Gitmo for the Fun of It
» Commentary
Some folks into S&M confessed to be inspired by Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib when those sordid places first appeared in the news. Nothing to be surprised by. Most of with sadomasochistic inclinations have some pretty dark fantasies. Thankfully we can distinguishable between fun ideas and possible practices.
A sign of the times, the course list also included “Interrogation and Torture Techniques.” The class, which outlined how to fetishize Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, was taught by an instructor with a military background. The core idea of torture play is to integrate topical imagery as a trigger to boost fear and stimulate endorphins.
“When we’re using those references, it’s to provoke a reaction,” says Susan Wright, founder of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and an author whose latest novel is titled “A Pound of Flesh.”
“Anybody who protests us should ask themselves why they are not protesting the reality of torturing prisoners. We’re consenting adults. We might get in a pool with each other and waterboard somebody, but the person can say, ‘No, I don’t like this.’ They have a safeword.” (Prearranged “safewords” are established as a stop signal.)
For some, Gitmo interrogation techniques are a real turn-on