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Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/7/2008 10:55:10 PM   
SlyStone


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I am not asking if d/s is a good or bad thing or if it works for you and I really hope I don't have to explain COOL, cause if I do, than I am way to old for this for sure.

I realize that the majority of people in this country are confused by the concept of bdsm and view it as a sick perversion,  and I know this because I am all about sick perversion, but the "majority" is usually overestimated in both numbers and commonality of opinion.

I really don't know the history of bdsm but I am wondering if what exists today has become kinda mainstream and watered down from its conception to now. Maybe it's the internet, or sexual liberation, or maybe it as the natural course of things,  but it it just doesn't seem very alternative in that go your own way and fuck the societal norm kind of way that it used to be even a few years ago, let alone, I assume, at it's beginnings.


And that may be a good thing, I really don't know.


But, back to the question..................



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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/7/2008 11:17:53 PM   
SNoB


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Does it matter if its cool?  I never started into this lifestyle because I thought it was cool.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/7/2008 11:19:05 PM   
leadership527


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It can't be cool.  I'm here.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/7/2008 11:21:36 PM   
DefiantFlower


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Well obviously, the more society accepts something, the more cool it gets. So I guess I don't agree with the "still" part of the question. If anything, it's becoming more and more "cool" as society slowly opens her legs. Except maybe when everyone went crazy in the 80s and everything was cool and not at the same time...

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/7/2008 11:23:20 PM   
ElectraGlide


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Hey BDSM is as Cool as a Cucumber in the shade.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/7/2008 11:41:53 PM   
WestBaySlave


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  I often reccomend the book "Terrorist Chic", not for its conclusions, but for its cultural snap shot of a place and time - late '70s New York. One of the things it mentions is the sudden "fashionability" of BDSM, albeit mostly on a token level.

Alternative cultures go in and out of vogue, but as far as BDSM going mainstream and more acceptable, well, it can only make my life easier.  It widens my kinky and kink-tolerant pool of possible friends, and hopefully means that one more person nervous about exploring this side of themselves will be able to do it in a safe and informed way.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 12:36:56 AM   
SummerWind


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I've got one of those friends who seeks out and enjoys bands who are "unknown."  He loves to talk them up and give the perception that you don't know music and aren't cool unless you know all about underground band "X".   If the band happens to hit it big and become "popular" he instantly hates them.  Verrrrrry annoying.

I don't care if the thing I'm participating in is wildly popular, completely unknown or somwhere in between.  Trying to determine if something is cool.....is by my definition....the opposite of cool......

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 4:33:15 AM   
Lashra


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I don't care if its "cool" or not, its how I live my life. I notice that a lot of younger crowd are wearing dog collars, bondage pants etc. So I think some aspects have rubbed off on the vanilla.

~Lashra


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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 4:44:20 AM   
DMFParadox


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Cool with a capital L? Don't know if anything's that cool, mate. But I rather suspect that a field of study devoted to pinching nips, smacking butts and the more enjoyable aspects of mind games is going to be popular for a long, long time.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 5:09:45 AM   
Rover


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quote:

ORIGINAL: SlyStone


I really don't know the history of bdsm but I am wondering if what exists today has become kinda mainstream and watered down from its conception to now. Maybe it's the internet, or sexual liberation, or maybe it as the natural course of things,  but it it just doesn't seem very alternative in that go your own way and fuck the societal norm kind of way that it used to be even a few years ago, let alone, I assume, at it's beginnings.



Funny thing about what constitutes "alternative"... it's not the alternative that defines it as such... it's the mainstream that makes that call.  So if something becomes more or less alternative, it speaks less to the state of the alternative than the state of the mainstream.
 
Having said that, historically what we now call BDSM (then S/M) did not have as an objective to *be* alternative.  In fact, if it were not for the special needs of the gay leather folk, there might not be any alternative lifestyle or community at all (briefly, many states had laws banning gay men from bars in the theory that they were there for the purposes of prostution, and banning them from congregating together in numbers more than four or five... causing them to use the growing American fascination with the motorcycle to form motorcylce clubs... cycle leathers giving birth to the "leather lifestyle".... and creating our first cohesive and sustained communities... at a time when hets were meeting one another on a more limited and individual basis by virtue of personals ads in the backs of magazines).
 
I guess the bottom line is that mainstream society didn't accept them, or us, and we are "alternative" by necessity... not by desire.  Though it wouldn't be fair if I didn't point out that a great many folks, now and then, derive a real thrill out of *being* alternative.  Whatever blows your hair back.
 
