I’ve written fairly often on what I term PDS – Public Displays of D/S. Generally I come down on the side of letting shared public spaces be truly shared, rather than giving the majority veto power on their use. Kinky people are tax paying members of the public after all (or as Louis C.K. might put it).
However, this New Zealand man seems to have drifted into PDP – Public Display of Perversity. He was in his home standing at a window, when…
Burley placed a balaclava over his head before committing an indecent act using a sex toy, clothes pegs and a leather whip.
…
“The victim and her two friends look out the kitchen window several times as they could not believe what they were seeing,” it said.
I don’t want to make light of it, as clearly this was an asshole thing to do. But that bit about having to look several times (along with her friends) did make me smile. Apparently he was excited at the idea of getting caught. Given he’s now looking at jail time, I imagine that excitement might have diminished slightly.
His choice of implements no doubt added some extra weirdness to the story for most people, but I’ve had a lot of (consensual) fun over the years with those toys. Clothe pegs as zippers can be particularly interesting, as Aiden Starr shows below. I particularly like the red marks running down his legs from where they have just been ripped away.
This image is from this shoot for Divine Bitches. You can see another image of her putting the zipper in place here.
This is going to be one of those rare times in which I have to disagree with you. Yes, kinky people are taxpayers, but blatant public displays of kink essentially force others to witness or share the scene space against their wishes. In other situations, we would call this “non-consent.”
My contention is that there is a factor of situational relativity here. I don’t think that one could reasonably expect to see a woman leading a man on a leash in the local shopping mall (business promotional events excluded). However, if I saw this in Greenwich Village NYC, I wouldn’t bat an eye.
Well I can’t say I’d be a fan of ‘blatant’ kink. A naked guy being led on a leash with a feather up his bum would be a bit much for any public space. But the debate doesn’t generally focus on that kind of questions. It’s typically more about when something a little unusual is going odd (collars, odd clothes, a leash, a hood, etc.) but there’s nobody actually being beaten, whipped, screwed, or whatever. In those cases I generally feel people should accept that other people may do stuff they might not always like. There are a lot of bad fashion choice and social attitudes that drive me nuts, but that’s one of the drawbacks of a shared space. I have to tolerate it unless it’s actively preventing me also using the space.
I think Ferns said it best in this comment from a few weeks ago.
I love public displays of D/s, but I’d certainly never strip a sub in a public park and flog him (though that does sound like a lot of fun). I also wouldn’t want to have to stand next to a couple having “vanilla” sex at a bus stop. (Well, at least it eliminates the possibility of having to engage in small talk. I hope.)
I am however all for collars being worn in public. Kneeling. Hands and boots being kissed.
I think this is where everyone will have their own opinion about where to draw the line.
The line about looking several times made me smile too and I admit that I’d look several times as well. While calling the police and making popcorn.
Hi Mistress Isidore and thanks for stopping by to comment. And yes, I think I’d draw the line in about the same place you would. Naked flogging is a bit much (and likely to get you arrested!). Wearing a collar or kneeling down to kiss a boot shouldn’t cause anyone’s brain to melt. As you say, everyone draws the line in their own place. Personally I don’t think that line should be dictated by the kind of people who get upset when someone swears on TV before 9pm or when they see a gay couple holding hands.
-paltego