Apr 152020
- In the coronavirus crisis, the medical fetish site MedFetUK donated its supply of disposable medical scubs to a UK hospital. Its Twitter feed said, “When you see someone from the government saying the NHS [National Health Service] is getting what it needs, that is a LIE.”
- A photo essay on Istanbul’s BDSM community which continues to meet despite the pandemic.
- Many of the Decadent artists and writers of the late 19th century touched on sadomasochistic themes, such as Octave Mirbeau’s novel The Torture Garden. The 1889 lesbian novel Mephistophela by Catulle Mendes was only recently translated into English for the first time. The Bad Books for Bad People podcast explores this neglected work and what it says about late Victorian views of sexuality in general and lesbianism in particular, which includes scenes of torture and domination.
- In Teen Vogue, actress Emma Watson talks about her struggles with normative heterosexual partnering, and how she looks to other models, like BDSM. “I’ve also kind of become slightly fascinated by kink culture because they are the best communicators ever. They know all about consent.” Note her carefully hedged statement, with “kind of” and “slightly”. Still not a full-voiced endorsement of BDSM.
- Kerrang has a list of popular songs you didn’t know were about BDSM. (In some cases, it’s pretty obvious.)
- HonestErotica.com collects 19th and 20th century erotic art, mostly European, including kinky work such as Suzanne Ballivet’s 1954 illustrations for Venus in Furs, Eugène Klementieff’s 1937 illustrations for L’éducatrice passionnée, and Wighead’s 1934 illustrations for À genoux esclave.
