Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Good influence

Recently I visited Ume and Gene to celebrate their birthday. (They were born on the same day!) When I was regaling a friend of the event later on, I ended the story with, "The events immediately preceding me falling asleep are kinda blurry. And then I woke up in a bed with four other people, and my skirt was missing." I thought it was quite funny.

"...Wow," my friend said. "I don't think I've ever heard someone tell that kind of story as if it were a good thing."

I realized with a start that he was right - in a different context, what I said could be horrifying. But for me it wasn't; it was pretty typical with how parties with my friends ended. In fact, that party was downright chaste compared to what we usually do - I hadn't done anything more than some close dancing, a kiss or two, and clothes-on snuggling while in bed. (I learned soon after the party that Master had helped me out of my skirt because he didn't want me to wrinkle it in my sleep. So thoughtful!)

That level of trust, that kind of casual intimacy, is normal to me, but I forget it's not normal for a lot of people. Which I suppose isn't a bad thing if people don't want to be that physically close to people, but I certainly wouldn't have it any other way. It's the kind of environment where I really came into my own in terms of my sexuality (and other things, for that matter). I'm glad that my friends and I are making a real effort to keep that network of intimacy even as we spread out across the region post-graduation. I don't know how I'd survive without it.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

O My

A bit more on The Story of O, now that I've finished it:

It certainly reads like a French novel, especially with the large amounts of indirect dialogue. ("He asked her if she'd been to see him, and she said she had." etc.) Considering it was first published in 1954, it wasn't nearly as misogynist as I feared it would be. There was still cringe-worthy material, to be sure, such as the descriptions of O's attraction to men vs. women, but the importance of consent featured fairly prominently in the story, and overall I found it a reasonably accurate portrayal of why a sub decides to submit (with some leeway given for the realm of fantasy that the story lives in).

I could also see a lot of similarities between the traditions and lifestyle depicted in the book and traditions practiced today in the kink community: the love of corsets and plush, anachronistic surroundings; the use of masks; even the way the slaves are trained to sit. I wonder, however, if the present-day kink community was influenced by the book, or if the book was describing traditions that already existed. It's something I'd like to look more in to.

It also gave me some ideas of things I'd like to try. For one, I'd like to try bondage with things other than rope. I know leather straps are a bit cliche, but there is definitely an aesthetic appeal there. Getting flogged/cropped on my thighs is also intriguing. Master and I have discussed the idea of whoring me out to other people, but that's not something we'll probably be doing anytime soon.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Words! Mean! Things!

I've finally gotten around to reading The Story of O. I'm not completely done with it yet, so I won't give a detailed post on my impressions, but I do want to say this:

"Womb" does not mean "vulva" or "vagina."

"Belly" does not mean "vulva" or "vagina."

I understand wanting to use euphemistic language for the genitalia; however, don't use words that are for completely different body parts!

Seriously, what does, "He seized her womb," even mean? I imagine him grabbing her pooch - or, granting that by "womb" the author actually meant "vulva," him tugging at her labia. Neither image is particularly sexy, nor do I suspect that was what the author intended.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Out of time

In the same way that populations level out once they've reached carrying capacity, I've reached carrying capacity in my romantic population. Though I'd like to find a lady lover in my home town, I simply do not have the time or the energy, especially considering lady-loving ladies are much harder to come by than lady-loving dudes.

But then I feel shitty because it's almost like I'm falling into heterosexuality out of laziness. :(

I just discovered there's a gay bar just a few blocks from my apartment. I should hit it up sometime soon.