Bondage, discipline/domination, sadism, and masochism
For six weeks I’ve had a peek into the BDSM community. I had to step out of my comfort zone quite a bit, as I myself am not necessarily an intimate or sexual person, rather a prude. Although BDSM is becoming more and more accepted in society, it still remains a taboo subject. I respect people who dare to be themselves, even if it is often still in secret. As far as I’m concerned, there should be some pride and confidence behind this.
So I decided to make somewhat controversial official portraits of some members of the BDSM community. After all, the definition of such a portrait reads: “A state portrait is a solemn portrait of a person in office, often a dignitary (but not necessarily) and often with accompanying signs of that power and dignity.”
In such a short time I definitely can’t call myself an expert on this community. I can only tell what I noticed these couple of weeks. In many cases there doesn’t seem to be any sexual or malicious intent, of course there are exceptions. BDSM is based on mutual trust, interest and love, with clear boundaries being communicated in advance. The vast majority of the community is wonderfully down-to-earth and hospitable. I was told it can come about as a form of trauma processing, which according to most members of the community is not a smart way of processing trauma.
Despite the fact that BDSM has become more known through the popular book and film series Fifty Shades, it is still not really accepted in society. (Incidentally, Fifty Shades shows the wrong side of BDSM, without prior agreement.) It is still often used as a blackmail tool against people with a job or family. In addition, they are labeled as ‘sex workers’ by the government. While they do have to pay taxes, they still miss out on benefits that other entrepreneurs do receive.
