BDSM: The safe word is banana. Now spank me!
Life is full of opportunities for theater. We put on costumes every day when to play various characters. For example, our roles at work are really just characters. When we get down to our essence, are any of us really what we say we are? What does it mean to be a bus driver? How is a bus driver different than a carrot farmer? The differences lie in the roles they play, in the costumes they wear, and the in rules they follow. Once we strip away the labels, the rules, and the costumes we are simply left with two people.
BDSM, is just another version of theater. People take on various roles (the dominant or the submissive); they follow general rules (harder, softer, yes, no); they love to wear costumes to act out scenes. While the role of theater in our career is often to make money, the role of theater in bondage is for a power exchange. You might think by the names of the characters in bondage that the dominant role has more power. This is the biggest misconception to new players; the real power is held by the submissive. It is their choice to be spanked, or slapped, or strapped, or cuffed.... The submissive says when they want more and they always have the power to stop the scene when they have had enough. The power exchange is always from the bottom up, in a dramatic reversal of almost every other power exchange in ordinary life. The unusual nature of the bondage power exchange is in part the strong appeal to bondage fans.
If you are new to BDSM, you should check out this very thorough Wiki article to help familiarize yourself with the rules of the road. If you are ready to get started, let me suggest some very essential equipment.
Crops, Cats, and Whips... Oh my!
Every BDSM fan needs some kind of spanking device. They come in many shapes and forms. Here are some of the more popular versions:
Crops also known as riding crops, are long stiff leather whips that are very popular tools in BDSM commmunities. While they may look innocent, they were orginally designed to giddy-up a horse. So keep that in mind when you are spanking your submissive.
Cat-O-Nine Tails Cats come in a varity of styles and shapes and whipping abilities. The most common styles are made from flat unpraided falls like this beaded cat-o-nine tails.
For a stronger, more bruising effect, try the
knotted rope cat. The BDSM community calls these blood knots. Can you guess why?
Bullwhips
Bullwhips are great because they making that awesome snapping sound that most of associate with a good BDSM scene. Used properly they can invoke fear during a scene without causing anyone to bleed.... uness that's what you are into!
Cuffs
There is nothing better than cuffing someone down while you give the spankings they begged for.... other than being the submissive cuffed down of course!
I personally like these Furry Cuffs. Furry Love Cuffs effectively arrest your submissive without leaving marks on their wrists that might require explanations at Thanksgiving Dinner.
Tape and Ropes are great alternatives to the furry cuff. These products are designed to be safe, yet secure
Costumes:
My favorite part of BDSM, are the costumes. They range from down right creepy to "I could get away with wearing that to a bar." Check these out for yourself:
