![Kneeling on a mattress, a naked young man is tied with his arms behind his back. His mouth is gagged, stuffed with fabric (presumably clothing of some sort) as he raises his head.
I instantly liked this photograph for a few simple reasons. The relatively good rope bondage, something that’s aggravatingly horrendous in most pictures of bound men, helps it stand out. I also like the spartan nature of the room he’s in, which offers certain suggestions for potential fantasies. But more than that, I like this man’s upwards glance and how almost-but-not-quite prepared he seems for whatever is about to happen.
His is a look not of certainty, but readiness, not of mastery, but willingness, not of being unafraid, but of being courageous. In my experience, submission is not solely about the control of others over me, but about my own self-control. Willingly and eagerly challenging myself to do things a dominant partner wants me to do because it is what they desire is how I’ve come to define the line between being submissive to someone and being bullied by someone.
This is why I so heartily approve of American sexologist Dr. William Henkin’s words about submission:
Submission can actually engender power: realizing that you have something to give, and that you are capable of mastering your own will to give it up the way your top wants it instead of the way you think [they] should want it, can inspire pride: not the false pride of an inflated ego, but the true pride that, like humility, comes from knowing the depths of your self.
Some people will say such pride is a sin. I think the real sin is shame and self-subjugation under the guise of superior morality. For in the end, to be authentically prideful, you must first be able to know yourself, your desires, and successfully communicate them to others, and I refuse to be branded a sinner for that.
-maymay
mostlystraight:
derekisme:
nakedpeople:
gaysexnearby:
So try and get away, then.](https://web.archive.org/web/20160314121723im_/http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx32h8sQ081qzs83zo1_r3_500.jpg)
Kneeling on a mattress, a naked young man is tied with his arms behind his back. His mouth is gagged, stuffed with fabric (presumably clothing of some sort) as he raises his head.
I instantly liked this photograph for a few simple reasons. The relatively good rope bondage, something that’s aggravatingly horrendous in most pictures of bound men, helps it stand out. I also like the spartan nature of the room he’s in, which offers certain suggestions for potential fantasies. But more than that, I like this man’s upwards glance and how almost-but-not-quite prepared he seems for whatever is about to happen.
His is a look not of certainty, but readiness, not of mastery, but willingness, not of being unafraid, but of being courageous. In my experience, submission is not solely about the control of others over me, but about my own self-control. Willingly and eagerly challenging myself to do things a dominant partner wants me to do because it is what they desire is how I’ve come to define the line between being submissive to someone and being bullied by someone.
This is why I so heartily approve of American sexologist Dr. William Henkin’s words about submission:
Submission can actually engender power: realizing that you have something to give, and that you are capable of mastering your own will to give it up the way your top wants it instead of the way you think [they] should want it, can inspire pride: not the false pride of an inflated ego, but the true pride that, like humility, comes from knowing the depths of your self.
Some people will say such pride is a sin. I think the real sin is shame and self-subjugation under the guise of superior morality. For in the end, to be authentically prideful, you must first be able to know yourself, your desires, and successfully communicate them to others, and I refuse to be branded a sinner for that.
So try and get away, then.