John

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 5:13:21 AM   
SlyStone


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quote:

Cool with a capital L?



However you define cool is cool with me.

For me cool is Marlon Brando riding into small town america on a chopper, Paul Newman with a pool
cue, Kurt Cobain with a guitar.

Cool like you go your own way and don't even turn around to see if they're following you.



_____________________________

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

Anais Nin

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 5:45:41 AM   
HalloweenWhite


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quote:

ORIGINAL: SlyStone



I am not asking if d/s is a good or bad thing or if it works for you and I really hope I don't have to explain COOL, cause if I do, than I am way to old for this for sure.

I realize that the majority of people in this country are confused by the concept of bdsm and view it as a sick perversion,  and I know this because I am all about sick perversion, but the "majority" is usually overestimated in both numbers and commonality of opinion.

I really don't know the history of bdsm but I am wondering if what exists today has become kinda mainstream and watered down from its conception to now. Maybe it's the internet, or sexual liberation, or maybe it as the natural course of things,  but it it just doesn't seem very alternative in that go your own way and fuck the societal norm kind of way that it used to be even a few years ago, let alone, I assume, at it's beginnings.


And that may be a good thing, I really don't know.


But, back to the question..................




I doubt that BDSM has a history per se; I'm sure that throughout history there have been millions and millions of people who derived sexual pleasure from things/activities other than the usual, missionary position (sorry to be so graphic).

As far as asking the question "has it changed over time" I'm sure the answer is no because E/everyone's different, W/we all do things O/our way so rather than saying things have changed, I'm betting its all been done before, its just that in modern times its become more acceptable and accessible.

Editied to say I think BDSM is very cool.

< Message edited by HalloweenWhite -- 10/8/2008 5:47:31 AM >

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 6:10:50 AM   
oceanwynds


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I do not know if BDSM is still cool or not? I never knew about this lifestyle until 2 years ago, so have nothing to compare it with. I am a practicing Witch and have been for over 30years. I have seeen how it is cool to be a witch through the past decade or so. Is this good or bad? Personally I do not think it is either. Internet has openned an opportunity for many to learn new lifestyles, be it BDSM or Paganism. As in any type of media and meeting 'real time' people, it is up to the individual to figure out what works for them. Are we losing our 'coolness' because we aren't as hidden anymore? I can't answer that, since I never became a witch to create shock value or to be different. I didn't enter Ds relationship to shock others but to enter a journey of discovery within myself.

blessings
oceanwynds

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 6:27:40 AM   
missturbation


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quote:

I doubt that BDSM has a history per se;

Everything has a history. In fact i'm sure not long ago someone was putting a timeline together here of the important events in bdsm history.
 
I kind of dislike this bdsm is cool mentality. Whats cool about it? What we do is no more special or cool than mary and peter down the road who have missionary position sex every other weekend and oral sex on birthdays.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 6:32:44 AM   
thetammyjo


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quote:

ORIGINAL: HalloweenWhite

quote:

ORIGINAL: SlyStone



I am not asking if d/s is a good or bad thing or if it works for you and I really hope I don't have to explain COOL, cause if I do, than I am way to old for this for sure.

I realize that the majority of people in this country are confused by the concept of bdsm and view it as a sick perversion,  and I know this because I am all about sick perversion, but the "majority" is usually overestimated in both numbers and commonality of opinion.

I really don't know the history of bdsm but I am wondering if what exists today has become kinda mainstream and watered down from its conception to now. Maybe it's the internet, or sexual liberation, or maybe it as the natural course of things,  but it it just doesn't seem very alternative in that go your own way and fuck the societal norm kind of way that it used to be even a few years ago, let alone, I assume, at it's beginnings.


And that may be a good thing, I really don't know.


But, back to the question..................




I doubt that BDSM has a history per se; I'm sure that throughout history there have been millions and millions of people who derived sexual pleasure from things/activities other than the usual, missionary position (sorry to be so graphic).

As far as asking the question "has it changed over time" I'm sure the answer is no because E/everyone's different, W/we all do things O/our way so rather than saying things have changed, I'm betting its all been done before, its just that in modern times its become more acceptable and accessible.

Editied to say I think BDSM is very cool.


