Better Than Life (continued again)

This post on sex and technology by Girl on the Net reminded me that I meant to write more on VR and Femdom. A few weeks back I posted my observations here and here on the current state of the art. I thought I’d followup with a couple of posts on my ideas for the future. Tomorrow I’ll tackle how it might lead to new types of sexual interaction. For today I’ll focus on a type of sensation play I think is perfect for VR – electrostimulation or e-stim.

I was lucky enough to enjoy a variety of e-stim play on my recent Vegas trip, and it reminded me how versatile it is. Keep it low and it’s almost like a pleasant tickling. Build it up in continuous waves and it can induce stress and sensory overload. Sudden sharp bursts are almost like canes or whips in the focused intensity. Use in with an insertable probe (like an electrified butt plug) and the muscle contractions can create a kind of thrusting/fucking sensation. I wouldn’t claim it’s a direct substitute for other kinds of play, but it does offer a uniquely versatile range of stimulation.

The tricky part with e-stim is getting it working properly. Sticky contact pads often have cheap connections and broken wires. TENS units are limited in functionality, tricky to set up and (in my experience) plagued with dead batteries. Every domme I’ve played with, no matter how organized and well equipped, always seems to be spend a bunch of time fiddling with connections and I trying to figure out why cranking the dial to 11 doesn’t get so much as a whimper out of me. I think it’s an area ripe for a high tech solution.

On the flip side, when it comes to VR, BDSM and haptic devices, there choices are pretty limited. There’s all manner of vibrating plugs, sleeves and insertables, but not a lot else. I’ve nothing against a good buzz applied to the right spot, but it doesn’t exactly scratch my masochistic itch. How about a wearable, custom designed and computer controlled e-stim device?

I’m imagining a tight rubber vest, completely interwoven with a grid of wires, wrapping all around the torso. They’d be insulated from each other, but would touch the flesh every half inch or so with a small contact patch. A connection at the bottom would hook the vest wires to a PC driven switch system and powerful multi-channel e-stim device such as an ErosTek. The e-stim device would provide the charge and the computer software would rapidly switch it across different combinations of wires to create different sensations. It could create delicate sensations that gently traced around the body. Or sharp lines of pain that shoot across like a cane strike. Or big waves of shocks that hit in a single point and then radiated out. Smart software could either coordinate the effects with the VR world  or allow another person to control it in realtime. It wouldn’t simulate human touch, or the sensation of specific implements, but it could produce complex and consistent sensations that correlated with behavior in the virtual world.

I’m possibly certainly unusual, but I’ll take a jacket that’ll shock me in strange and unusual ways over a pleasant buzz in the genitals. I just hope there’s enough technology loving kinkster out there like me to make it worth someone building and selling it.

Here’s someone enjoying some strange and unusual electrical stimulation. No fancy high tech equipment required here. Just a lady with a violet wand – a device can trace its roots back to the 19th century. The image is obviously from the Divine Bitches site.

The simple things in life

Here’s a final image in my short sequence of suspension themed posts. This one makes me smile due to the discrepancy between the setting and the action.

The setting is extreme. There’s a padded cell, a severe looking straitjacket and a taxing inverted suspension. In contrast the action is that most simple but frustrating of things – a sharp flick to the head of the penis. With the setting you’d expect her to be wielding some fiendish medical equipment or a scary electroshock device. Instead she’s keeping it simple, personal and very accurately targeted.

This is of course from the Men In Pain site.

Don’t try this at home

Here’s a striking image to continue the suspension theme. I think it falls into the category of ‘hot fantasy, but don’t try replicating it as shown.’ Hanging someone by rope like that is liable to cause all sorts of bad things to happen to their wrists and arms. Use proper suspension cuffs if you want to try this for real. The rest of us can simply enjoy the artwork and the exciting fantasy it may provoke.

This is by the Brazilian artist Pote. He has a lot more artwork available on his blog, although most of it is Mm rather than Fm.

A country swing

It’s unusual to see a properly rigged suspension performed outside. People often shoot bondage scenes outdoors, but nature doesn’t typically provide a lot of load tested reachable hardpoints, in areas safe from prying eyes, with clear space beneath them. This is a rather beautiful exception.

