BDSM of the Senses
Originally posted to Adult BackWash.com: Friday January 31, 2003
When I'm writing, especially erotica, I try to include appeals to all the five senses. In case yours are a bit rusty: touch, taste, smell, sight and sound.
Why shouldn't it be the same in real play? Have you thought of ways you could make things more sensual by working on an extra sense, usually ignored? The sense of smell is one which gets ignored in writing erotica. I think it's also least likely to be thought of while making lust too. Probably a close second to sound.
What would happen if you both were blindfolded and under instructions not to touch each other. Could you find each other in the room? (Assuming that you started in different places of course). Would body heat and the odd whisper of sound be enough? It would be an interesting game, sort of the adult version of blind man's bluff. Maybe it wouldn't be all that interesting. Some people would get bored, some would laugh and others might turn it into a feast of the senses. It's just an idea.
But, I wonder, how would sex be without any sense of smell or sound? Even if those aren't put into play a lot I think they do give the whole thing a finesse. That little something needed to pull the whole thing together. Could you make love, have sex, tease or torment your lover without enjoying the sounds and smells? Remember, little things mean a lot.
The other senses are easy. Sight is a big one for men. For women, or me at least, I find touch is more important. Maybe that's because we don't feel it's real until we really FEEL it's real. Is that what lets men get turned on by naughty pictures that don't do all that much for women? Taste is taken care of, unless you're the straight missionary position, no fuss no muss type. How can you not want to taste your lover? A bite here and a nibble there. That's what love is for.
