Well, one of the fun things about being a bondage educator and podcaster (have you checked out the new one, by the way?) is that you get to say things that turn out, in the long run, to be something less than accurate. Of course, if I were less domly I would just come out and say they were mistakes, but as is mandated in the One True Way of Ancient European Houses, a true Dom is never wrong – he is merely sometimes less right than others.
“She”? Oh, come now, even I’m not presumptuous enough to suggest that a female dom is ever even remotely less than completely right. I’m not an idiot.
Anyway, first things first. I’ve often talked to people about the “Japanese erotic aesthetic”, which is quite a bit different than the one you see in U.S. porn. Many Western eyes that have watched it with me comment on the fact that usually the woman seems to be in pain, humiliated, crying, or all three. Usually would say “Well, because of the idea that she would have to be ashamed to be in that kind of situation, she really can’t show that she’s enjoying herself…” and would just talk about how that’s just part of the cultural mores, kind of like the little white socks on the models.
Well, leave it to Tokyo Joe to show me the error of my ways. In an interview of Yukimura Haruki, there’s a lot of great gems, including this one:
“So yes, it is very important that the way I tie a woman is visually appealing. But it also has to feel good for the woman. If she isn’t having a good time in my ropes, then nothing will look good no matter how pretty the ties are. Fundamentally, all men have a face fetish; they want to see ecstasy on a woman’s face. “
I like that idea: a “face fetish”. Of course, I suppose it could be granted that the way that people see pleasure in different cultures could be different. It’s a great interview, with a lot of good bits, including another salvo in the ongoing interminable discussion of the word “nawashi”.
Secondly, remember when I talked about this book? I commented that I didn’t know for sure all the riggers that were in the book – but that I had some “guesses” as to who had done what tie, based on style?
Ah, hubris. Turns out, thanks to a comment by Strangelove, that I find all the rigging was done by Damon Pierce. This is the second time I’ve had egg on my face about this guy – the first being when I met him and Claire Adams (yes, here’s a sample),at Kinky Kollege, and realized I didn’t have any idea who he was (an unforgiveable sin for a bondage pseudo-journalist like myself that he graciously overlooked). They’ve got their own cottage industry going on over at Vintage Rope, and, well, if you don’t know his name already –
“…I can guarantee you have seen my work. From sensual Andrew Blake videos to kinky Dave Naz photoshoots, or even Bizarre features with Ernest Greene and Taboo magazine publications; you can find my rigging just about anywhere!”
Hell, he’s worked with people that were the inspirations for my own work. So go look at his work, and when you see the dark handsome man with Claire Adams next time, don’t be a putz like me, just go up and say “Hey, Damon! Great to see you! Love your work!”
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