Religion and Kink

I don’t feature the topic of religion in many of my posts. It’s typically something I have no interest in. A bit like reality television or college sports. I recognize that some people get very excited about them, but I don’t really get why.

Despite this fact, I did enjoy this article by Valerie Tarico on the common themes of Christianity and kink. That’s certainly not a new comparison and many people have commented on it in the past. I just found this article to be one of the more interesting and readable takes on it.

Oddly enough (in my weirdest segue ever), it reminds me of the old joke about Ayn Rand and Orcs. To paraphrase it for this context: If forced to pick between religion and kink, then keep in mind that one’s a strange cult involving odd outfits, tortured naked bodies, unbelievable stories of perverse practices and punishment by all powerful authority figures. The other is a great way to have sex.

femdom-nun-1This image is from the Divine Bitches site. I’m not a big fan of that name, but in this case it is unusually appropriate.

Enjoying her game

Here’s a fun image to start the weekend with. It looks like she’s gripping his balls with some finger tip claws while spanking his ass. That’s a great combination of sensations – prickly and sharp versus flat and stingy. Not to mention the predicament aspect of the position. Although in my eyes, the absolutely best thing about it is how wide her smile is.

ClawAndSpankI’m afraid I’ve no idea who this is. Judging by the setting it looks like a professional play space, but I don’t recognize the lady involved. If anyone can help with an attribution please leave a comment. I found it on the Continuous State of Desire tumblr.

Steamy

Celebrities offering bad medical advice seems to be an unavoidable modern phenomena. It’s a bit like athletes thanking God, male politicians on women’s health or Donald Trump on pretty much any topic. I really wish they’d keep their mouths shut and opinions to themselves, but sadly that seems to be too much to ask for.

In the medical field we’ve had Jenny McCarthy spewing nonsense on vaccination, Suzanne Somers making dubious claims on cancer and  Gwyneth Paltrow’s bizarre diet advice. The latest from the fair Gwyneth is particularly entertaining – vaginal steam cleaning. Apparently it’s a real thing.

You sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al. It is an energetic release—not just a steam douche—that balances female hormone levels
Gwyneth Paltrow

As you might expect the experts, those crackpots who waste time building expertise over years of study, are less than impressed. Apparently a good blast of steam to your nether regions will not balance your reproductive hormones. Crazy but true.

While the health benefits may not exist, I do wonder if the device might find a second home in kinky play spaces. It sounds like it might be a lot of fun, particularly if used on skin already warmed up by some corporal punishment. Just add some bondage straps to the throne and fire up the boiler. As an added bonus, everyone would finish up with sparkly steam cleaned bottoms. Just make sure it’s not too hot. Having a ‘blistered bottom’ should remain a figurative expression rather than literal.

A Warm Bottom
I’m afraid that despite my best efforts, I was unable to find a suitable femdom images featuring steam. So instead here’s a man getting his bottom warmed in a more conventional way. This is from the Women Spanking Men site.

Virtual Spanking

Fans of spanking and videogames might want to take a look at this article. It describes a game called Hurt Me Plenty which allows the player to spank (via a Leap Motion device) a half naked virtual dude.

This isn’t the first virtual spanking simulator. There was a strange arcade game that used the idea (in an ethically dubious way) and no doubt there are any number of wacky (whacky?) spanking flash games on the web. However, this is a little different, as the creator obviously tried to do more than simply bolt a physics simulator onto some gratuitous ass shots.

This a short game where you spank the heck out of a dude and learn about how BDSM communities attempt to formalize consent / caring. I was really interested in how we can make games about intimacy without a “kindness coins = sex cutscene” trope, and how we can use expressive gestures to roleplay / think about pain and intimacy.
Robert Yang on his game Hurt Me Plenty

I’ve not tried it, so can’t comment on the consent / caring aspect. From the video in the Kotaku piece, I’d say that the physical simulation needs a little work. The guy looks pretty hefty, but the character model bends way too fast and too far when he’s spanked. I’m not a big guy and I’ve never moved like that from a hand spanking. If any of my readers have given it a go, I’d love to hear via a comment what they thought.

Bullseye by Red Rump

The artwork is by the ever creative Red Rump. If the game creator needs a talented artistic collaborator with a deep understanding of spanking, he couldn’t go far wrong giving Red Rump a call!

Keeping the beautiful people in shape

The very night I landed in LA I spotted this story about an LA domme called Snow Mercy running a fetish fitness class here. I didn’t sign up but I’m beginning to think I should have. After several lengthy meals a bit of kinky purging to go alongside the binging would have been good for me.

What particularly made me smile, in a rueful way, was spotting this post from last month on her facebook page and the corresponding image below on her instagram feed.

