Posted by figleaf
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Thu, 2008-01-24 21:01
So in comments the other day, Kochanie said of my comparison of skiing and BDSM
Your very thoughtful post prompts me to pose this question:
What do a fourteenth century Christian self-flagellant, a mountain climber and a BDSM practitioner have in common?Answer: Each one uses his/her body to get to a “higher place.”
Continuing my inquiry into BDSM-ish themes is it an oxymoron to say “a subspace high?”
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-24 21:15.
Yeah it is. You likely know that subspace is a trance state, generally experienced as ecstatic. It feels like a high to most of us who are active kinksters.
[Just to be clear, it's the words I think are oxymoronic, not the sensation or the motivation for that kind of play. Thanks, Greenwoman. --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Thu, 2008-01-24 21:27.
Not an oxymoron at all. Although I wouldn't say "a higher place" so much as just "another place." It's a way to forget your mind and force yourself into the here and now with your body--whether that's "high" or not I'm not sure but it's certainly an altered state.
[Yeah, "other" probably is a lot more accurate, Holly. The first book that really changed my thinking about it, Murray's "Smut" (see sidebar) distinguished horniness as a separate way to experience reality, and I think by extension he'd have put subspace even further into that other experience. --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Fri, 2008-01-25 02:21.
Do you really want to go into word definitions? I doubt it :) I would say that it seems to be an oxymoron except for the fact that subspace used by BDSM doesn't appear to be using "sub" to indicate secondary or subsidiary, more as substitute or alternate. So you are saying alternate space high and therefore it isn't an oxymoron at all. QED.
[True, A, I didn't want to go into definitions as much as play around. Technically though I'm pretty sure "subspace" is short for the euphoric head space submissives/bottoms get into when they're being dominated and/or topped. So the idea of a bottom getting high seemed like a fun juxtapostion and... and... oooh am I ever overexplaining! :-) --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Fri, 2008-01-25 10:00.
I think the "sub" in "subspace" is generally short for "submissive." It's not an oxymoron at all. Subspace isn't experienced exactly the same way by everyone, but it's definitely a high for a lot of people.
[Agreed, DY. Thanks. --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Fri, 2008-01-25 12:08.
I wondered if it could be called "surspace" instead, thus the prefix matching the "high"... But then I realised, surely "Sirspace" is what the Dominant experiences?
[Well, there's certainly a space that tops go as well that might or might not be the opposite of subspace -- sort of this intent, intense focus on what's happening. Very cool experience. Matisse might disagree with calling it "sirspace" though, SE. :-) A couple years ago Chelsea Girl talked about it as, I think, a form of nirvana, and I thought that worked pretty well either way. --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Fri, 2008-01-25 17:21.
Hey figleaf, your feed appears to keep changing its URL. I'll be subscribed and getting your posts for a few weeks, and then I'll notice your blog has become suspiciously quiet. Until I check the actual blog, and there are plenty of posts there. And then I update the subscription. What's going on?
[Not sure what that's about, Amber. The XML files seem to update anytime I add a new post, but you're not the first person to mention this either. I'm sort of wondering if it's got anything to do with date errors I might have introduced while hand-rolling the feeds while I was transitioning to a new server? It might be that your feed *thinks* it's up to date because my previous dates were somehow off. --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Sat, 2008-01-26 02:13.
Kochanie is brilliant. I love that woman.
I saw the flip between here and the blogger account. Glad you're back. Love this layout.
[Always nice to hear from you too, DX. Kochanie's great isn't she? --fl]
Submitted by 1895 (not verified) on Mon, 2008-02-04 19:13.
Thank you, DX. Feels good to be loved. ;-)