The Home for the Literarily Bent
Posts tagged BDSM
Tom of Finland
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Tom of Finland front cover
By F. Valentine Hooven III
Published in 1993 by St. Martin’s Press
Recently I was talking to a leatherman. I call him a leatherman not because was he dressed in leather, but because he embodied that perfect combination of humble confidence and grace. He was, in may ways, the personification of an idealized leatherman. Atop his head was an amazing leather hat which perfectly framed his countenance and vice versa. As I complimented his hat, I mentioned that it made him look like he had stopped off the page of one of Tom of Finland’s drawings. He responded thoughtfully, “we all look like that on the inside.” It was a comment immense in both its beauty and insight.
If you only recently came out from under a rock and are completely unfamiliar with Tom of Finland’s work, he was, and still is, the best and most famous artist of gay erotica. His work is known for his highly stylized depictions of flawless hyper-masculine figures such as laborers, cops, and, obviously enough, leathermen.
Hooven’s biography traces Tom of Finland’s life beginning with his childhood in rural Finland to his death. I don’t know much about the background of this book’s author other than that his name shows up as the author of a book devoted to Beefcake magazines of the 50s through 70s. Were I more motivated, I might seek him out and find out more about him. Regardless, Hooven’s prose is reminiscent of the Weekly Reader. In some ways that easy writing style makes the book light and easy to read. In others, it makes the makes the book, and by extension, its subject seem a bit lightweight.
One of the book’s surprising highlights was the Tom of Finland’s service during World War II. I never really considered Finland’s participation in the war and the war’s affect on Finland before reading the book. While I don’t know enough about gay sexual expression during the war to accept or reject the veracity of Hooven’s descriptions of clandestine gay sexual encounters during the war, they were both plausible and compelling. The rest of the book traces Tom of Finland’s career as an artist from his work as a graphic illustrators to his transformation as a fulltime erotic artist, finally culminating in Tom of Finland’s recognition as an outstanding painter.
Though Hooven discusses Tom of Finland’s career as an advertising illustrator, a more detailed description of his advertising work would give the reader a broader picture of Tom of Finland’s artistic influences and background. Another detail of Tom of Finland’s life that seemed to merit more discussion was his relationship with his long term partner Veli. Despite being portrayed as a protective confidante when Tom is taken advantage of in his business dealings, Hooven depicts Veli as little more than a minor character in Tom of Finland’s life. Providing a more complete picture of who Tom’s life partner is and how he interacted with Tom would provide a greater insight into both Tom and his works.
Hooven also declines (fails?) to discuss Tom of Finland’s family. One wonders if he were out to them and, if so, how they reacted to his sexuality. Also, were they aware of his art and success? If so, were they proud or ashamed? If Hooven knows, he doesn’t tell the reader.
Even with these minor omissions, Hooven’s work provides a fine insight into the life and work of Tom of Finland and anyone interested in erotic artists, BDSM history, or gay and/or leather iconography will enjoy this book.
The New Topping Book
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The New Topping Book front cover
by Dossie Eastman and Janet W. Hardy
Published in 2003 by Greenery Press
Covering everything from negotiation to aftercare The New Topping Book is a thorough guide to the emotional side of topping. While the practical advice is expected, it’s the unexpected things that make this book truly worthwhile.
I was particularly heartened to see the “Top’s Bill of Rights.” Too often, the fact that we tops have needs is overlooked (even by other tops). I suppose that the general belief that if the top is in charge and not getting his needs met it is his own failure. This is at best simplistic. A good scene is like a dance; unless you’re Billy Idol it isn’t much fun to do it by yourself. Naturally not only do tops have rights but also responsibilities and “The Top’s List of Responsibilities” delineates these well.
Having something go wrong in a scene is inevitable. Sometimes that wrong thing turns out to be something nice though that obviously isn’t normally the case. The pages devoted to preparing for this eventuality are of particular interest, and will help give any responsible top the tools he needs to manage a scene.
I can only find one fault with this book: the narrative interludes. Their appearance needlessly jolts the flow of the book. While learning from other people’s experiences is invaluable, the book would have improved if those experiences were relayed in the same voice that the rest of the text is written in. This is but a minor complaint and the book is more than strong enough to overcome it. Highly recommended.
Consensual Sadomasochism
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Consensual Sadomasochism front cover
By William A. Henkin and Sybil Holiday
Published in 1996 by Daedalus Publishing Company
This book’s table of contents left me wary because it devotes 150 pages to what the authors refer to as a “safety manual”. I am firmly of the opinion that if you think BDSM has to be “safe” you probably should find a different sexual outlet. That isn’t to say that I think it is okay to be reckless when you play. Far from it. we all have to recognize that BDSM is an inherently risky activity that demands we each take personal responsibility for when we play.
