Monday, May 27, 2013

Toybag Guide to Playing With Taboo, by Mollena Williams

Description from Amazon.com:

For those turned on to giving or receiving power, the hottest fantasies are often those that are the least acceptable -- those that mirror historical oppression (Nazism, plantation slavery), crime (incest, ageplay, rape), and other "unacceptable" behaviors. Because these fantasies are deeply charged, they are among the riskiest and most challenging to enact. Yet it is possible, and often very rewarding, to do so. In this guide, Mollena Williams, a Black woman who enjoys roleplaying racism and slavery with the right person, explains ways to safeguard these difficult scenes to ensure the emotional and physical safety of all concerned. With sections on playing with sexual taboos like age and rape, cultural taboos like race and identity, and physical taboos like scat play, this is a thorough and responsible guide to BDSM's furthest regions.

Amazon lists this title as being available in paperback and Kindle format.  I read it on my Kindle. 

- How kinky?
Very. This is, unsurprisingly given the name, a short guide to playing with the furthest reaches of psychological kink. Many players would call this stuff true edgeplay, as it is truly playing out at the edge of SSC, and firmly within the realm of RACK.

- How sexy?
For me, very, as I have interests in this area. But it is fairly dry so it's mainly my imagination doing the sexualising :)

- How informative?
Somewhat. I expected there to be a lot more information on how to negotiate such scenes, but it turned out mainly to be a guide to what some of the taboo play consists of. Perhaps it comes down to expectations - after all, this is a Toybag Guide, so it's a fairly small and slim volume, as they all are. I suppose I would recommend this short book mainly to those who need an introduction to taboo play, rather than a comprehensive guide or how-to. It really is mostly an explanation of what each listed taboo might entail, and short passages on how to make sure your intentions and those of your partner are sound - vital stuff, but quite broad.

- How engaging?
Not much. As I mentioned, it was fairly dry stuff - That said, it's very short, so it doesn't need to be particularly engaging - I finished it in half an hour.

- How well executed?

Very!  The information that is given is important, to the point, and eloquent.  The vocabulary is wide, but the editing was a slight letdown (words like "you" where it should be "your" just irritate me, so sue me). 

- Overall reaction
I liked it, but was hoping for more information. As an experienced player, I pretty much knew all this stuff. Toybag Guides' claim to popularity is thus:   "... quick reference guides you can drop in your toybag ... Each of these books contains at least as much information as you could get from a full day's workshop on the topic taught by one of the leaders in the scene."  Well, I can say that this particular guide would not be worth dropping in my toybag.  I'd be more likely to read it, make sure my partner reads it, and then stick it on the shelf to wait until someone asks me if I have any info on taboo play.  YMMV.

Three cocks.


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