Casting call: one very attractive experienced male “slave” needed for a one-hour shoot tonight in a Beverly Hills mansion. I’m shooting with Playboy models for a Brazilian reality TV show. I’m cast as a Domme (big surprise)

I’m actually staying in Beverly Hills. If I’d been here a month ago maybe I could have really made it a vacation to remember. Not to mention having some great holiday snaps to share. I’d have been OK on the experienced part of the necessary qualifications. Maybe less so on the attractive part. Certainly in comparison to the other models featured.

Mistress Snow Mercy administers a spanking

You can play with Mistress Snow Mercy at the Dominion in LA.

Spanking Therapy

When I first saw this Jay Em image I just figured it’d be an amusing one to feature in my series of medical themed posts. The above post title then flowed pretty naturally from the subject matter. However, no sooner than I’d written the title than the thought struck me – “I bet that’s a real thing. Spanking Therapy. It sounds exactly like the kind of thing that somebody would offer.”

It turns out I was right. In fact it’s available from multiple sources. There’s the Spanking for Wellness site, that offers therapeutic spanking in a non-sexual atmosphere. There’s the Spanking Therapist who combines ‘supportive counseling with a structured spanking plan’. For those in NYC, there’s the NY Spank Clinic which offers to help with stressful and emotional difficulties in life. For those wanting a little more discipline with their therapy, there’s Ms. Aria who offers to ‘help people who need assistance breaking habits, changing their behavior, resolving issues, achieving goals, or simply letting go of tension.’ And those were just the ones I found in a few minutes searching.

Personally I’m more a fan of the playful and sexual side of spanking. But for those who want to combine personal growth with heavy blows to the buttocks, it’s nice to know their are options out there.

Nurse offering some Spanking Therapy

The Duke of Burgundy

As far as film titles go, The Duke of Burgundy isn’t an obvious one to use for a period piece movie focusing on a lesbian D/s relationship. It is also rare to see this kind of opening statement in a mainstream newspaper’s film review

The Duke of Burgundy is the most tender love story you’ll see in which a woman forcefully urinates in her lover’s mouth

While it might be unusual, the majority of the reviews seem to love it. There’s that one in the Guardian, another in the Austin Chronicle and this one in the IndieWire. From their descriptions it seems to be a movie that really has an understanding of the dynamics of BDSM and some of inherent contradictions in a Dom/Sub relationship.

It’s not released until October 10th, but I’ll certainly be looking out for it after that. In the meantime it gives me an excuse to feature a fun vintage shot. These two ladies seem to be enjoying both nautical dress-up and spanking.

Vintage Spanking

Memories of beatings past

A final image in my trio of spanking related shots. Like my previous post this features a red bottom and a happy couple. Although judging by the crop she’s holding, this could have been more of a beating than a spanking.

When I first spotted this (on the Work Is Never Over tumblr) it seemed vaguely familiar. I thought I might have featured it in the past. However, hunting through my old posts I found this one, which looks like a shot taken earlier in the same scene. I’m not sure if I should be impressed or troubled by the fact that I could make that connection back to a post from 2011. I can’t help thinking that the brain cells that remembered this couple would be better used for other things.

Post PlayThe image is taken from the now long defunct Young Goddess site.

Nails on a hot ass

I’m continuing the spanking theme from yesterday’s post with another happy lady spanker. In this case, judging by his red cheeks, it looks like a shot from towards the end of the experience.

She appears to be dragging her fingernails across his well warmed bottom, which is a deliciously evil thing to do. I both love it and hate it when somebody does that to me. With the tender skin it hurts like hell, but the intimacy of the physical contact can be electrifying. It’s both playful and sadistic, which is one of my favorite combinations.

FingernailsThis is Princess Kali from a Men in Pain shot. You can see another happy shot from the scene here. I found it on the Femdom Men In Pain tumblr.

Reclaiming spanking

I’ve featured articles by the spanking enthusiast Jillian Keenan in the past (here and here). Her latest in Slate is an effort to reclaim spanking as a purely sexual activity. She’s fed up with people accusing her of indulging in an act associated with children and the overtones of pedophilia that go along with that. It’s an opinion I’ve a lot of sympathy for. It seems perverse in all the wrong kind of ways that striking children is the socially acceptable version of spanking while consenting adults having fun is the screwed up one.

Of course her article gives me a chance to feature an entertaining spanking shot. This lady looks like she’s having a good time with her wooden spoon. And when she get’s tired of it, there’s a whole array of whacking tools lined up to try out.

Happy SpankingI’m afraid I’ve no attribution for this image. I found it on the Women Who Spank tumblr.