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

Dungeons, Dragons, Dommes & Doms

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The genres of fantasy and fantasy often find themselves inextricably linked. Looking at any of the photos from recent Comic-Con gatherings, one could be forgiven for thinking that the fantasy fiction and fetish scenes had finally dropped all pretence and merged into one enormous community of creatively-dressed deviants. Much of the literature, television and cinema of the genre frequently crosses the line into erotica, most notably the series of Gor novels which began in 1966 and inspired an entire subculture within M/f BDSM. Online and live-action gaming sessions take participants into an extreme parallel universe of power, battles over status and imagined dangers. It’s no surprise that this is a hobby that appeals to a fair few who also frequent BDSM events and forums. Many of the flame wars on IC resemble World of Warcraft so accurately that it’s easy to forget the differences: in one site, characters with hyperbolic made-up titles battle for superiority in skills, experience and specialist equipment, and the other site – well, you get where this is going…

Anyway, as in many BDSM fantasies, outfits for warrior women are aesthetically pleasing but far from practical. I would challenge any femme to flog a sub, fight an Orc or do anything at all in a chain-mail bra and knickers without suffering a painful wardrobe malfunction within minutes (I know this from experience). And don’t even get me started on being the dominant party whilst struggling into latex, corset and heels.

Thankfully, there’s now a Tumblr blog for “Women Fighters in Reasonable Armor*” that’s based on a wonderful Terry Pratchett quote. Click to peruse.

Meanwhile, here’s a sketch from College Humor**, declaring that “Female Armor*** Sucks”

*Yes, I know. The site is in American English.

**YES! This is also in American English!

***Don’t blame me, pedant!

The Chic in Anarchic

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The Urban Chick Supremacy Cell is now activated. My comrade (and dear friend) Ms Tytania has recently launched a femdom site like no other… Her gloriously tongue-in-cheek guerilla revolutionary project aims to throw off the shackles of patriarchal rule (or, in this case, the corsets and high heels of mainstream fetish erotica) and overthrow the hegemony of the smug male (or at least give him a creative bashing, a bumming, a dressing-down and a gun on the tongue) all whilst wearing a balaclava and bovver boots.

I make a couple of appearances on the site and hope to make more in the future. In the meantime, here I am in a pub toilet, transforming from a traditional stocking-clad Pro-Domme to the sort of hoodie that David Cameron would be ill-advised to hug…

Belief

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The comparisons are often made – on forums, blogs and in conversation, as well as in art, film and literature – between BDSM and religion. From their hierarchies and dogmas to their hallowed outfits and accessories, it can sometimes seem that our kinks develop their own sacred language and myths. It’s been discussed ad-infinitum within the BDSM community. Well now, the debate has reached an employment tribunal in Bedford, and Jane Fae has written a brilliant report for the Guardian on exactly that:

“…The judge appeared to have few qualms accepting that “D/s” – the somewhat more esoteric philosophy of dominance and submission at the heart of BDSM – had most of the qualities, including cogency, consistency and personal importance one might expect of a belief system. He got that this was not about the “right to spank” – even if, as witnesses testified, that could be part of it.

No. His very real difficulty was whether a way of life sometimes described as “consensual slavery” or “consensual non-consent” could possibly be worthy of recognition in a democratic society.

Which was where I came in. After spending well over a decade following, studying and writing about alternative sexualities, could I assist the court? I tried. The key point, I argued, was the substance – how the principles operated in practice – rather than the wordage. Christianity, for instance, has had its own issues as critics have represented its practice of eating the body of Christ as cannibalism. And as for the Masonic oath…

D/s is not sexist: there are probably far more male submissives than female ones. Nor is it truly inequal. It embodies different and, in the everyday, unequal roles. But its cornerstone is equality and formality: it is preceded in most cases by highly protracted negotiation; there is agreement of rules and boundaries; and an absolute recognition that “no” means “no”. Could we claim as much for the average marriage?

But, the barrister asked: was I really suggesting that entering into a relationship in which someone else might tell you what to do, and where and how, was consistent with modern values? My answer was brief: “wage slavery”.

In the end, the court remained unpersuaded. If nothing else, I suspect that the idea of being the first employment tribunal in the land to give comfort in any form to “slavery” made the judge quite queasy.

That’s not the end of it, though. No precedent was set. There may yet be an appeal. And even if there is not on this case, it’s an issue that won’t go away…”

Full article here.