Erotica Enthusiasts

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Endless bottles of “motion lotion”; dildos stacked like kindling; a man led placidly by the chain round his neck – such are the sights at a typical gathering of erotica enthusiasts. Some of the gathered erotic artists draw in customers with their own cleavage; others sell cleavage sculpted in bronze. Women with flaxen hair and breast implants teeter past men dressed as wizards. Nearby stands Andrea, a trans-sexual who gets a thrill from taking cabs dressed as a woman. “It’s a combination of pure terror and pure exhilaration,” she says.

Sex is big business in the UK and an entire economy exists to cater to the needs of enthusiasts, from bondage cables and erotic fudge to package tours for swingers. Silvina Modola works for Desire, a swingers’ holiday company. “Seeing one man’s wife with another man is hard to comprehend at first, but once you talk to them you understand they’ve got their reasons – one couple were celebrating their 50th anniversary.”

Like any industry, erotica has adapted to the changing demands of its customers over the years. “Real dominance is disappearing,” says Mistress Absolute, adjusting her catsuit. She carries a whip at public events to keep away any beer-emboldened passers-by. Traditional dominance doesn’t involve sex, but according to Mistress Absolute that is no longer the case: “You get people now who say they dominate when they just act a bit mean to a person. And it’ll end with sex. I don’t have sex with my clients. None of my submissives sees me naked.” Mistress Absolute is an old-fashioned dominatrix; her clients clean her house and take care of her shopping, getting a subversive sexual thrill buying yogurt and salad at Sainsbury’s. “They like to do my cleaning,” she says. “It’s a break from everything. The daily crap is gone. When they clean for me, they lose themselves.”

SeThen there is pornography. “What’s wrong with male buttocks?” asks Petra Joy, a German pornographer and film-maker who espouses the virtue of porn that appeals to women. “I want to make anti-misogynist porn,” she says. “I want to see pert male bums. Why leave all the imagery to men?”

Dave Roderick has been involved in the fetish scene for seven years but has a wide range of interests, including wilderness adventuring and rock climbing. Harnesses and ropes, he says, are not dissimilar to some fetish gear: “I think it’s in my nature to be a bit of an adventurer and to explore new boundaries.”

Dave is open about his lifestyle with family and friends. “People are usually interested and want to know more,” he says. “I don’t think my mum and dad were surprised when I brought home Karen and told them we met in a fetish club. They knew I was out doing crazy things – I think they almost expected it of me.” Karen and Dave now live in a quiet part of Devon, but they can always travel to one of the big London clubs and put on their gear – a Victorian fetish bustle skirt for her, strappy bondage trousers for him.

Courtesy The Guardian: United Kingdom

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