A Philosophy of Bondage

by Nob
- do not use without the author's permission.

There is no doubt that both males and females have an interest in sex. If this were not so, we would not be here. If only females were so interested, the population would die out within a generation. If only males were interested, population could be sustained only by rape - not something that would be conducive to the male-female pairs generally needed to care for children.

But the situation is more complicated, for in the very nature of things the male must be aroused before sex can take place (and seduction is not the equivalent of female rape, for she has aroused him, not taken him by force). Thus the female knows instinctively that she is the subordinate, that her sexual needs will go unfulfilled in the face of male indifference. One suspects that deep within many females is the desire to have this subordination made real, thus relieving her of the anxieties that accompany uncertainty about the male's interest in her. It is here that her need for the male's actual physical dominance gives rise to her often-suppressed interest in physical restraint as evidence of his superiority - his use of force as an expression of mastery and control.

Bondage is thus an important demonstration of the male's superiority. Whether the female accepts this immediately, or only after she has had some solid experience with it, bondage comes to satisfy this basic need. The possibility of sex is always present, as is the possibility of pain (which above all else deepens the sense of subordination).

But the infliction of pain simply for the purpose of pain on someone who is helpless to escape it - torture - has no place in B&D. Instead, B&D attracts those who both enjoy the sense of being dominated and those who find pleasure in inducing these feelings in someone else, almost always a female. It is here that we begin our inquiry.

The physical restraint of movement becomes meaningless if this is all that is involved. Obedience to the male's orders is just as important, which means that some activity is required. Yet what are the possibilities if the female is severely hampered in her ability to obey his commands?

The imposition of a tantalizing mixture of arousal and humiliation, naturally associated with subordination, is suffered by those who are forced to undertake some activity by another, especially when she is seriously hampered in its performance by the very person who demands it. For example, in many parts of the world rickshaw drivers willingly take on this hard work in return for money. But when there is no reward forthcoming, and the obvious purpose of the activity is to elicit the sensation of forced subordination, this is bondage and discipline in its purest form.

Obviously, bondage implies the restriction of physical movement, whether it be minor or so severe as prevent any movement at all. In the latter case, simply the inability to move can be perversely enjoyable. More often, however, it is the humiliation and often the pain that is important - the laborious performance of a chore that would otherwise be relatively easy and undemanding. Service as a ponygirl is perhaps the epitome of this condition, since it exhibits the female's servitude and at the same time uses her in a manner that is both useful and degrading. The fact that it also displays her charms simply adds to the pleasure of both parties.

Service as a serving girl in chains, or as a maid who must sweep and dust while hobbled and limited in the use of her hands, is one form of such subordination, but these activities are not usually on display and do not often involve creative restraint. Being treated as a pony, however, and forced to undertake a pony's duties, seems much more effective in making unmistakable the public nature of the relationship between victim and master.

One may thus applaud Sir Jeff for his deep appreciation of the importance of ponygirl bondage art and literature. It offers a broad latitude for variation in details, ranging from how the female is introduced to such subordination to the specific details of just how she is restrained. The story can be located in any country or time period. The type and frequency of sexual arousal and/or fulfillment is also open to many variations, as are the types, methods, and frequency of the administration of pain.

To be sure, there are plenty of attractive alternatives to ponygirl servitude, but the popularity of this particular form of B&D cannot be denied. Surely, there will be more and more ways to frame this topic, and they will be found with Sir Jeff.