The History of BDSM – Page 23 – Documenting my research in the history of consensual sadomasochism

Interview on Sex Club podcast

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Mar 082020

My latest interview is on the Sex Club Podcast. Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Criminal Minds S10E17 “Breath Play”: The Celluloid Dungeon

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Mar 052020

Criminal Minds S10E17 “Breath Play” First aired March 11, 2015 IMDB

The second episode of Criminal Minds to deal with BDSM (that I know of) is “Breath Play”.

“Breath Play” treads much of the same ground as the earlier episode “Limelight”, though at least in this case there are actual victims from the beginning. A serial killer is strangling women to death and leaving them tied to their beds. Somehow, the killer is welcomed into the homes of his victims.

Examining the bodies reveal that the victims were tied to their beds and strangled for hours before their deaths. Dr. Reid speculates, in one of the leaps of logic that seems typical of this series, that this is actually about erotic asphyxiation, or breath play.

Another crime scene leads of the discovery of an extremely popular erotic novel called Bare Reflections, a knock-off of Fifty Shades of Grey. All of the victims had the book, and the “saucy texts” found on the victim’s phone were direct quotes. However, if the book is that popular, it increases the likelihood that it’s just a coincidence and not the key clue.

Bound (2015): The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 19 Responses »

Mar 022020

Bound (2015) (not to be confused with Bound (1996), the lesbian-noir thriller directed by the Wachowskis) has an interesting pedigree. It was made by The Asylum, best known as the producers of numerous “mockbusters”, low budget, direct-to-video knock-offs of popular Hollywood films. Usually, these are science fiction, disaster and horror films (e.g. Transmorphers, based on Transformers), but a few belong to other genres. Bound is The Asylum’s take on Fifty Shades of Grey (which, in turn, is a take on the Twilight series of books and films).

Let’s get one thing clear. Bound is not a great film. The production values are low, the acting isn’t great, entire scenes seem to be missing from the story, and there are more than a few plot holes.

And yet….

It is a better cinematic treatment of a woman’s introduction to BDSM than Fifty Shades of Grey.

Link roundup, February 2020

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Feb 172020

Kinkstarter discusses the 1997 kinky-romance-comedy film Preaching to the Perverted.
The Columbia Chronicle profiles Chicago’s Leather Archive & Museum.
The BBC covers the diary of a Yorkshire farmer in 1810, who discussed a famous case of a naval surgeon who engaged in homosexual affairs. The diarist, Matthew Tomlinson, argued that homosexuality could be an inborn character trait, and should not be punished. “…it must then be considered as natural, otherwise as a defect in nature – and if natural, or a defect in nature; it seems cruel to punish that defect with death”. This throws off the usual view that homosexuality wasn’t conceived of as a fixed psychological trait (i.e. “born this way”) until later in the 19th century, with the writings of Krafft-Ebing.
Future of Sex reviews Hard Times in Hornstown, “a free text-based sandbox fetish porn game”, which puts the player into a variety of sexual encounters, included fetishes and kinks.
In the UK, the activist group We Can’t Consent to This has documented an alarming increase in the “rough sex” defense in homicide cases. “We Can’t Consent to This has documented 59 cases of the “rough sex” defense. Among those instances, there are many cases of horrific bodily injury that rationally preclude the possibility of consensual sex: a fractured spine, skull, or ribs. Notably absent in these cases: panicked calls to 911 in hopes of resuscitation.” The article goes on to consider the rise of choking and “rough sex” in mainstream sex, while still being considered edgeplay in the BDSM community.
Pride Source discusses how anti-kink prejudice in wider society may keep kinky people from seeking help from legal and medical institutions.
Hypebeast explores how leather chest harnesses, once only seen in gay male leather clubs, have spread to streetwear. (I’ve seen them worn by straight men in BDSM/fetish venues too.) Acceptance or commodification?
In The Washington Examiner, Brad Polumbo wrote an editorial describing how “normal” his life and the lives of other LGBTQ people were, then complained about how “D.C.’s degenerate gay community was busy celebrating “leather weekend” — giving us all a bad name and annihilating what progress we’ve made.” The writer was at pains to separate his idea of homosexuality from any deviance. “The bigger problem, though, is the way these people conflate their sexual deviancy with homosexuality. There is, in reality, nothing about “leather,” “kink,” or “fetishes” that is at all related to homosexuality. I would argue that these people are no different from heterosexuals with similar perversions, so why the exhibitionism?” This editorial sparked opposition on Twitter, and an editorial in The Advocate said “…my husband and I didn’t slam those who opted against wearing latex suits with detachable butt plugs as being any less a part of the LGBTQ community.”

