deserve. Try these next time you’re in bed with someone:

  1. The ear. Try light wisps of warm breath over the ear and maybe some small nibbles at the top during your next make-out session.
  2. The collarbone. It is such a delicate part of the body that someone else’s soft kiss there can bring you to that romantic Bright Eyes love poem kind of place.
  3. The hip bone. This is like the center of movement during sex. Any stimulation here will have a ripple effect on the rhythm of what’s going on. Consider a firm grab of the hips or even a little biting if you’re in the neighborhood.
  4. The inner thigh. This is a good place to go for a tease before jumping in. It can be especially sensitive when your partner is sitting legs apart — the feeling of vulnerability tends to heighten the senses.
  5. The back of the knees. This tends to be the most overlooked sensitive spot. Check in here while roaming down your partner’s body, or perhaps when their legs are flung near your face.
– Jewely Hoxie

5 Sexy Homemade Gift Ideas For Valentine's Day

It's always fun to DIY!

5 Sexy Homemade Gift Ideas For Valentine’s Day


Valentine’s Day is approaching, and if you’re short on cash, homemade gift ideas are your best bet. They’re sweet and romantic, without breaking the bank. Plus, a homemade gift is much more special than any store bought one. Here are five you don’t want to pass up on.


Chocolate Covered Strawberries

No, you don’t have to make a trip to your local gourmet chocolate store and spend a ton of money to get a nice box of chocolate covered strawberries. These are easy to make at home and can be easily dressed up for Valentine’s Day with an inexpensive box and some tissue paper.

If you do have some money to spend, you definitely want to go quality here. Get quality, organic strawberries and high quality melting chocolate. Simply dip the strawberries in the melted chocolate and set on a piece of wax paper. Refrigerate until they’re hardened and then arrange them in your decorative box. Voila! Way better than any box of chocolates you buy at the store.

If you want to get creative, look up some recipes on how to use white and milk chocolate together. When you gift them to your partner, make sure to include eating them sensually with a bottle of inexpensive champagne. That’s the best part of all!


Budoir Photos

Get your digital camera and take some sexy photos of yourself in lingerie and then again, in various stages of undress. If you have a friend that you trust to do this, employ them to help you so you can get some better quality photos. Upload them to a free online video editor (or a really good program if you happen to have one, but free editors are good too) and fix blemishes, add a filter if you like or even make it black and white for a really great look.

Once they’re done, print them out on a home photo printer (no, these aren’t ones you can send to your local photo developer) and either frame a few of your favorites or put them in a special book for your lover. If you don’t have a photo printer, make a digital collage and send it to him with a sexy email. He will love being able to look at you instead of porn when he’s feeling randy. Of course, he’ll still look at porn too, but your photos are likely going to be his special favorite.


Sex Coupons

Sex coupons are always in style and extremely easy and inexpensive to make for Valentine’s Day. You can grab some construction paper, markers and glitter from the store if you want to go all out, or you can simply type them out, throw a few cute clip art photos on there and print them. Either way, sex coupons are an excellent option if you don’t have a lot of funds for the big day. Just make sure you actually follow through whenever your man wants to redeem them.

If he wants to redeem a coupon for a 30 minute long blowjob and you say you’ve got a headache, it’s like you’ve taken his gift back to the store, just before he got to open it. So go through with whatever you put on your coupons, whenever your guy redeems them. Headache or not.


Cook A Delectable, Candlelit Dinner

You don’t have to go out to dinner on Valentine’s Day if you don’t want to brave the crowds or don’t have the cash for a decent reservation. Plan a meal that you can cook, and set the table. Most people actually don’t eat at the dining room table, so if you set the table with candles and everything, it’s going to seem almost – almost – like you’re at a restaurant. If you can’t cook, order out! Just make sure you’re sitting across the table from your beau without the distraction of the television, your phones, the computer, etc. To make it sexy, try cooking and eating while completely naked. Or, let him eat dinner off you.


A Sexy Treasure Hunt

Make your man go on a treasure hunt – with you as the treasure! Leave post-its with dirty messages on them, or rose petals leading from the door all the way to the bedroom. Use your creativity to come up with a fun way for him to find you, so long as you’re waiting for him either naked or dressed in something very, very sexy. He will love the suspense of looking for you, only to find you ready and waiting for him!


Thanks for a great article, Kaylen!  Find more tips for your sweetie at www.bondassage.com

Surrendering is delicious ...

