We look at the world of whips that Fifty Shades of Grey wouldn’t dare mention.
Say there, what’s your word association to “leather”?
Let’s pause and reminisce of all those moments spent in a dark gloomy dungeon, locked up in a full leather gimp suit… Oh, the good ol’ days.
Unless you thought of leather pants and how good Alice Cooper looks in them, then you would probably have raised an uncomfortable eyebrow and your inner child cried a little.
Well, here, let me take you by the hand and strap you into the fun ride down BDSM alley.
On the left, we have one of the most offensive pieces of misinformation currently released to the public: Fifty Shades of … bad writing, which you have most likely not read, nor should read. To the right, we have the wonderful world of sado-masochism – a little toy shop of horrors galore called Lucresia and DeSade in Melbourne, Australia, where Ms Kerry gives us a lesson.
We’re not talking cattleprods and bullwhips (it pains me to say) but the other kind, the ones reserved for bedrooms, dungeons, prisons and slaves… Oh sorry, did I say slaves? Didn’t mean to. Freudian slip.
To whip or to be whipped, that is the question
Are you overstressed, overworked and generally need to unwind? Then try getting a lovely back massage. If you have been known to appreciate adrenalin rushes, then try whips. Pain releases a wonderful chemicals called endorphins and adrenalin, which place you into a state of joy, which is why so many people appreciate whips (ask your friends, I’m sure they’ll agree. If they don’t, get some new friends). For some, being whipped and sustaining uncomfortable states proves loyalty and devotion to their partner, especially those with psychological issues. You know who you are.
So, while you are preparing your fluffy handcuffs, bunny suits and metal detectors, one thing you should keep in mind when looking for a whip is balance. Any swordsman will understand that there is a balance between the blade and the hilt. The point where the hand rests, should be the centre of weight. Same for the whip. The handle is actually made with a particular weight at the end to counterbalance the weight of the tails and the length of the whip.
Yes, there is science involved.
Science and technicalities
A whip is a general description, to be precise a whip only has one “tail”. Whips are actually called “floggers”. Floggers come in different sizes and different strengths for different sensations. The first thing one would do before a session is warm up the skin. Yes, you heard me. Ironing your partner’s back isn’t what I would call warming up, but hey, that’s all you buddy.
Why does the skin need to be warmed up? Well, so it becomes more elastic and able to receive more sensation without stinging too much. For that, a suede flogger is used.
A suede flogger
Suede floggers are usually fairly shortand it will not hurt nor leave many marks. Making it a perfect warm up or for those new to the whole “Hey, I’ll just go capture a stranger and whip them senseless in my secret creepy dungeon” thing, then this is the perfect way to start. Just make sure the object of your secret evils is bound.
You don’t necessarily need to try to break their will with the suede flogger, simply make the skin heat up. I actually do mean heat up, if you touch it, it will be much warmer. You can practice on a watermelon, your neighbor’s annoying kids, or your editor.
The first stage takes roughly five to 10 minutes. You can then move onto the next part:
Light flogger
Light floggers are your hard-partying friends, quick self-flagellation and the jack of all trades for making someone hurt, but not too much. Use this one wisely, and try not to inflict too much damage to the sides and kidneys, as some have complained about burst kidneys. The light flogger gives a wonderful stinging sensation. This one will leave marks if the user is too enthusiastic.
You can leave here or, continue onto the final part:
Heavy flogger
Made of hard leather, like belt leather, the heavy flogger counts nine or more tails, depending on the kind of leather and flogger. The proportions of leather thickness tends to vary, but usually the thicker the leather, the less tails, because the tails need room to move and hit the skin in with the sharper side of the leather. The heavy flogger leaves marks and is capable of drawing blood.
The House of Sin
This is the area of corporal punishment – the long road less travelled. Variations on whips and further sadism all rest here, including materials and variations in “flavour” of pain:
Leather
The jack of all trades, all round good, reasonable and controlled sensation and strength.
Rubber and latex
Rubber has a more electric feel, a stinging sensation, which is more sharp than leather.
PVC
It’s like flexible plastic and has a sharp feeling.
Famous last words
Our personal favorite is the riding crop. Yep, that’s right. It’s a wonderful invention made to keep inmates in line. If asked whether my idea of a fun night is to make someone cry, then you would be correct. Just remember, don’t do anything your partner does not agree with. Unless you’ve agreed to a strange setting where the partner is not meant to agree and instead they can use a safety word such as “pineapple”. Because, who the hell is going to scream out “pineapple!” while in pain?
Safety first: Soot does not recommend or endorse any of the behaviour mentioned above. We always want you to be safe and the above is to be used for information purposes only.
Photo credit: Decadent Transitions.