No, BDSM has a definite history, you can trace back to the terms S/M and BDSM and the foundation of organized groups where folks engaged in consensual practices with each other that might have seemed unusual or extreme in mainstream culture. Gayle Rubin is probably the leading SM historian today though Peter Tupper's work on a Victorian era couples suggests that there is more in previous centuries than we have solid evidence for.

That is the big problem: Solid evidence.

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Love, Peace, Hugs, Kisses, Whips & Chains,

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Check out my website at http://www.thetammyjo.com Or www.tammyjoeckhart.com

And my LJ where I post fiction in progress if you "friend" me at http://thetammyjo.livejournal.com/

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 6:38:17 AM   
Slavelary


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It's never been about being 'cool'.

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 6:39:57 AM   
HalloweenWhite


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quote:

ORIGINAL: missturbation

quote:

I doubt that BDSM has a history per se;

Everything has a history. In fact i'm sure not long ago someone was putting a timeline together here of the important events in bdsm history.
 
I kind of dislike this bdsm is cool mentality. Whats cool about it? What we do is no more special or cool than mary and peter down the road who have missionary position sex every other weekend and oral sex on birthdays.


The way I interpreted that part of the question was that I thought the O.P meant "Did BDSM have an actual, recognisable and verifiable starting point". The timeline you mentioned sounds interesting.

As far as saying I think BDSM is cool, I meant cool to Me, not if I think its cool to others.

< Message edited by HalloweenWhite -- 10/8/2008 7:23:26 AM >

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 6:47:55 AM   
Rover


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quote:

ORIGINAL: thetammyjo

No, BDSM has a definite history, you can trace back to the terms S/M and BDSM and the foundation of organized groups where folks engaged in consensual practices with each other that might have seemed unusual or extreme in mainstream culture. Gayle Rubin is probably the leading SM historian today though Peter Tupper's work on a Victorian era couples suggests that there is more in previous centuries than we have solid evidence for.

That is the big problem: Solid evidence.


Bravo, Tammyjo.  I'll only add that I enjoy Robert Bienvenue II's dissertion on the history of S/M as well (http://www.americanfetish.net/sexresearch.us/Home.html).
 
John

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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 7:02:08 AM   
CalifChick


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quote:

ORIGINAL: SlyStone

I really don't know the history of bdsm but I am wondering if what exists today has become kinda mainstream and watered down from its conception to now.


 
I do not see BDSM as a game or a sport or something that has a conception. No one invented BDSM.  Just as no one invented lesbianism, heterosexuality, etc. 
 
quote:

Maybe it's the internet, or sexual liberation, or maybe it as the natural course of things,  but it it just doesn't seem very alternative in that go your own way and fuck the societal norm kind of way that it used to be even a few years ago, let alone, I assume, at it's beginnings.



I don't do this because of its standing (or non-standing) as an alternative anything.  Maybe that's why some young people start doing it, because it's the "cool" thing to do, but someone smack me hard (and not in that good slutty way) if I start doing things because they are "cool". 
 
There was a time when I was young where being bisexual was "cool".  The girls who suddenly were going around loudly proclaiming their bisexuality and then looking at the guys to see if the guys thought they were hot were snickered at by those of us who were quietly bisexual (for lack of a better phrase).  We were doing things because that is who we were, not because it was cool or it would make us popular. 


Cali


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RE: Is BDSM Still CooL? - 10/8/2008 7:17:59 AM   
pompeii


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BDSM history? Hmmmm.... Let's take a basic tenet out of the geologist's text book, where the "history" of the object in question is the fundamental study. It's a basic maxim that the geologic processes acting today are the same ones that acted a billion or three years ago. Likewise, all sexual "processes" acting today are the same ones acted out a few hundred years to a few thousand years ago with humans (who have remained essentially the same for at least the past fifty thousand years).

Let's put it another way, way back in history. Assume you are a member of the Greek Phalanx and you just conquered Babylon without effort because the Persians declared the city an "open city". All is yours as the crowds cheer your arrival. You enter into the sumptuous palace, and all the concubines are yours for the taking.

Would YOU sidle up to them, have them display themselves for your pleasure, so that you can pick one for the evening? Would YOU slap her tits if she, the chosen one, didn't move quickly enough? Would YOU bring her, leashed and bound, to your boudoir, and have her suck on your man straw to completion, swallowing the milk you provide for her benefit?

If YOU would do such when you have ultimate power, then they certainly did. The history of BDSM starts today and goes back to as far as the answer is still yes to these ultimate power questions (oh, how I long to own a slave harem after writing this!)....

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