Tuesday, 09 August 2005 The Inspiration and Challenges of 24/7 Rubber Enclosed People (or 24 Hour REPs!)

Dark, your response was so wide ranging and comprehensive that it makes it a daunting to produce an adequately cogent, structured response…. But here goes nothing… For the others I apologise if we go a little deeper and long winded today, but my normal self gratifying superficial banality will return shortly ;o)

In examining the wearing rubber, there are the practicalities / challenges and then there are the positives aspects and thus inspiration we need to have the driving force to overcome the challenges. We better get some of the challenges out of the way first otherwise the motivations are merely theoretical.

Although interesting in the subject, I don’t feel I can contribute anything fundamental or staggeringly new on challenges of sociology or clothing politics (for want of a better name), partly because I generally only wear my fetish clothing in non-public manner and not for any “scene”, fashion or extroverted reasons.

Nevertheless in response to the assertion “rubber will never be mainstreamed for regular clothes because..” [comfort issues and fetish motives], I will say that “never” is long time! Some very strange things which are either uncomfortable and/or worn for (sometimes oblique, sometime overt) sexual motives have come to become mainstream fashion at one time or other. Things that would have been impractical or unthinkable right up to the time they suddenly became mainstream. At one end of the continuum you have (in the West) ever shorter skirts in the second half of the 20th century right, ever more dangerous high heel shoes, right through to body modification, which is routine and (to western eyes) extreme in some cultures (piercings, feet binding, neck rings). So I accept we are a way from any degree of rubber clothing being acceptable clothing in all situations, but I actually think this may change in time. Since my childhood I have seen it become acceptable for women dress more and more in “men’s clothes”, sporting short “men’s” haircuts and then there was the (near) fetish of the punk fashions that became widespread the late 70s.

How do I feel about it? Well it’s not going to affect my current activities, but yes I think it would be generally a good thing if people were not inhibited by society and able to wear anything that makes them feel good or allows them to express themselves. And, although it’s not what drives me, I think future generations of fetishist will owe the current trailblazers (e.g. Blackie and Latex Lady) a huge debt of gratitude when they feel at ease wearing latex in public.

That said, I do think that you are pretty much spot on in identifying the 3 fundamental aspect (or motivations) in wearing latex : physiological, social and psychological – although in examining the subject it is often difficult to talk about one without the other. For example, the impermeable nature of latex is equally applicable to physiological, social and psychological aspects wearing the material. You could put the argument that, for example, latex’s (often) figure hugging propensity, sensual nature, sexual “practicalities” and overtones all have physiological, social and psychological aspects. This is not to diminish the validity of examining all three aspects.

We all know there are challenges of latex lifestyle. The most obvious are the physical challenges and practicality of being totally sealed in an impermeable material for long periods. If we assume an aim of being as total encased in latex as possible, for extended periods, challenges would include:
- maintaining a safe and comfortable body temperature
- dealing with sudden changes in environmental temperature
- dealing with perspiration
- dealing with condensation (both in suite and on goggles / eye pieces)
- allowing for all the other body excretions
- providing mechanism for required nourishment
- having the desired access to breathable air
- ensuring the total enclosure kit is complete enough (to the desired level of encasement/bondage) while allowing the wearer to pursue any necessary activities.
- Avoid painful pressure sores after long periods.
- Ensuring that the suit does not impede blood flow to extremities while being sufficiently close fitting.
- Dealing with vitamin deficiency due to lack of sun-light on skin.
- Having some strategy to exercise enough to prevent atrophy and maintain a level of physical fitness while either not overheating while in latex or spending too long out of latex while exercising. For me this is the ultimate physical challenge….

A challengingly long list, but, if you take them one at a time, it is not that they are insurmountable; it’s just that they are challenges to be overcome. Some are much more difficult to deal with than others. They could be solved by engineering a way out, which might include throwing money at the problem or might mean a compromise in comfort v endurance v degree of encasement.

How an individual deals with the challenges may depend on the nature of their desire to be encased and on how long they are aiming to spend in latex. I don’t claim to have dealt with them all to the extent of making them all a non-issue in all circumstances, but I am merely on the road to finding successively more effective ways of coping with each challenge as and when I chose to increase the latex to non-latex ratio of my lifestyle (and the degree of my total enclosure).

While some of the challenges require a specific strategy, others require adaptation or familiarisation. For instance, I notice that when I visit very hot climates the locals have acclimatized and are not sweating as profusely as I am (despite common biological ancestry). The same is true in cold climates, at sea, at high altitudes, dry climates… Part of this may be strategy (to quote Coward, in some countries “…only mad dogs and English men go out in the mid day sun…”) but there is also an element of the body adapting to the new norm. It is my contention that, given the right “training”, the human body has the ability to adapt to a degree where it can noticeably perform to increase comfort levels when perusing the goal of a latex lifestyle.

