I’ll just throw this comic out there. As a submissive I’ve absolutely no idea what Oglaf is getting at. It seems like a pretty reasonable attitude to me. Perhaps there’s a small chance it’ll resonate with one or two people in the dominant crowd.
Tag: Artwork
Trouble for the Duke
When someone fitting the description of ‘evil fairytale queen’ calls for her guards, you know trouble is in store for a hapless hero. When said queen has their genitalia in her hands at that moment, things are really looking bad.
This artwork is in the distinctive style of Hanz Kovacq, and is taken from his Hilda series. I originally spotted it on the Lunar Black tumblr.
Artwork, video and an apology
Apologies for the lack of posts in the last couple of days. It turns out that while I can usually balance blogging, work and a social life, I can’t also squeeze watching the World Cup into that schedule. Hopefully normal service will now be resumed.
While I’m on the subject of the World Cup, I feel I should point my readers at this Kia advertisement for it starring Adriana Lima. It’s not strictly femdom, but I’m fairly certain a decent percentage of my audience will enjoy it.
If Ms Lima in high heels doesn’t do anything for you, let me offer this drawing as an alternative. It’s by the artist Blacksmith. If you like it then you’ll be happy to know there are a number of similar pieces on the artist’s tumblr.
The bionic woman
Fans of strap-on play may be interested in this article on (allegedly) the worlds first bionic strap-on. Fortunately this isn’t a device designed to jackhammer someone at hundreds of thrusts per minute. Instead it translates squeezing or stroking actions on the dildo into different types of vibration to the wearer. I know a lot of women enjoy wielding a strap-on and having their partners suck or caress it. This would seem to be a great way to enhance that experience.
The company name – Orgasmatronics – is a little ridiculous, and I don’t think their resident inventor does himself any favors by wearing a pink bow-tie. However, they’ve already raised over $32,000 via crowdfunding, and the product itself certainly seems like an interesting concept. If any of my readers get an opportunity to try it out I’d love to hear what they think.
I don’t think this image was originally based on the idea of a bionic dildo, but whatever she’s holding, it does seem to have a life of its own. I found it on the Showcase of Male Submissives tumblr. I’m afraid I’ve not been able to track down who the original artist was.
Venus in Furs (cont)
While I’m on the subject of the classic book, it would be remiss of me not to mention the new illustrated edition of it by the immensely talented Sardax. I have a kindle edition, which for reasons that escape me has become hard to track down. Isn’t one of the selling points of electronic books that they don’t go out of print and are always in stock? Anyway, if you’re interested in a copy, Sardax has a collection of links to places carrying the hard copy edition.
I have to admit I’m not the biggest fan of the original story. I’m glad I purchased the Sardax illustrated version, as it’s a book I feel I have to own and his artwork is always a pleasure, but unfortunately I find the primary character and narrator whiny and annoying. The writing is also very much of its time, which means its verbose, meandering and very formal in its language. David Ives was undoubtedly wise to avoid a straight translation of the book, and instead do a play with a play, letting him take the theme but put his own modern twist on it.
Of course, mentioning Sardax gives me an excuse to feature some of his brilliant artwork. This is from his illustrated version of the book.
Something simple for the weekend
I’ve no idea who the artist is for this piece. I’m not even sure where I found it. I do know that after a stressful week at work, the idea of a good birching on the behind is an appealing one. Hopefully ,my readers will be able to enjoy both this artwork and a kink filled weekend.
Are you OK?
This is a cute and appealing work of art. It manages to be playful and still hit an emotional note. However, that’s not why I featured it. I picked it out because it makes an important point that rarely gets the attention it deserves. The web is full of sexy imagery and descriptions of people doing crazy kinky stuff. There’s an endless parade of people apparently enjoying whatever their partner chooses to throw at them. Sites like kink.com may feature pre and post session interviews, but I’ve yet to see a clip where someone stopped and re-negotiated the scene once it had started. Blogs like this one talk a lot about great scenes, a bit about abusive dysfunctional scenes, but very little about scenes that start with the best of intentions but end up reaching emotional or physical roadblocks.
The reality is that consent is a continuous process. It’s not a box to be ticked pre-scene. Playing with a partner is not a competitive sport, where the goal is to finish or to achieve some previously agreed level of kink. Something that starts well may unexpectedly twist and go sour on you. Even if the fantasy was hot, there’s no guarantee about the reality. I’m sure most submissives have been in this situation where something isn’t right, yet we’re reluctant to stop and disappoint our partners. We act OK, kind-of, right up until we get that clear option to stop. Learning to spot the warning signs and then acting on them correctly is a skill both sides have to develop.
I’m not exactly sure who the artist is for this. The earliest tumblr posting I can find is this one, but I’m not clear if it was posted by the actual artist or not.
Paging Dr Stoker
Apparently vampires had the right idea all along. According to recent research, young blood can reverse the effects of aging, although the researchers are strangely quiet on necessity (or not) for virginity on the supplier of the blood. Unfortunately, before everyone rushes off to check out the price of mortgages on gothic castles and what outfits they can accessorize with an opera cape, I should point out they’ve only tested it on mice so far. It also needs to be administered via transfusion, so neck sucking isn’t going to help with any wrinkles.
While immortality doesn’t appear to be quite within our reach just yet, the story does give me an excuse to feature some sexy female vampires. This artwork is by the animator and artist Bruce Timm. He’s worked on numerous animated series from DC comics, and is the co-creator of the Harley Quinn character from the Batman series. This is a cover from a British horror magazine, that I found here.
Missed opportunity
Advice columns have become far more entertaining thanks to the spread of the internet and the more open sexual culture that has gone along with it. Instead of questions on gift etiquette or workplace squabbles, we now get questions about what to do when your friend’s new girlfriend turns out to be your dominatrix.
I don’t think the basic advice given – ‘stop seeing her’ – is necessarily wrong, but the logic and framing of the response is horrible. It would seem like a good opportunity to reduce the stigma of sex work and focus on the work aspect of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant or a pro-domme. If you’re overlapping a professional relationship with a social one then there are a few obvious questions to answer. For example: What happens if I need to end just the professional relationship? What information am I comfortable sharing with someone in both circles? Is this likely to lead to a conflict of interest? What are the odds of problems in one form of the relationship spilling over into the other?
It might be that the answers to these questions indicate that there’s not a problem to resolve. I can conceive of some relationships and social groups where mixing in pay for play wouldn’t be an issue, although this particular case doesn’t sound like one. But there’s no reason to make this specifically about sex and and sex work. It’s really about making smart decisions that minimize risk for everyone involved.
Having missed one opportunity the columnist then really screws the pooch by making the blanket statement that ‘sex workers are not notorious for their long, stable relationships.’ So rather than reduce stigma she manages to increase it with a gratuitously offensive stereotype. She might have got the basic answer right, but the rest of the column is a huge fail.
The artwork is by the artist Camille MM. Given the original letter writers description of his sessions, it seems like an appropriate one.
Decadence
I’m safely back in Seattle after my trip to Las Vegas. Having enjoyed a few days of sunshine, fine dining and alcohol I now feel I should adopt the role of the martyr and be both scourged and purged. Unfortunately I know that scourging in my case is yet another form of decadent enjoyment. If I really wanted to do penance for my visit to the city of sin, I should probably sit alone in a small beige room. Being beaten only warms my libidinous instincts.
This image, by Édouard-Henri Avril, is a good reflection of my conflicted state. He’s being both beaten and stimulated. I suspect that this is a win/win scenario for him.
