My interests have a very local component. The cheekbone that passes just near my shoulder, the heel clicking by my ankle, the thin wrist cradling the cellular conversation i overhear on the elevator. All of this occurs in proximity to my personal space. The transaction of these geometries excite and stimulate me. Since college, i've been fascinated with spatial relationships that exist between objects, people, cultures, and have thus evaluated every connection i make in my daily life via the rubric of how close it is to me and how much space it occupies. When i feel a sense of alienation, that somehow my energy and body do not fit in the geography it occupies, i can sometimes feel lost. Which makes the recent discovery i unearthed in my site statistics all the more unsettling.
I have it set so that i'm able to chart how many visits i get by not only the continent, nor just the country, but by the city. Without any bashfulness, i must declare that i receive stop-overs from one burg by more than 2-to-1 over any other city. The perverted metropolis in question?
London, England.
I am not by any means insulted by this overwhelming plurality of Londoners crawling the caverns of my cacophony, but the sheer imbalance over any other municipality strikes me as odd mostly because i myself am not from that fair, grey (or is it 'gray'?) city. I have never even visited it. Yet, somehow the material i post here at TransformHer tickles the cockles of my cockneyed brethren. Those of you who do call this blessed plot, this earth, "home", i'd value some theories as to why you and yours have chosen to click into my literary realm. Perhaps it's perfectly obvious, or perhaps you see my pro-Britannia nuance in amongst my regular kinky blather, and thus feel compelled to purchase a few moments of screen adoration via a visit.
For whatever reason that draws those oh so cultured urbanites, being an amateur detective myself (less Sherlock Holmes and more Philip Marlowe), i, of course, took it upon myself to float my own deductions regarding this quandary. The only thing that i could dig up was an early lesson (albeit culturally short-sighted, and ethically just short) i learned when i was trying to educate myself on the larger world of SM and fetishes. It turns out that my proclivities for localness do not reside solely with me. To bastardize a quote by Tip O'Neill, "All kink is local."
As i consumed the various kinky outputs from the then nascent Information Superhighway, perhaps because my mind is attuned to the layout of maps, i noticed very quickly that certain fetishes had their core followers in different regions and countries. From what i can tell, my very unscholarly evaluation assigned the following nation-states with the various fetishes as such:
Germany/Austria/Eastern Europe - heavy rubber/latex, military uniforms, medical
United Kingdom/Australia - latex outfits, crossdressing/maids, diapers/mackintoshes, schoolgirl, spanking
France - corsets, heels/ballet boots, dungeon, whipping
United States - steel bondage, mechanical contraptions, rope (Western/Cowboy influenced)
Japan - rope (Shibari), dollification, extreme feminization/body modification, Daddy/little girl
Of course, this is a generalization, and of course there are fans of latex in Japan just as there are practitioners of Shibari in Germany, but i think the dissemination of the kinks is relatively accurate.
(What is glaringly obvious about this list is the dominance of industrialized "Western" democracies, and few representations from the Second and Third world nations. Does this make the argument that those with disposable incomes and time develop kinky sexualities? Certainly such an argument can be made when someone notes the average cost of a custom-made latex catsuit, not to mention the ability to take photos of it, upload those photos to a website via a connection to the internet, and...wait, you probably have no interest in my sociological polemic. I don't blame you.)
What does all of this mean? Well, in a nutshell (yes, i will provide you voracious readers with a 'point') i should probably pack up these digs and ship me, the girl and the Castle of Deity over to London. Clearly, my public awaits me there.
9 comments:
I am one of your London visitors (although I am not there at the moment). I read you because you have so much in common with my master; your relationship with your girl is like ours. I reckon the kinky of Britain gravitate to London because difference is more accepted there than anywhere else in the country.
Keep up the good work.
Deity: I read your blog not because of an interest in latex or cross dressing or maids. I hope this doesn't disappoint you. I read your blog because your power exchange relationship fascinates me and because your writing can be extraordinarily good. I found you during your 'senses' posts. You really tickled by fancy! Does it make you feel any better at all that I used to live where you live?
Rob
I wonder if it is the quality of your writing that draws the British rather than the content per se. After all you do not make too many references to schoolgirls or diapers on your blog and yet your study of statistics leads you to list these as areas of interest to the Brits and Aussies.
It will be great if this post draws more comments from the old dart as I have always wondered why there are so few on the blogosphere and whether it indicates a parochialism of the Brits to stay amongst themselves.
We most likely don't hear from less wealthy countries because telephones, cable, fibre optics and computers are far more rare there, and largely inaccessible. I have a hard time believing kink can only be generated by disposable income, however; I'm sure people are people everywhere you go. Necessity and her offspring--improvisation and creativity--are universally available regardless of financial status.
That makes me wonder what we'd do if all our pricey accoutrements to love suddenly became out-of-reach...
I suspect, though, that kink is likely a byproduct of wealth, as it takes time to do well and in harsher worlds time "off" is rare.
But having said that, It's good to have nice things like leather cuffs but a nice bit of rope does a great job of standing in.
I'm smiling at that idea. Ask the pet. She'll let you now that, for us, the best "accoutrement" turn out to be office supplies and kitchen utensils.
To be completely honest, the best stuff happens when I just tell her what's coming next. A whisper from my lips right next to her ear.
Tristan
adrienne,
lovely photo, by the way. quite lovely.
that is an excellent reason about London being more open. it is, after all, the location of my favorite fetish party in the whole durn world.
thank you for leaving a comment.
Rob,
No interest in cross-dressing maids? No, i'm not disappointed. Not interested in latex? That burns. *wink*
I'm happy to hear that you may have gained some entertainment from my sensorial exercise of my ego. Thank you for your very generous compliment.
doll,
while i'll accept your kind words about my writing skill, i must point out i decidedly do not use the Queen's English, which i'm sure is glaringly obvious.
i'm with you, i'd really love to hear from more Londoners why they invade my site. "old dart" eh? that's one i hadn't heard.
aurumgirl,
it's always been something that has struck me - how caucasian and affluent the world of kink tends to be. there is no doubt that there are those in the poorer regions of the world who have sado-masochistic bents.
i don't like to think about the fact that i wouldn't have my toys anymore, but i do occasionally allow myself to ponder it, if just to remind me of my blessings.
Tristan,
I've used many a household item in a pinch (pun intended), and will state that the local hardware store is the kinkiest merchant by far.
Thank you for leaving me a comment, i appreciate you dropping a note.
"i should probably pack up these digs and ship me, the girl and the Castle of Deity over to London. Clearly, my public awaits me there."
I just love the synchronicity of you posting this as the British tabloids reveal the goings on in a dungeon beside the Thames.
You may not use the Queens English but I am sure the Brits can overlook your quaint spellings.
I'm from Essex, which isn't London but as near as dammit, and I come by here because there aren't many Dominants who write as well or as insightfully as you do.
You are also sparking my interest in bod mod, and that can't be a bad thing, can it? ;)
doll,
the same doll as above? i hadn't heard about the bust. i'm actually surprised that'd happen in London.
mia,
i'm delighted that these phrases i string together might increase your interest in body modification. it's a thrill and the ultimate compliment, all in one! thank you for your comment.
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