A lovely article from Midori:

What Every Submissive Needs To Know Before They Play

by Midori Published: November 21, 2011


When you find it, the desire to jump into the deep end of the BDSM pool can be irresistible. The excitement of new found friends, playmates and activities can drive a submissive off track and into dangerous situations for mind, body and soul. In this letter to my submissive friends, I offer some advice to avoid the pitfalls during your adventures.


Dear Friend,

I am so excited for you! It’s such a thrill to watch you blossom into your own sexuality and forge ahead with erotic explorations. For too many years you’ve denied your desires and then struggled to come to terms with them. Now, as you’ve discovered there are others like you; a community of people who enjoy the same things you do, you radiate with the joy of finding acceptance and common ground, a place where you could be heard and let’s not forget, get hot play.

I know you’re about to rush out the door for a play date, but would you take a moment and hear me out? I know everybody and everything you’re encountering seems exciting and wonderful, but will be potential pitfalls, heartaches and dangers along the way. I’m your friend so I’d like to do my best to help you avoid them.

Remember, whatever desires, roles or labels we take on, we’re people first. Respect yourself, respect others and choose to be with those who respect you for all that you are. Even the most gloriously degenerate and depraved play must start from a place of mutual respect and return to that afterwards.

You didn’t get this far in life by being a doormat; so don’t let people walk all over you just because they say they can. You are powerful. Choosing submission from a place of power is beautiful. Find a person who appreciates and treasures that. You’re like a hot-blooded racehorse; under sleek beauty simmers great energy. But you get to choose who will take your reigns, so don’t let just anyone take control, or you’ll get taken for a ride. Be choosy — you’re worth it.

Common sense still rules. Don’t leave it at the dungeon door. Trust your intuition and gut feelings. They won’t let you down. They’ve served you well in the mainstream dating world, and they’ll serve you well now. Remember when you dated Mr. Handsome? He was all slick, smooth and a hot lover who said all the right things. Remember how that turned out? Big time disaster! The same happens in kinkdom. There are just as many smooth talking self-centered bastards with great play skills — don’t assume everyone you meet has your best interest at heart, even if they say they do. Take the time to find out who they really are before you jump into anything.

Take time to make friends you can trust. Honestly, dominants come and go, but friends will be your lifetime support, asset, second opinion, conscience, warning bells and shoulders to cry on.

While you’re newly exploring, try playing with many tops and dominants to see which one suits you best. Some people will try to tell you that a “good” submissive can be trained to serve any dominant. But, it’s no different than dating; personality, chemistry and mutual interests are still just as important as they’ve always been. Where bedroom chemistry doesn’t necessarily mean good boyfriend material, great kink skills or dominance doesn’t make him great boyfriend material.

Remember, tops and dominants are people too. They have their flaws, strengths, good times, bad times and vulnerabilities, just as you do. Be kind to them. Like you, most are working hard to figure it out themselves. They don’t have all the answers, and they’re also continually evolving. Some have a hard time coming to terms with even that. If they make a genuinely well-intended mistake, and own it, give them the benefit of the doubt.

Many people will offer advice, companionship, even protection to you when you’re first starting out. Some will be genuine offers of assistance and friendship; others will have their own agenda. Ultimately, you are in charge of taking care of yourself. When you are considering playing with someone, you need to gauge if you’re going into play in a good place physically and emotionally. You need to take care of your pre-scene and post-scene health and heart. You need to state what sort of after care you need and from whom during negotiation beforehand. Maybe certain aspects of your aftercare need to come from someone other than the dominant you played with. If so, you need to arrange for or ask for what you need beforehand.

During a scene, you need to state if things are not working. You absolutely have the right to say ‘no.’ Yes, bottoms and submissives get to have a say in their own boundaries, what works and what doesn’t. This doesn't automatically make you bad or topping from the bottom. If a dominant can’t deal with your boundary setting, you don’t have to deal with them.
Surrendering is delicious. It’s like a fantastic vacation from every day pressures. You can take these mini-vacations, but you don’t get to check out of life and your responsibilities.
Deep play can give you clarity of vision and perspective on life. It can be meaningful and feel therapeutic. But that doesn’t make it therapy. Kink can’t fix you or your problems — nor can any dominant. That’s up to you and your life’s work.

In this adventure you’re having, you’re going to learn a whole lot about yourself. Some discoveries will be amazing. Some will be amazingly challenging. No matter what, love yourself — because you’re utterly lovable, powerful and amazing.

You are dear to me, my friend.

