Yuri to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito

A Shoujo ai centred Weblog

October is fetish month #1 Bondage – Rope play or String Theory?

Posted on | October 1, 2007 | 7 Comments |

Back by popular demand, it seems, the dark back alley of Cybertokyo’s internet blog features, first debuting in the spring, but now back in the autumn, it’s…

October is Fetish Month!

*applause*

Thank you, thank you. Thanks especially to those of you who suck by us through the barren months (namely, August). For those of you new to Fetish Month, welcome! Here I will be posting my thoughts on various fetishes, some real, some imagined, some exclusively Japanese, others worldwide. After each blog, please feel free to use the comments box to continue the discussion.

Disagreeing with me is actively encouraged. If one particular topic happens to be your raison d’etre, please feel free to chip in your two cents about why it floats your boat – and I’ll make sure that your comment doesn’t get flamed. If you’re disgusted by it, flame away (and I’ll delete your comments at my discretion later ^_^)

For long term fans, welcome back. As you’re probably aware, we covered most of the mainstream fetishes last time in March and since researching for my forthcoming hentai dictionary, this month we may dip more into the fairly esoteric and downright bizarre, so prepare yourself!

The first topic this month is a fairly easy one to get us going. Bondage features fairly commonly in most sexual cultures in various forms, and features as an integral part of the larger culture of S & M. (which will be covered in more depth later this month).

I’ll not pretend to know much about bondage philosophy (also since it is difficult to analyse outside of its home territory of BDSM) but I’ll instead talk about what I feel are the root ideas of bondage.

Bondage in essence is about movement restriction (duh!). Tools used are usually rope, but also chains, cuffs, backboards, spreader bars, suspension apparatus; the list goes on and on. In the restriction of a person’s freedom of movement, the recipient is surrendering control of their immediate future – be it pleasure or punishment, to another power. Intermingled with this are feelings of humiliation or embarassment which may be seen as an emotional form of the Masochism part of S&M.

Stereotypically, the submissive aspect of bondage appeals to people who feel that their everyday life is full of pressures not to make mistakes. By handing the responsibility for their lives into the hands of another, there is a sense of relief and unburdening as well as a kind of perverse pleasure at enjoying being treated the exact opposite in their personal life as in their every day working environment.

In the Japanese form of bondage or kinbaku (tight binding) today commonly known by the slightly less accurate name of shibari, the focus is not only on the restriction of a person’s movement but also about the aesthetic of the finished product, much like a fancily wrapped christmas present. There may also be an effort to stimulate the recipient from the configuration of the ropes and the pressure points which the act through when they struggle. In short, Japanese kinbaku could be considered half art-form whereas elsewhere it is usually more or less functional. It is also interesting to note that it is common for no knots to be used in kinbaku lest it tarnish the finished product.

Lastly, and perhaps, most importantly in my eyes, the submission act of bondage is a symbol of complete trust, Between a couple, the handing of safety into the trust of the other is definitely not something that one would do on a third date, but instead something that signifies that a relationship has progressed at least that far that one half could do something like this and trust 99% that the other wasn’t going to do something dumb.

And so after this short trip through the world of hemp and circumstance, what can we conclude about the wonderful world of bondage and what attracts people to its ironic embrace? Bondage, it seems, is about one of two things. Either it’s an act about submission, humiliation, art, pleasure and trust, or alternatively, it’s about people who love the feeling of rough hemp rope rubbing skin as unseen unspeakable things are done to them from behind. Either way, it’s probably 6 of one and half a dozen of the other…

Category: Editorials, Philosophy/Thoughts

Comments

7 Responses to “October is fetish month #1 Bondage – Rope play or String Theory?”

  1. DrmChsr0
    October 2nd, 2007 @ 1:35 am

    M-theory is where it’s at.

    Stephen Hawking > j00

  2. AmexYohko
    October 2nd, 2007 @ 5:00 am

    To the Saber pic up there….

    What will happen to Saber if Rider or Rin was too horny…

  3. maglor
    October 2nd, 2007 @ 5:21 am

    Take a look at this article DrmChsr0. There exist very good chance that we may live to see some experimental confirmation or refutation for the M-theory.

    http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~mrd/test3.pdf

  4. Klu
    October 2nd, 2007 @ 11:51 am

    I agree bondage heightens the sense of embarrassment and vulnerability to your partner thus causing a greater response to stimuli.

    What about spanking one’s partner? It falls within the “punishment” category, I suppose eliciting the same sort of response as above.

  5. nodame
    October 2nd, 2007 @ 11:56 am

    Softcore bondage is quite nice. It’s like a present! =] But it’s not overly dominating so as to completely humiliate your partner. Woot. Win.

  6. TheBigN
    October 5th, 2007 @ 4:09 pm

    Nice primer on this interesting world. :P

  7. bigbob
    December 29th, 2007 @ 5:00 am

    i was just wondering if anyone could tell me where the pics came from?

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