GQ.co.uk:
BDSM, sex and relaxation: news and ideas · (c)Mem's digest
Join us as we graduate from plain old orgies and enter the class of rope and knife work...
Wet (psychoanalytical) dreams
Were they really disturbed?
Recent neuroscience discoveries suggest not. There is scientific evidence that pain increases sensations related to pleasure. If we only ever experienced pleasure it would get a little dull. Pain as a juxtaposition to pleasure can heighten the experience: think how much nicer a frosty beer is after a long day of hard labour, or a warm bath after walking hours in freezing rain. If you're a runner you might have experienced "runner's high" after intense and painful sessions. This euphoria is caused by the release of opioids, usually associated with pleasure. That line between pain and pleasure isn't a border, so much as a semi-permeable membrane.
The study of pain is immensely complex and still very much in its infancy, but people clearly consent to being whipped and spanked because they find pleasure in it. Normal, run-of-the-mill, boring people. IT workers in San Francisco, for example.
BDSM in SF
When Margot Weiss conducted research into BDSM in her hometown of San Francisco in the early 2000s, she found that the practice created an identifiable community based on a shared material culture, interests and experiences.
This community engaged in BDSM in groups of three or more at private parties or clubs (called dungeons in the community). Some BDSM, namely "blood play" (drawing blood) and "breath play" (asphyxiation), is extremely dangerous. These BDSM devotees were highly educated, and they had to be to keep it interesting. Weiss even used a declassified 1963 CIA manual during a class to make scenarios involving interrogation more realistic. The community created new experiences, scenarios and toys (old BDSM joke: how do you know you're kinky? You've got more toys than your kid) to make sure than it doesn't get stale.
Modern day BDSM
Some may dismiss this BSDM community as bored nerds who lost their virginity too late in life, but that's too reductionist. Most highly educated people require stimulus to stave off boredom.
The BDSM movement in SF during the Eighties - which began as a predominantly gay phenomenon - was obliterated by HIV/AIDS. The enforced closure of many bathhouses after health fears meant that today in San Francisco BDSM is strictly regulated. You can even get certificates ranging from Japanese Rope Tying to CPR (a requirement if you want to become a "Dungeon Master"). Heavies are present during BDSM parties who will intervene if things start to look too dicey. Andcontracts à la E. L. James are mandatory for insurance purposes and to ensure that interactions are consensual (Marquis de Sade would have lost interest by this point).
In a way these rules are synonymous with the ropes and chains themselves: the restraint of the rules complements the bondage and dominance. Instead of being imposed on by the state - as we found with the orgies in Iran - self-regulation and discipline creates the atmosphere needed for a community with a sense of purpose. The scary fact of the matter is that we crave rules. Many of Margot Weiss's subjects would complain of the increasingly strict structures restraining their practice. We wonder how they managed to do that with a straight face while hog-tied.
Now, would that be "vanilla" for you, Sir, or our new flavour of the month, "kinky"?
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