One question that keeps coming up in my research: is BDSM a practice unique to Western/European-American civilization, or is it something universal to humanity? I’d lean towards the former, but there’s the issue of Japanese rope bondage. (Some people also bring up Chinese footbinding.)
I haven’t researched this in detail yet, in part because I don’t know of any English-language works that tell of the history of shibari. (I plan on buying or borrowing Midori’s book on it eventually.) I get the distinct impression that a lot of the information circulated by alleged experts is suspect. Witness the following exchange between Fetish Diva Midori and Mistress Matisse:
“First of all, is there an ancient tradition of erotic rope bondage in Japan?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t call it ancient,” Midori told me. “The kind of rope bondage we’re doing was popularized by the Japanese porn industry, which came into full bloom in the 1960s. And the word ‘nawashi’ means ‘one who works with rope.’ It definitely implies someone who’s doing it for money, in the porn industry. A sex worker, basically. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not a high-status title.”
So, if shibari is only 40 or so years old, it could be something that is not indigenous to Japan, or something that was altered by contact with the West. I think the latter point is a little more likely, but again, no hard information. The mythologizing is something the Japanese may have contributed to themselves, in the same way that Americans mythologize their own history.
We speculated about what might make someone invent a richer history for a kink activity than really exists. “I think if someone feels some sexual shame about what he’s doing, he might attempt to legitimize it,” said Midori. “For some people, it’s easier to feel okay about being kinky if you tell yourself that you’re participating in some ancient honorable ritual, instead of tying people up just because it’s hot and you get off on it.”
I’d like to interview Midori on this subject one day.
I believe that physical ordeal rituals are common to many human cultures, but also that only in the last few centuries, in Europe, has what we would recognize as a form of BDSM. If it occurs in other cultures, it was imported or imitated.
If anybody can prove otherwise, please leave a comment.
