Just like in any sexual practice, bdsm
players can have both straight, homosexual, bisexual and pansexual
orientation, that is why a separate niche in the bdsm subculture is
taken by gay bdsm
and lesbian bdsm communities. Basic bdsm
concepts
in such communities remain the same, with role-division between
partners into dominating, submissive, passive and active followers, as
well as switches.
A prominent lesbian bdsm organization in San Francisco that existed for
about 5 years starting from 1978 was called Samois.
It evolved from the mix-gender bdsm community, the Society of Janus and
was the first official lesbian bdsm group.
Some of the famous members of Samois included the writer Pat Califia
and scientist Gayle Rubin. This lesbian bdsm society was probably as
important for female
homosexual bdsm practitioners as the Old Guard and the New guard clubs
for gays. However, it saw bitter confrontation with another feminist
organization, WAVPM (Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media),
which was known in history as the Feminist Sex Wars or Porn Wars.
The book|"Coming to Power: Writing and graphics on Lesbian S/M"
published by the Samois in 1981 became the ABC for lesbian bdsm
followers, and its style of combining fiction stories with photography,
drawings and technical advice was later taken as a model for numerous
subsequent books on related topics. The Samois had many followers and
so after this lesbian bdsm community broke up in 1983, there appeared
analogous groups, including the Outcasts, the Exiles and the Briar
Rose. Today, lesbian bdsm practitioners can find new partners and share
experiences with the help of pansexual bdsm communities and cafes or exclusively
lesbian bdsm clubs that exist both in real life and virtual space.
Sex shops offer an assortment of lesbian bdsm toys
for all kinds of role-play, including vibrators, dildos, harnesses,
flogging tools, bondage gear, sexual lingerie, etc. Such bdsm devices
as clitoris and nipple rings and labia clamps are also popular lesbian
bdsm toys.
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