I always enjoy stumbling across old BDSM pornography, although not typically for erotic reasons. Some of it does still carry a sexual charge – Bettie Page shots or Ed Lee’s work spring to mind – but a lot of it is pretty terrible. What I actually enjoy is the time capsule nature of it. Most of it was made in murky legal circumstances, with minimal distribution channels, using a small pool of performers and very little community support. I often get the impression it was being created by people who didn’t really have a clear plan and were forced to make it up as they went along. When I see a modern commercial BDSM porn I tend to focus on the image itself. When I see a vintage BDSM image I wonder who was involved in creating it and what the story behind it was.
The internet changed all that, but it has also made it easier to share this old material. Anyone else who enjoys traveling back in time to the days of mail order magazines in extremely plain envelopes might appreciate this fan site on the ‘Madame in a world of fantasy’ magazine. It’s very well put together and features a lot of scanned covers and snippets from articles and artwork.
I’ve featured two of the covers below. The artwork one is particularly strange. I’m not sure if the men are trying to hold her back or simply prostrating themselves at her feet. Her pose suggests she’s about to wrestle with another enormous woman in a strange underwear/cape combo. In contrast the photograph is far more traditional, with an upward shot of a vaguely stern/condescending lady.
“When I see a vintage BDSM image I wonder who was involved in creating it and what the story behind it was.”
…or where they are now. Betty Page (now, sadly, deceased) is a case in point. In later life, as I’m sure you know, she got religion in a big way and said goodbye to all that.
What a waste.
Where they are now is always an interesting question. It must be odd to have their old photographs suddenly re-appear and recycled on the internet.
As for Bettie, I’m just glad she got to enjoy some of the money and fame before she died. After a number of troubled years through the 70’s and 80’s, she at least got to see the resurgence in interest. So often that only happens after the person in question has passed on.
-paltego