Tattoo’s (as discussed in yesterday’s post) aren’t the only form of permanent marking available for kinky play. Branding is another option, assuming you’re into edge play, pain and body modification. While tattoo’s seem very personal and intimate, branding has a more objectifying element, thanks to the association with cattle. Although apparently some cattle do actually enjoy it.
The artwork below is from the prolific Eric Stanton. I particularly like the “I’m not a horse!” line. I guess it’s possible the next panel could have had her apologizing profusely for confusing him with a horse and letting him go, but probably not.
I have been branded by my Mistress and proudly bear her name (thankfully only three letters) on my right buttock. It is extremely painful both whilst being applied and for several weeks afterwards but that’s not the worst thing about it. No the problem is that for about three weeks afterwards the wound seeps and marks your underwear and trousers which means that you have to be very careful or the brand will show through causing comment. I wasn’t strike branded (as illustrated) and I believe that is even more painful and can cause very serious damage, My Mistress used a soldering iron (not sure if that is the term used in the US) which enables her to write anything she wants and to control the amount of time she applies it for and how much pressure she puts it on with. I am too much of a wimp to allow her to apply it hard and long enough for a truly permanent mark and so my brands fade away after about 2 years although they do reappear as faint marks if my bottom is bruised say by a severe strapping. Branding therefore can be less permanent that tattooing.
Thanks for sharing that.
Soldering iron is indeed the term used in the US, although they pronounce it slightly differently (and incorrectly as far as I’m concerned!) Sounds like a pretty intense session, particularly given the seeping for weeks afterwards. Nice to have her name on you – even if you need a good strapping to make it pop out these days 🙂
I actually did some soldering iron play with Lydia: http://www.femdom-resource.com/2011/11/01/fire-fire-fire/
Her marks were more temporary however, and faded in a month or two, rather than a couple of years. Although even now if I look very carefully I can see a faint line of scars along the cock. I think that’s one of the challenges with this kind of play – it’s tough to judge exactly how permanent any decoration is going to be.
-paltego
I hadn’t seen the piece about your fire play before but I’ve just read it. I’m in awe of anyone willing to let any Mistress near their genitalia with a soldering iron. My Mistress keeps threatening to do it but I’m far too terrified to let her so it remains as a sort of nuclear option.
I think it depends a lot exactly how you do it. Cell popping, where you just use the point of the iron (or a heated needle) to pop skin cells, isn’t actually too bad on most parts of the body. It’s a quite lot more intense on the genitals, particularly on the glans, but it’s still a point touch. The photographs where from a couple of days later, where it’d already scabbed up. I didn’t get any of the weeping like you did. I’m guessing holding it longer to create lines would be a lot more painful and create more of a traditional burn. I did end up with some scars, but very faint, and we didn’t expect them.
If you’ve into decorative play, I definitely suggest trying cell popping. Done properly you can get some of the headspace and rituals of branding, but with a lot less pain and shorter lived marks.
-paltego
I have a few more panels from this sequence at ErosBlog, although sadly no better attribution than to say it came from the prolific Stanton publication Stantoons, of which there were a great many issues.
Thanks Bacchus. I’ve got a big dump of his Stantoons stuff I found somewhere years ago, and this one is from a sequence labelled “Belle Star”. No idea if that was the original name Stanton used or simply one given by the collector of the images.
I assume Stanton named his character and took inspiration from this lady – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Starr – which makes me think it probably is the original name he gave to the story. Unfortunately, as you say, given the number of publications, its hard to get more history than that.
-paltego