Kinky black history month

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Feb 172020

In honor of black history month, I want to highlight some of the African-Americans who have contributed to kink and BDSM.

Gene Bilbrew, also known as “Eneg” or “Bondy”, was one of the classic American fetish artists of the 1960s, illustrating many magazines and pulp novel covers. See my review of his biography
Vi Johnson is a lesbian kinkster who has been involved since the 1970s and currently runs the Carter-Johnson library.
ONYX is an organization of Men of Color who enjoy the leather lifestyle, founded in 1995.
Mama’s Family is an leather family that founded by Mama, aka Sandy Reinhardt.

Elust Digest #127

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Feb 162020

Welcome to Elust 127–

The only place where the smartest and hottest sex bloggers are featured under one roof every month. Whether you’re looking for sex journalism, erotic writing, relationship advice or kinky discussions it’ll be here at Elust. Want to be included in Elust #128? Start with the rules, come back March 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!

~ This Month’s Top Three Posts ~

My Racial Identity and My Rainbow Cunt

Flaunting Denise

My first caning session

~ Featured Posts by our Guest Editor (May More’s Picks) ~

Little Sex Toy-Part 1

I don’t read as much erotica as other sex bloggers. But if I did this is the kind I would be reading.

Weathering the Winter of Low Libido-land

Mrs Fever once again tackles a serious topic with a certain amount of humour and in her very readable yet inimitable style.

Want to be a Guest Editor? Send me an email at questions@elustsexblogs.com

All blogs that have a submission in this edition must re-post this digest from tip-to-toe on their blogs within 7 days. Re-posting the photo is optional and the use of the “read more…” tag is allowable after this point. Thank you, and enjoy!

Queer as Folk “Ties that bind”: The Celluloid Dungeon

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Feb 122020

Queer as Folk (US) S01E15 “Ties that bind” Aired April 1, 2001 IMDB

In most of the TV episodes discussed in this project, BDSM is talked about, and we see the implements and the outfits, but we only rarely see actual play. The US version of Queer as Folk already pushed the envelope of cable television by showing plenty of gay sex, so it was willing to show play too, up to a point.

It’s the Leather Ball weekend at the fictional Babylon club in Pittsburgh. Friends Ted and Emmett snipe at each other’s wardrobe choices.

Ted: “I can’t believe you went out in public dressed like that.”
Emmet: “My mother used to say, find your best feature and play it for all it’s worth. So that’s exactly what I do.” [turns around to reveal he is wearing pants with the butt cutout.] “Besides it’s called a leather ball. You could have at least dressed for the occasion.”
Ted: “I did. I wore a leather belt.”
Emmet: “You are such a stick in the mud.”
Ted: “Why, because I don’t want to look like a cross between a Nazi stormtrooper and Roy Rogers?” [eyes a guy in Western-leather gear with a bullwhip]
Emmet: “Stop it, you’re giving me a hard-on.”

Celluloid Dungeon mentioned on Fetish World podcast

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Feb 072020

The Fetish World podcast mentions this blog and the Celluloid Dungeon podcast on episode S414. Fast forward to around 12:40

Law & Order S01E10 “Prisoner of Love”: The Celluloid Dungeon

Celluloid Dungeon 21 Responses »

Jan 292020

Aired December 4, 1990 IMDB

Another episode bucks the cliche by not opening with the discovery of a dead sex worker. This time it’s a controversial artist named Victor Moore (loosely modeled on Robert Mapplethorpe, who died in 1989), found strangled to death with a noose around his neck, inside his workspace/dungeon. The investigation delves into the sexual fringe and its intersection with the city’s elite.

Law & Order is usually more thoughtful and less sensational than other procedural shows, and this story does engage with the issues of sadomasochism.

Greevey, one of the two detectives on the case, is the most prejudiced against Moore and his art. “Some work. If I did stuff like this, I wouldn’t advertise either.”

The detectives question a man who knew the victim casually, but wouldn’t date him.

Logan: “Let me get this straight. You’re asked out on a date by a guy who published pictures of people hanging upside down in chains. And you’re tempted, but there’s something about him you don’t trust?”

While it’s entirely possible that Moore was coming on creepy to the guy, the Implication is that a person who makes sexually violent art must be dangerous.

Elust Digest #126

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Jan 162020

Welcome to Elust 126–

The only place where the smartest and hottest sex bloggers are featured under one roof every month. Whether you’re looking for sex journalism, erotic writing, relationship advice or kinky discussions it’ll be here at Elust. Want to be included in Elust #125? Start with the rules, come back January 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!