The History of BDSM

Link roundup, August 2017

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.

A lot has happened recently. I have officially signed a book deal and my book will be published sometime next year, probably the summer. This is the fruition of twelve years of research, writing, submitting, presenting, and networking.

Right now, I am working on cutting the 120,000-word current draft to under 100,000 words. Most of that 20,000 words were a couple of chapters that I freely admit were a bit weak, and that material may appear on the blog or in other work. The rest of the words to cut are mostly overly long quotes and some redundancies.

I am also sourcing images. I had always assumed that publishers would pay for licensing of images, but this is not the case. The author has to do it. For a while, it looked like this work would be without images, but I’ve found some of the images I want to use for free in the public domain. There are other images I would like to use, and I’m debating whether it is worth paying for their licenses.

I will be updating this blog as I continue this work with my agent and publisher. In the months to come, you can expect to see a new title, cover art, and more.

I will also be in San Francisco for my first Folsom Street Fair in late September. If anyone there recognizes me, please say hello.

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.

Progress report, June 2017

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Jun 262017

I haven’t done one of these in a while, but there have been important developments.

The first is that I have signed with an agent to represent this project, with the working title of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. (Title borrowed from William Blake.) This is actually my second agent, but I broke it off with the first agent a while back. The new agent sounds pretty enthusiastic and optimistic about the book, as both a commercial trade book and an academic reference.

I’ve been researching historical images at GettyImages, though I don’t know if this will be an illustrated book. I think it could have a strong visual appeal, but illustrations would require a lot of extra work and money to source the images and get their rights.

I’m also thinking about another book project,. One possible topic would be looking at heterosexual male submissives, which I see as an under-examined quadrant.

Second, I will be presenting on the history of female-dominant/male-submissive BDSM at the Enclave femdom conference in July. My first trip to the US since last year.

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

Link Roundup, May 2017

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May 272017

“Our Lives, Our History” wins NLA Non-Fiction Book Award

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Apr 232017

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Our Lives, Our History: Consensual Master/slave relationships from ancient times to the 21st century, the anthology on the history of consensual Master-slave relationships I edited, with the help of slave david stein, won the 2017 Geoff Mains Non-Fiction Book Award from the National Leather Association. It feels great to be recognized, and I also want to extend recognition to all of the contributors and to Master Taino’s Training Academy.

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Ariane Cruz’ The Color of Kink on BDSM and raceplay

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Apr 232017

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Cruz, Ariane. 2016. The Color of Kink: Black Women, BDSM, and Pornography (Sexual Cultures). New York: New York University Press

In the (now missing) tumblr post above, raceplay is called a “gross kink”, equated with “fetishizing little girls”, and placed outside the realm of sex positivity. Why exactly is raceplay on the other side of the line marked “edgeplay”? And where do black women fit within the current kink culture?