Link Digests – Page 9 – The History of BDSM

Link Roundup, February 2018

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Feb 172018

A short essay on Jack Fritscher’s life as founder of gay leather magazine Drummer.
The BackStory history podcast has a segment on the lurid, porno-Gothic, anti-Catholic accounts of Rebecca Reed and Maria Monk. (Episode transcript)
French philosopher and historian and practicing sadomasochist Michel Foucault was an influential figure in the study of the history of sexuality. Now, more than thirty years after his death, the fourth volume of his History of Sexuality, Confessions of the Flesh, will finally be published.
Yes, Fifty Shades Freed is in theatres. No, I don’t want to see it or talk about it. You can read reviews at Pajiba or the BBC. There’s also an interesting essay about how Fifty Shades dramatizes the dilemma of affective labor.
Leatherati has an interview with longtime leather writer and titleholder Guy Baldwin, from 2012.
Garage magazine has an essay on the recent history of BDSM, especially in the arts, from the Old Guard leatherman days to the post-Internet world.
In Alaska, Rep. Zach Fransler allegedly assaulted a woman he was dating by hitting her during sex hard enough to rupture her eardrum. In a later text message apologizing to the woman, Fransler called what he did a “BDSM kink”, but the woman said in interviews she never negotiated.

Link roundup, January 2018

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Jan 152018

Katherine Gates, author of the new edition of Deviant Desires, talks on the Sex Out Loud podcast about fetishes. Specifically, she came out of the zine scene of the late 80s and early 90s, when people would self-publish and distribute paper zines for their own niche fetishes, such as sploshing or crushing or giantess. This was largely supplanted by the Internet in the mid-90s.
Susan Wright, NCSF co-founder and tireless advocate, talks on the Kinkycast about the threat to kink and freedom of expression from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, formerly known as Morality in Media. Among other things, it claims that the EBSCO academic research database is a purveyor of pornography to children.
A 2016 GQ article claims that “Kink isn’t just for weirdo side characters anymore.” I don’t know about that, but it is an interesting list about kink in mainstream television, including Transparent, Nip/Tuck, Billions and other series.
BDSM has always been influenced by the changing times, and new technologies. An Engadget article talks about a pro dominatrix who specializes in “consensual blackmail” and Internet-enabled surveillance.

Link Roundup, December 2017

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Dec 182017

Princeton University now has its own officially recognized BDSM club, Princeton Plays.
An essay on the Israeli “Stalag” Nazisploitation paperbacks of the 1960s.
In-depth exploration of the Nazisploitation film genre.
Katherine Gates has published a new and expanded edition of Deviant Desires.
Gloria Brame, author of Different Loving and Different Loving Too, lists five clichés about BDSM that kinksters need to stop repeating.
A 2013 Atlantic essay on whether consent-based sexual ethics is enough.
A brief look at the Lust Doll kink-based video game.

Link Roundup, November 2017

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Nov 152017

This blog explores in-depth the themes and history of Story of O, including its authorized and unauthorized adaptations.
Gloria Brame lists funny BDSM scenes in mainstream films
The Guardian interviews Clive Barker (writer and director) and Doug Bradley (actor who played “Pinhead”) about the BDSM-inspired Hellraiser film.
Tina Horn’s account of the last days of Kink.com at the San Francisco Armory.
A short history of gay leather bars and why they often have the word “Eagle” in their names.
The dialectic between fashion and sex work.
The Tom of Finland fetish artist biopic has been released and is coming to North America.

Link roundup, October 2017

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Oct 152017

Slave david stein, with whom I collaborated on Our Lives, Our History, passed away on October 11th, 2017. Among many other accomplishments, david coined the phrase “Safe, Sane and Consensual.” He was a great guy and I’m sad to see him go.
How Leatherdykes helped change feminism, by Samir S. Patel, in Atlas Obscura
Back2Stonewall has an article on NYC’s legendary Mineshaft leather bar
As does the Village Voice on NYC’s Vault BDSM club
Jack Fritscher’s account of the origins of the Folsom Street Fair, Leather’s Burning Man
And another history of the Folsom Street Fair
And yet another of the Folsom Street Fair
Short biography of Cleo Dubois and Fakir Musafar
San Franscisco’s Armory, formerly the headquarters of the Kink.com online porn empire, moves to the next phase of its existence
The Rolling Stones’ notorious “Black and Blue” bondage-themed ad campaign in the mid-70s
Review of Professor Marsten and the Wonder Women, about their kinky and poly triad
Profile of GB Jones, a Canadian artist who draws what Tom of Finland would have drawn in he was a lesbian.
Review of Richard Perez Seves’ book on fetish pioneer Charles Guyette

Link roundup, August 2017

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Sep 012017

I recently purchased a copy of Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art, by Richard Perez Seves. Guyette was possibly the first American kink entrepreneur, beginning in the 1930s selling “theatrical footwear” and branching out into fetish photography. He influenced the careers of John Willie, the Klaws, Leonard Burtmann, and others. The book is full of vintage fetish photography, reproduced art, and a short biography of Guyette.
In light of the resurgence of fascism and white supremacism in the US, Vox published a short essay on the sexual appeal of fascists.
Rolling Stone examines the changing leather scene at International Mister Leather.
Review of the biopic of the classic gay fetish artist Tom of Finland.
Obituary of the late Chuch Renslow, gay male fetish entrepreneur.
Essay on the history of nuns in pornography.

Link Roundup, July 2017

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Jul 262017

On June 29th, 2017, Chuck Renslow passed on. He was a major figure in the mid- to late- 20th century gay kink world. Among other things, he founded International Mister Leather, the Gold Coast leather bar, and many gay physique and leather magazines. Here’s an hour-long talk with him, courtesy of the Leather Archives & Museum.
A history of the Dore Alley leather street fair
Rodney Burger’s editorial on “I am not hanging up my leather in your closet“
History of the lesbian magazine On Our Backs, which also dealt with lesbian kink
The impact of Tindr-like contact apps on the Scene
The “Masochist’s Lib” editorial by Terry Kolb, co-founder of TES, published in the Village Voice in 1971, after the newspaper refused to run ads for TES.
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is a upcoming drama film about the creator of Wonder Woman, the two women he lived with, and their lesbian and BDSM relationships, in the 1930s and 1940s.

Link Roundup, June 2017

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Jun 262017

A brief look at the Hannah Cullwick-Arthur Munby relationship on Dangerous Minds
Indiegogo page for Kink Doctor web video series
A look into the BDSM culture of India, focused on the Kinky Collective group in major cities
Short bio of Bettie Page
Interview with a professional submissive sex worker
2001 academic article by Andrea Beckman on Deconstructing Myths: The Social Construction of “Sadomasochism” versus “Subjugated knowledges” of consensual “SM”
In the US, a sherriff’s deputy has turned out to have once worked as a pro domme and video performer, which people have used to question her ability to do her job. Some familiar anti-kink sentiments crop up, with an unnamed source saying: “The department’s “worst nightmare is if she’s out there and she’s really a dominatrix type and she beats the sh-t out of somebody,” the first source said. “The county [would be] liable.” ” Sources: NY Post, The Mary Sue, NJ.com
Everyday Feminism’s three-step guide to practicing non-oppressive BDSM
Gloria Brame on standing up against racism, sexism and other oppression in the BDSM community