Category Archives: BLOGGERY: politics, religion & brain purges……

Gimp Man of Essex

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The Gimp Man of Essex first hit the news in September, when various news sources ran articles about the mysterious, masked figure who wanders the streets of Colchester. For every photo of him uploaded to his Facebook page, he donates £1 to MIND.

There have been many misconceptions about BDSM and mental health in the past, long since debunked, yet many people still believe that fetishists, sadomasochists and any other consenting (and consent-promoting) adults not conforming to socio-sexual norms must be ill. The Gimp Man of Essex doesn’t go out in costume during weekends or school holidays. He doesn’t approach people who seem uncomfortable or who don’t show an interest in speaking to him. A small number have accused him of being a “nutter”, “pervert” or “paedophile” nonetheless. The majority are supportive though.

He told the BBC: “Most people are very welcoming when I tell them what it’s all about.”

Pleased to speak to the public and answer their questions, the anonymous latex superhero challenges stigmas around kink and raises a significant amount of money for charity in the process. Click here to read an exclusive new interview with him at Honour and here to donate to MIND.

gimpman

Grrrrrreat

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I’ve talked a lot in the past about the ambiguously-worded “extreme porn” legislation of recent years. Now, Backlash is taking a stand, along with victims of problematic convictions.

Andrew Holland, a man from Wrexham, was charged under Section 63 of the 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act. He was accused of possessing a short video showing a woman having sex with a tiger. A friend had sent it as a joke. He had watched six seconds of it. Predictably, the case toppled over as soon as the court heard the tiger – actually a man in fancy dress – inform the camera: “That beats doing Frosties ads for a living!”

Despite the farcical nature of the case against him, Holland had his reputation, job, family life and health destroyed as a result. This is just one of many examples of the harm caused by this legislation.

Things, however, are about to change. Here’s a snippet of Mistress Magpie Corvid’s article in the New Statesman:

“In a letter to the head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Holland’s solicitors have claimed that even five years after its enactment, the law is so unclear and poorly understood – including by police, prosecutors and solicitors – that it too easily traps the innocent. Assisted by a specialist legal team and advised by the sexual freedom campaigning group Backlash, the former defendant has called on CPS head Allison Saunders to review the implementation of Section 63; if no such review is forthcoming, the law will be challenged via judicial review… In the challenge, Holland’s legal team, advised by Backlash, emphasise the Act’s violations of human rights. With the concept of “extreme” pornography poorly defined, and without reliable guidance from CPS to prosecutors, individuals find it difficult to determine what is and isn’t legal. Perhaps, this is why a law which experts predicted would get less than 30 cases a year has had over 5,000 convictions since its inception. It’s impossible to know how many people have pleaded guilty to possession of images that were not actually unlawful.”

Read the full New Statesman article here.

Learn more about Backlash here.

Read a blog on the case by Obscenity Lawyer here.

Read an article for Politics.co.uk by Jane Fae here.

Read the Independent article here.

Goddesses

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We all channel archetypes during BDSM play, whether consciously or otherwise. They may be the heroes or villains from films, books or real life, characters we’ve absorbed into ourselves and adopted traits and aspects of when we’re in domme or subspace. You may temporarily take the form of a bound Batman or captured gladiator or Penelope Pitstop. You may become an Emperor or Catwoman or Severus Snape in those moments when you lose yourself (or, at least, those moments when you lose every part of yourself that isn’t that archetype). It’s a little like playing a role in a psychodrama of our own making, but somehow more intimate than that. These archetypes are facets of ourselves, worn proudly on the surface when we play, then packed away neatly alongside all our other facets when we’ve finished.

I’ve written about this side of BDSM many times, especially the Egyptian Goddesses whose legends inspire me. Well now I’ve drawn some pictures as well. Below is a small selection of the things you can buy with my drawings of the Goddesses Bast and Sekhmet printed on them, if you so wish. To see more, as well as a bunch of other BDSM art, click here.

bastandsek