Love,
Midori


For more information about Bondassage: www.bondassage.com

It's A Pervertible Wonderland

You know that I'm always on the lookout for new kinky toys to play with ... and I was so delighted to see this article:

http://www.edencafe.com/its-a-pervertible-wonderland/


It’s a Pervertible Wonderland


By AndroAngel


Ah, pervertibles, that wonderful thing that every kinkster should know about. Your first kinky toys were probably pervertibles. A pervertible is any every day object that can be repurposed for a kinky purpose. Once you learn how to shop for pervertibles, you start seeing them everywhere. There are thousands of things that can be done with everyday objects, limited only by your imagination. From Walmart to Home Depot, to Petsmart or Petco, the shopping options are limitless. Today, I’m going to cover some shopping tips for pervertible items to get you started on the road to the kinky toy bag you’ve always wanted.

The first stop off on any pervertible shopping trip is the utensil aisle. My first recommendation is that you pick up an escargot fork. It’s a small, two tined fork that can be used to great effect in sensation play by tracing the tines gently over the skin. A spatula or a wooden spoon can easily be substituted for a paddle. By cooling the edge of a metal butter knife on an ice cube, you can make it feel much sharper than it is and it can be used efficiently in knife play. For best effect, show your submissive a sharp knife before blindfolding them and switching out the knives. A pair of still connected disposable chopsticks can be substituted for nipple clamps in a pinch, and a soft bristled bottle brush can be used gently over skin to sensitize it.

Next, we’ll travel to the storage and organization aisle. If you can find a very sturdy shoe rack, you can improvise a spanking bench. I only recommend doing this if the shoe rack can hold more than the full weight of the person it has to support. Clothespins can be used as clamps, and attached to just about any area of skin that can be pinched upwards. If you run a string through a series of clothespins, you can make an improvised zipper strip, which can be attached to the skin in a line, then pulled off all at once with the string. While you’re still in housewares, you should also be able to find a shower curtain rod or a regular curtain rod, which, with a few modifications can become a spreader bar.

If you’re shopping online or in a bigger department store, you might find that they have a massage section. If you have the room for it, you can’t go wrong with a massage table or chair. Not only are they good for actual massages, a good sturdy one will have plenty of places you can hook cuffs and keep your sub on a good level for you to work. Also in the massage area, you should find an assortment of massagers. You already know what to do with those, right? You should even be able to find massage table bolsters, which can take the place of a position pillow if you can’t afford one yet.

There are plenty of other things you might pick up in a department store. A wooden ruler makes an excellent paddle. A dull letter opener can be traced gently over the skin in knife play. A spa mask or a sleep mask for travel can be used in place of a blindfold. In fact, we’ve found that the sleep masks they make for air travel are considerably more comfortable than most of the blindfolds we’ve bought. A feather duster makes a great feather tickler, too, and a hairbrush makes a good paddle. For more ideas on sensation play pervertibles, have a look at the sensation play paragraph in my article “Sex Doesn’t Need to Begin and End with V.”

The next stop off on our pervertible hunt is the pet store. Here’s where it starts getting interesting. First question, are you interested in pet play? This is where you can start picking up supplies if that’s the case. You can find dog or cat bowls, tennis balls, rope tug-toys, feather wands, toy mice, pet beds, collars, leashes, and tags here for your new “pet.” Not into pet play? The pet store is still a good stop off for you. The dog collars are usually made sturdy, and most of them are exceptionally comfortable. I recommend the kind with the metal buckle closures, not the plastic snaps. Collars sized for tiny dogs, like chihuahuas, can be used as cuffs for securing wrists and ankles. Leashes work for their intended purpose, of course, but they can also be looped around a headboard or other secure point and used as fastening points for cuffs. You should also be able to find large dog harnesses. We actually tried a few on for size, and the ones intended for large shepherds adjusted the best to fit around human chests. They can be used to secure someone in bondage, or as a grabbing point to pull someone close or move them as you see fit, and of course they can also be hooked to a leash. They have the added bonus of looking nice, as well. In the cat toys, you can find feather sticks, which make excellent feather ticklers in a pinch. While you’re there, you might consider picking up some organic catnip. Catnip tea is a good beverage to have available during after care, as it has mild sedative effects and it can be great for calming frayed nerves and balancing emotions. Catnip can also be used on mild cuts and bruises. I suggest reading more in-depth information on its effects before you use it on yourself or your partner, however.