I’m afraid I’ve no idea where this is from. It’s another of the endless images that show up on tumblr with no identification. Please leave a comment if you can help me attribute it correctly.

Femdom Image Page Updated

At the post titles suggests, I’ve refreshed my Femdom Image Page. I was amazed to discover it had been a year since I last touched it, so there were a fair number of dead or dormant sites on it. I’ve cleaned all those up and replaced them with new sites that are currently active. Here’s what’s new…

General Femdom

Dominant Focused

Submissive Focused

Artwork

Specific Activities or Domains

I’ll finish with an image from one of the new sites. This is from Labstrakt’s. It’s a little different to most of the other additions, as it features mainstream fashion and art shots with a femdom slant.

Michael Bailey Gates and Jane Moseley for Man About Town Magazine.This was originally shot by Michael Bailey Gates for Man About Town magazine. It features the photographer himself with Jane Moseley.

Don’t try this in your derelict barn

A suitable image to follow-up yesterday’s post. This is another elaborate rope suspension with a high difficulty/risk factor. It looks very cool for a photograph, but I can’t imagine it being sustainable for any kind of extended play.

BarnSuspensionI’m afraid I’ve no idea of the original source for this. Happy to credit appropriately if someone can help with an attribution.

Don’t try this at home*

A rope suspension alone is challenging. Adding wax play into it ups the intensity somewhat. Having the domme sit on the back of the suspended submissive? Definitely into expert territory.

DommeSuspensionThe image is from this gallery.

* Of course if your home happens to contain an expert on rope suspension, along with relevant equipment and hard points, then maybe you can try this at home. Just be doubly sure all those elements are present first!

Shibari Suspension

This lovely suspension scene is from woodenpunk, rigged by EbiMcKnotty and photographed by Bendy_Dude. It’s probably an odd thing to pick up on, but I also like the color of their rope. I’ve no idea where they sourced this particular one from, but for anyone interested in well made and nicely colored rope, I suggest checking out Twisted Monk. I’m a long way from a rope expert, but I know a lot of dommes use and like his product. I’ve certainly been tied up in plenty of it over the years.

Suspension

Helpful suspension hints

If you’re interested in playing with suspension, them this article is worth a read. It does a good job of laying out the factors to consider and the associated risks.

Personally I found suspension interesting to try out, but it has a low endorphin to time spent ratio. It looks cool, and it’s fun when you finally get it right, but there’s a lot of faffing around required. If you’re purely looking for sensation rather than aesthetics, them swings achieve a similar rush at lower cost.

Suspension BondageI’m afraid I don’t have an attribution for this artwork. It looks like it has been trimmed on the top and bottom, but I can’t track down a larger version. If anyone can point me at an alternative version or the artist then please leave a comment.

AVN Season (cont)

I’ve noted the lack of awards for kink, fetish and BDSM at AVN in the past. I think the last time, in 2013, there were only 3 vaguely relevant awards. This year, based on this list of winners, they’re now down to one. That’s the very generic ‘Best BDSM movie’. They don’t even break out separate awards for maledom and femdom. I doubt it’ll surprise anyone to learn that for the last three years that award has gone to a maledom movie.

Breaking out every kinky niche into an award would probably be unmanageable, but I’d have thought top level awards for best male/female top/bottom would at least have been considered. It is after all a very challenging job. Regular porn stars will often tell interviewers how hard it is to have sex in odd positions on unusual furniture when surrounded by a film crew. BDSM performers have to handle all that, plus whips, gags, ropes, canes, crops, chains, cattle prods, nipple clamps, needles, hoods and anal probes. Although hopefully not all at the same time. When a regular porn performer has an uncomfortable position that’s an unfortunate side-effect of getting the right shot. When a BDSM performer has an uncomfortable positions that’s often the goal of the shot.

Here’s an image of Mika Tan and Danny Wylde earning their money for Men In Pain. He’s either very good at acting or that hurts quite a lot.

Earning their money