Thimble has published a very emotive article on a Femdom experience that went badly wrong. Despite the fact that it’s very well written, I found it hard to read. The session it describes sounds like an emotional slow-motion car crash. That sense of something careering dangerously out of control, but with no idea why or how to bring it safely to a stop.
I’ve previously written about my own experience with a bad session in a two part post here and here. That was back in 2012 and I’m happy to say I’ve had no further posts to write on the subject. I’ve had a few scenes where the chemistry wasn’t quite right, or the activities didn’t unfold as I’d hoped, but genuinely bad scenes, the kind that leave you emotionally messed up, are thankfully rare in my experience.
My bad session wasn’t in the same league as Thimble’s. Unlike his, the domme wasn’t my dream domme, we hadn’t interacted much beforehand and for the first hour or so the session was actually fine. Despite my example being very minor in comparison, I found it interesting how many parallels can still be found. In both cases the dommes seem to lack control of their own emotions, be unable to adapt when things don’t go as planned and make negative comparisons to ‘true’ lifestyle players. From the submissive side, we were both confused, off-balance and unable to adapt to the uncomfortable dynamic. Thimble kissed the domme’s foot at the end of his experience. I thanked mine for the session. And then felt angry and upset about that for days.
Looking back at my bad session, the actual issue itself seems like a minor conflict. In normal life I’d have brushed it off. You can’t get far in life without encountering a good number of angry and unreasonable people. What makes BDSM so tricky is the heady mix of adrenaline, endorphins and powerful emotions it creates. After all, that’s one of the primary reasons people do it. Yet that also means when it turns sour, it can mess you up in weird ways for days. Kinksters are typically well aware of RACK and SSC when it comes to the physical side of play, but rarely talk about what happens when the dynamic goes wrong. So while I feel bad for Thimble, I am glad he shared his experience and cast light on this topic.
I wanted to avoid using a photograph of a practicing domme for this post, just in case anyone got the wrong idea and thought it was about them. This artwork by NK of an angry looking lady seems appropriate enough.
I think we’ve all had at least one bad experience and I’ve been doing this for 40 odd years so I’ve had a few. Not recently because I’ve tended to stick to my Mistress who I’ve been visiting for 20+ years and a few other trusted ladies. However years ago I had several bad experiences some due to the Mistress but most due to my inability to properly articulate what it was I wanted and sometimes because I wasn’t sure what I wanted. Fortunately my Mistress has always been able to understand what I want and she knows when to push my boundaries.
I’ve been fortunate to have been in a long term relationship with two pro-dommes. (Consecutively, not coincidentally) Both, independently of each other, felt they were at their best if they had no more than 2 sessions in one day. Both are/were very competent and successful. (17 years and 20 years or so respectively)
“Bad” sessions, from their point of view when they did occur (which was very seldom), primarily happened as a result of emotional fatigue or personal problems interfering with the flow of the session. (once even physical fatigue)
As I mentioned to Simon, I definitely share the view that long term relationships and seeing someone regularly help minimize risk of badness. Experience is obviously a big help, as you say.
Interesting that you found personal and emotional issues can contribute to bad session flow. Makes sense. I personally tend to find sessions take me away from myself, so can be a welcome distraction, but I suspect that the style of play and emotional investment the session requires might make a big difference there.
-paltego
Seeing someone regularly and building a rapport definitely helps minimize the risk of bad things happening. I never had a single bad experience with Lydia, and she’s definitely the domme I played with the most. Good to here your current relationship with your Mistress has worked out so well for you!
-paltego