The last pervertible stop off I’m going to cover in this article is the hardware store. It is, perhaps, the best place of them all to buy pervertibles. I suggest getting at least four double ended snap hooks, eight is even better. They can be used to fasten cuffs and chains in different combination. You can also find chain O rings in various sizes, which can be used in strap on harnesses, and buy lengths of chain. I suggest buying four lengths of a light, sturdy chain to use as tethers with your cuffs. Your segments of chain can be cut between one and a half feet and two feet. Of course, you can also buy rope. Choose rope that isn’t likely to chafe, and soak it overnight to help soften it before use. If you plan to do any kind of advanced rope work, you’ll need at least 35 feet of rope. It seems like a lot, but once you start tying, it goes quickly.
There are plenty more pervertibles out there, and you’re limited only by your imagination, so have fun trying things out and learning as you go. Always remember the rules of BDSM safety and always respect limits. Once you’ve tried out some BDSM with pervertibles, remember that different materials get different effects, and adding nicer, luxury items to your toy bag can make your play time all the more fun. By mixing professionally made toys and pervertibles, you open up a world of sensual pain and pleasure to explore.


Great tips, right?

BDSM ...it's less transgressive than you think.

Just saw an interesting article this morning


 BDSM: It’s less transgressive than you think... So says the author of a new book on white, middle-class kinksters in the San Francisco Bay Area By Tracy Clark-Flory


  A young African-American woman walked onstage, led by a white man holding a leash attached to a collar around her neck. “As he spoke, he yanked up her dress to display her shaved genitals, and he then turned her around,” writes anthropologist Margot Weiss. “Still holding her dress above her waist, he smacked her ass so hard she pitched forward; the leash attached to the collar around her neck stopped her fall.” Then the bidding began.

This scene from a BDSM “slave auction” — before a predominantly white audience – makes for one of the most viscerally challenging passages in “Techniques of Pleasure,” Weiss’ book-length investigation of San Francisco’s kink community, although there are other examples, ranging from father-daughter incest to Nazi guard-prisoner scenarios.
These encounters aren’t described in much detail — instead, they’re used as passing evidence of the depths of politically incorrect play that she observed, or heard about, during the three years spent observing this world.

Most kinksters see such “scenes” as standing apart from racism, sexism and all manner of ugliness that happens in the real world — but Weiss does not. “The fantasy of the scene as a safe space of private desire justifies and reinforces certain social inequalities,” she argues. The truth, she says, is that S/M “depends for its erotic power on precisely these real-world relations, within which it is given form and content.”

That said, Weiss objects to the idea that this sort of sexual make-believe is “the same as the violence that it mimes,” as some BDSM critics argue. Instead, Weiss looks at how particular scenes, whether it’s a slave auction or make-believe child abuse, affect the people participating, watching or (here’s looking at you) reading about it.

She also zeroes in on the contradictions of kink: “On the one hand, SM is figured as outlaw: as transgressive of normative sexual values,” Weiss writes. “On the other hand, SM is dependent on social norms: practitioners draw on social hierarchies to produce SM scenes.” The mostly-white, mostly-middle-class community is itself an example of real-world social inequality: ”These [sexual] experiments are more possible and more accessible to those with class, race and gender privilege: heterosexual men playing with sexism, white bodies at a charity slave auction, professional information technology (IT) workers with several rooms filled with custom-made bondage toys.”

Speaking of toys, she further questions S/M’s “outlaw” status by painting a portrait of a social network built on capitalism and consumerism: Just consider the rainbow’s array of classes (on everything from spanking to rope bondage) and fetish toys (from handcuffs to latex vacuum beds) that practitioners can, and are to some degree expected to, invest in. BDSM is not as transgressive as most assume, says Weiss.

As you’ve probably gathered, “Techniques of Pleasure” is a smart, but not particularly sexy, read. It’s light on kinky lingo and heavy on the academic jargon. So, I got Weiss, an assistant anthropology professor at Wesleyan University, on the phone for a more relaxed chat about the ambivalent politics of the BDSM community.

You write in the book about your initial surprise at your first BDSM event that everyone seemed so darned “normal” and “wholesome.” How so?

It was definitely not what I expected. There were way more heterosexual people and they were older than I thought they would be. They were wearing not the most cutting-edge fetish outfits — they weren’t all black leather and riding in on their motorcycles. I realized then that these were people that I was comfortable with, they were professional-class people. They weren’t the radical people I expected to find: They were more like my colleagues or like my parents.

You also talk in the book about how the strict rules and regulations within S/M seem to contradict the scene’s rebel identity.

People find themselves participating in social formations that they themselves didn’t construct. In the ’80s, there was a concern in the scene about federal regulation, the possibility of busts, but also primarily a need to protect people from HIV transmission. The Bay Area leather scene was so decimated by HIV and AIDS, so safety and control became a a major concern for different S/M organizations.