Usually, when we think of risk and BDSM, we think of physical risk, but the physical risks are the least severe. It is the emotional risks that we take when we play that are the most extreme. These risks aren’t the sole purview of bottoms (or submissives or bottoms or whatever the Hell it is someone chooses to call themselves. I could write a lengthy rant about how silly we can be about terminology. Someday I just may…) Indeed, tops (or dominants…same rant…) also take just as much emotional risk when we play.
Luckily despite my initial worries the discussions of playing safely aren’t heavy handed. Instead, they serve as brief introductions to the sorts of play they describe. Sometimes, these discussions seem too brief. However if these types of play were all covered in the depth they demand, the book would be so long it would be too intimidating for all but the most dedicated reader to pick up.
Also important to remember that BDSM is ultimately not something that one learns from a book but instead is only learned from practice and experience. (I should add that this process of learning is ongoing. The most dangerous sorts of people are those that maintain they have nothing left to learn.) This is a point the authors make more than once by cautioning anyone interested in such play to learn from someone with lots of experience.
Another refreshing thing about this book is the total absence of fictional fantasy sequences from its pages. I have no idea why such fantasy scenes take up so much of the space of most BDSM how-to books as their inclusion detracts rather than enhances.
Unfortunately, even though this book avoids the annoying fantasy sequences it does include another flaw that rears its head all too often in BDSM books: new age spirituality. Even though I don’t personally have much use for spirituality I recognize that there is a time and a place for it; I’m just dumbfounded why anyone believes that time and place to be inside a book about how to beat people.
BDSM spirituality almost invariably manifests itself in one of two ways, Wicca/paganism or Indian mysticism (Tantra). Most published BDSM books come from California and do little to contradict the the hippie-dippy California stereotype. Locally, most “spiritual” practitioners I know seem to be of the Wicca/Pagan/mother earth/bridge troll persuasion. Just once I would love to hear someone report that while they were “flying” in the middle of a scene they felt closer to, oh I dunno, Isis. Shoot, I’d settle for a report of an out of body experience where someone tongued Satan’s asshole. Alas, I suspect that I will remain forever disappointed.
But I digress, despite the predictable embrace of spirituality, Consensual Sadomasochism is an excellent introductory book for those wanting to explore BDSM and those interested in learning more would be well served by reading it.
P.S. Some of you poor misguided souls out there are under the impression that activities involving consent are “consentual.” Those of you who are sticklers for spelling and grammatical accuracy (like me) are already well aware that there is no such word as “consentual” and cringe upon seeing it. The word is properly spelled consensual. Learn it, love it, live it.
The Compleat Spanker
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The Compleat Spanker Front Cover
by Lady Green
Published in 1996 by Greenery Press
While I am vaguely familiar with The Compleat Angler and know it originated the tradition of using the archaic spelling of “complete” for a book title, the apparent misspelling in The Compleat Spanker’s title still makes me wince a little. I can’t help but think that the book has a giant typo on its cover. People already have a low opinion of folks into BDSM; there’s no need to arm them with the belief that we are semi-literate too. But I digress.
Lady Green, aka Janet W. Hardy, deserves heaps of praise for keeping this guide to spanking short. I imagine she must have been tempted to pad this book to make it longer but the book is perfectly fine at the length it is. If there is something missing, it is a history of spanking. I, for one, would love to know more about spanking’s history and place in our culture. I cannot help but wonder how long has spanking been observed as an erotic practice. I would also love a formal explanation as to why the British seem particularly obsessed with spanking. I suspect the answer to the latter question stems from the practice of corporal punishment in the British elementary school system. But that’s only a guess. At any rate, the lack of a history is only a minor quibble and likely would do little to make one a better spanker or spankee.
The Compleat Spanker covers all the basics from negotiation to aftercare that one needs to have a wonderful spanking scene. It even addresses what can go wrong in spanking scenes from their possible causes to how to handle them when they arise – essential information because eventually, no matter how well you know your partner, something will go wrong.
Refreshingly, Lady Green’s writing is long on facts and short on opinions and avoids the use of fictionalized scenes that so often drag down otherwise great BDSM instructional books. Also handy is that instead of including definitions in footnotes or a glossary, definitions appear next to the terms in the book’s margins which neither detracts from the text nor for forces the reader to hunt for the meaning of an essential term. Beware that there are also occasional references to illustrations. Unfortunately, some of these references refer to pages without the promised illustration.
This book is an essential reference for spank-o-philes of all stripes and orientations and the only ass you should beat without it is your own.