Chastity belt (BDSM)

Antique chastity belt, complete with waistbelt and padlock. From the Wellcome Collection

Chastity belts are a type of chastity device used in BDSM as part of the practice of orgasm denial, to prevent the wearer from engaging in certain types of sexual activity without the permission of the dominant, who acts as the "keyholder", possessing the key that unlocks the chastity belt. Without access to the key, the wearer usually cannot take off the chastity belt or device.

Chastity belts and devices prevent sexual intercourse, masturbation and oral sex involving the wearer's genitals. There are designs suitable for both men and women. Chastity belts may be worn during a session of BDSM play, for a limited period or as a long-term arrangement. Users who choose to wear a chastity device often have a chastity fetish, and therefore enjoy the experience of being in chastity.

Within the BDSM community, the month of October, also known as "Locktober", is an annual challenge in which people with a chastity fetish try to stay in chastity for the entire month.[1]

Purpose

The wearer of the belt is usually regarded as the submissive in a BDSM relationship. This is a part of the wider practice of orgasm denial.[2] It has often been reported that when worn, the chastity belt frequently evokes sexual frustration in the wearer, which the wearer may find erotic and exciting.[3]

Male chastity belts

Modern chastity belts for men generally follow the traditional "Florentine" pattern (named after the historical reference to chastity belts in Florence in the 15th century military manual Bellifortis), with a band around the waist or hips and a "shield" that runs between the legs to cover the genitals.

Female chastity belts

Chastity belts of the so-called Florentine type also exist for women. As in the standard Florentine design, a circular horizontal band encircles the waist and a shield is attached to the front of the waist belt. The shield extends downwards to cover the genital areas of the wearer and is attached to the back of the waist belt.

Male chastity cages

A popular type of chastity device for males is commonly referred to as a chastity cage, penis cage, or chastity tube. They are almost exclusively used as a sex toy and in BDSM play,[4] and may enclose the penis in order to make an erection uncomfortable or impossible if the wearer becomes sexually aroused, and prevent sexual intercourse, masturbation, oral sex involving the wearer's genitals and some other forms of sexual activity.[5]

Safety

Penile strangulation, as a result of not being able to remove any kind of device placed around the penis, has occurred in a wide spectrum of age groups, so care must be taken to avoid constriction with a chastity belt.[6] In 2008, an incident was reported of a man having to be cut free from a titanium chastity device after losing the keys, due to pressure on the genitals.[7]

Manufacture

Most modern chastity belt designs are descended from Hal Higginbottom's designs from 1956.[8] Sometimes modern Florentine-style belts are described as "Tollyboy-style" or "Tollyboy-type" belts as references to his company's original design.

Human anatomy varies very widely from person to person and steel belts intended for long-term use are bespoke (custom-made) items.

In 1969, Time magazine[9] and various newspapers in 1978[10] ran stories about David Renwick, a British chastity belt maker who claimed to have a thriving business making belts for a worldwide clientele.

In 1971, the Hugessen firm of Halstead, Essex, that made chastity belts, won tax exempt status on the basis that their products were birth control devices.[11][12][13] In 1974, a story was widely published in magazines[14] and newspapers[15] about the firm's bankruptcy.

A.L. Enterprises, of Las Vegas, US, that sells the CB series of plastic chastity cages, was started by Doris and Frank Miller in the 2000.[3]

Although no reliable statistics are available on the use of chastity belts, anecdotal reports from manufacturers suggest that most belts sold in Europe and the U.S. are for women, and that of the male belts ordered, relatively few are used as rape prevention devices.[16]

Erotica

Chastity belts have made appearances in erotica. Esar Levine's 1931[17] Chastity Belts: An Illustrated History of the Bridling of Women compiled erotica of men in chastity belts, with commentary.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kelleher, Patrick (22 October 2021). "Meet the kink enthusiasts locking up their penises for Locktober". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Hsieh, Carina (13 June 2018). "8 Things You Need to Know About Orgasm Denial". Cosmopolitan. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 Egan, Danielle (17 August 2005). "Lock-Up: Chastity Belts Are on the 'Incline'". The Tyee. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Emling, Shelley (13 May 2001). "A lock on love". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  5. ↑ Seth Abramovitch (29 June 2018). "Death in a Hollywood Sex Dungeon: How a Top Agency Executive's "Mummification" Ritual Ended in Tragedy". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018. A chastity cage is a device which locks around a flaccid penis, preventing erections; only the master holds the key to unlock it, giving him control over when the wearer can get an erection
  6. ↑ Silberstein J, Grabowski J, Lakin C, Goldstein I (July 2008). "Penile constriction devices: case report, review of the literature, and recommendations for extrication". The Journal of Sexual Medicine. 5 (7): 1747–57. doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.00848.x. PMID 18507720.
  7. ↑ "Man cut free from 'S&M' chastity belt by firemen (From Your Local Guardian)". Yourlocalguardian.co.uk. 6 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Barton, Laura (12 February 2004). "Chastity begins at home". The Guardian.
  9. ↑ "Antiques: Iron Belt". Time. 30 May 1969. Archived from the original on 21 May 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Chastity belt maker does lots of business". Montreal Gazette. 1 June 1978. p. 40. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Classen, Albrecht (2007). The medieval chastity belt: a myth-making process. Macmillan. pp. 179–180. ISBN 978-1-4039-7558-4.
  12. ↑ "Swingtime in England". The Bulletin. 7 April 1973. p. 48. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Robin Hugessen (left) chastity belt manufacturer, and (right) Mr. Bob Nicholson, leather craftsman, with chastity belt". Getty Images. 19 November 1971. Archived from the original on 3 January 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Chastity Belt Firm in London Falls To Creditors". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 25 July 1974. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  15. ↑ "Worlds Only Chastity Belt Firm Folds". St Petersburg Times. 28 June 1974. p. 7-A. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Keefe, Jenny (13 June 2004). "Getting Medieval". Sheffield Base.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ↑ "James Cummins Bookseller". Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  18. ↑ Slade, Joseph W. (2001). Pornography and Sexual Representation: A Reference Guide. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 416. ISBN 9780313315206.
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