Plenty of people in S/M now hate the rules. They say, “It used to be you could do all this crazy stuff and it was a lot more fun and a lot sexier and now you go to a play party and you start to do something and the dungeon monitor is right there yelling at you, ‘That’s not allowed!’” One thing that I found interesting was that resenting the rules was one way that you became a respected S/M practitioner.

People outside of the scene tend to think that S/M is totally wild, there are no rules, people are just doing whatever they feel like doing — but if you show them a 10-page negotiation form or a checklist or the 20-minute safety lecture that goes into almost any kind of play, people are amazed.

What about the consumerist and capitalist elements that you found?

I was amazed at how much stuff there was to buy; there are toys, manuals, books, classes. A lot of scholars have argued that in late capitalism in the United States, people’s identity is about what they consume. In S/M, there is a kind of “work on the self,” or self-mastery, that’s about different practices, different kinds of technique, but then those techniques are then tied back into toys, different paraphernalia, different kinds of commodities. You become a bondage master in relation to different commodities.

Not everyone in the S/M scene can afford to buy all this stuff. In the same way that whiteness is normative, it’s in the center, there is this normative professional-class person who has the money and leisure time to devote to S/M practice, and that is the ideal for consumer capitalism.

S/M is not alone in this. This is just a way that communities based around sexualities work in the U.S. today. But S/M is also a really great example of this, and you can see what that does to the community. People have debates about toys: Are they destroying social connections, did it used to be more authentic? And how now you can just buy your S/M identity, and that creates a lot of anxiety for people.

More so even than gender dynamics, you found some complex and interesting racial issues within the scene.


The scene in San Francisco, at least the pansexual scene, is almost entirely white, which was surprising to me given the demographics of the Bay Area, and that was something that most of the white people that I interviewed didn’t seem to notice. It wasn’t until [the BDSM organization] Society of Janus did a panel presentation on race in the scene that the people I was interviewing said, “Oh yeah, I guess the scene really is white, that’s so strange.”

The people of color I talked to felt marginalized by the scene’s normative whiteness. It wasn’t so much that white people doing S/M were overtly racist or didn’t want to play with people of color, it was that the scene itself had a normative, assumptive whiteness at its center, so that people of color doing S/M experience themselves as marginal to that community.

Most people that I talked to didn’t see S/M slavery play as having anything to do with historical slavery in the United States — but none of the people of color I talked to thought that this was the case. I talked to an African-American woman in the scene who’s well-known for doing race play and she said, “You know, I don’t think these white people ever think about handcuffs and whipping and the slave auction as connected to histories of slavery, but I can’t help but think about that when I play.”

So, for me, it’s not that charity slave auctions are simply terrible, politically suspect and clearly wrong, nor is it that they’re transgressive and that they open up new radical possibilities.

Debates about S/M so often come down to their ultimate social impact — whether it reinforces or transgresses sexism, racism and the like. Is that question answerable?

You can’t before the fact decide on the politics of S/M. The way that S/M is talked about in feminist theory, the way it’s debated by practitioners,  it’s in the stark pro or con, binary debate. You can’t really make these political decisions on such a simplified basis. You have to really ask, “For whom?” There are scenes in my book that really do open up people, get them to think differently, provide a new vantage point for thinking about inequality, but there are other scenes that don’t. The very same scene has different effects on differently positioned people. My book is a call to get away from abstracted thinking about the relationship between sexuality and social power, and to think more concretely, more socially.


Traveling Bondassage Trainers Come To You!

Big news ~


I've added two "traveling trainers" to Bondassage's amazing training team! Pele and Daria are available to travel through the United States and Canada to train you in Bondassage! 

Pleasecontact them directly for more information ( I know Pele is in Hawaii through March). 


Here's an interesting story I found about increasing your sexual energy.  It's an easy Chi Kung exercise:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/01/how-to-increase-your-sexual-energy--jerry-stocking/


Happy New Year!

Lots of great news ~


We're getting very, very close to releasing the new Bondassage website, and it's a beauty!  It should be live next week :)


Tracy in Berlin will be offering Bondassage Practitioner Training starting this month, and I've just certified two additional "Traveling" Trainers ~ Pele (Hawaii/Utah/San Francisco/New York) and Daria (Texas/Chicago/New York).  Contact them directly and have them come out and train you!


I'm still working on the book, and just starting production on a series of short (30 sec) videos for youtube.


It's going to be a fabulously kinky year, folks!

For more information: www.bondassage.com