Of course no amount of acclimatisation is going to be enough to overcome all these challenges in all situations. So the question is, are you looking to endure the worst the latex enclosure has to offer to satisfy a submissive desire? For some (like Blackie) the endurance is the motivation and a sweaty challenge is the aim. I can understand this and have sometimes deliberately gone for this and more in making life hell in rubber. But my current aim is to wear rubber for far longer periods than my skin could tolerate being regularly saturated with water and bodily waste, not to mention being uncomfortably hot / cold. I also want to be able to adequately function (e.g. work, play) while wearing latex and the key to this has to be to stay comfortable and (for me) above all stay as dry as physically possible.

So after taking what physical steps I can, my next step has been to adapt my routine behaviour in order to stay within the margins of what is practical with a rubber lifestyle. For me this means modifying my WHOLE lifestyle so that I can use my behaviour to control my metabolism (or my response to rubber encasement) and therefore my body temperature, perspiration and bodily functions. This is ongoing and being refined day by day. Some of it is controversial, others common sense. For example, avoiding some foodstuffs and stimulants that contain ingredients that increase your rate of perspiration, excretions, urination and general metabolism. Even the actual moment I chose to first get into latex is critical (time of day and what I was doing beforehand).

However, the most fundamental impact of a latex lifestyle is the pattern of behaviour that I find sustainable once in latex. On the positive side there are lots of things that I spend the bulk of my life doing that are totally possible while in latex TE, even if not quite as easy as when in vanilla. Much of my work is quite possible (basically thinking, using a computer, talking on the phone) and the bits that are not possible are mainly to do with how clients and fellow workers (society) would react to me where I to visit site in latex TE! Most other housebound activities are totally possible, including sleeping, eating, listening to music, reading and of course sex... And if this were all that I wanted to do, I am sure I would already be on course for 24/7 latex lifestyle…

And this is were it gets difficult for most of us. A decade ago I think I would have been more than willing to give up virtually all outside activities to achieve a latex lifestyle, if I had only had the courage, dedication and knowledge needed to attempt what everyone said was an impossible dream… Now I find that despite my best efforts (!) I have accumulated some of the usual vanilla interests and attachments that give me an extensive set of reasons to want to be out travelling, socialising or playing (backpacking, photography, and sailing). These activities are (often) impractical while in latex TE for either social or physical reasons.

So, my latex lifestyle is about dealing with the physical difficulties, finding the right balance, making sacrifices and taking control. If you are serious about a latex lifestyle you first need to think about how you are going to sustain yourself financially such that you get the opportunity to wear latex most/all the time. If you have an independent means or have a partner who will support you, that’s ideal! For the rest of us, you really have to take control of your career to give you the latex lifestyle and living standard you want. I am (currently) lucky as I took the necessary risks to become freelance long ago and now work mainly from home. Others will have to make their own tough decisions which make take years to accomplish. There is little I can do about the time the customer requires me to spend working on site, but the rest of my life is about the hard sacrifices I chose to make. I find that I cannot spend 24/7/365 days in latex and have great social, family and outdoor life (maybe others can). But given that I am truly dedicated to latex, I can endeavour to find the mix that gives me the least possible time out of latex while staying sane and happy.

To achieve a latex lifestyle I therefore now hit the biggest challenges. The physical stuff is almost the easiest to deal with – you just need to come up with a technique or strategy to deal with it. Ultimately, if you can’t do 23/7 everyday, do 20/7 - whatever the limitation, just find the limit and go for the max that is achievable. One day, one day off, Three days on, two off – whatever. But for me, when I have spent 48 to 72 hours continuously in rubber, it is often not my physical condition that makes me want to strip off but that I want / need to go achieve something out in the real world that would be impossible while dressed in rubber.

Just before I move on, Dark says “People such as LadyII, whose circumstances might allow this could attempt it...99.9999% of the rest of us it is impossible.”. I find it interesting that you accept that a lifestyle like is 100% achievable (I hope everyone is OK for me to round to 3 decimal places ;o) ) – many ruberists not only do not believe her, but think the whole idea of 24/7 is “impossible”. (Incidentally, I find the term 23/7 to be splitting hairs when you examine LadyII protocols). I have no idea if she is for real (and have no idea of how anyone could categorically prove it to my satisfaction) but am convinced from her writing and my experiences that a rubber lifestyle technically possible if very, very difficult. If she is for real, then she has shown unbelievable dedication as a submissive and rubberist. In fact if she cheated one whole day once a month, it would still be massively impressive to me.

I hope she is for real, and, while keeping an open mind, I actually chose to believe there is much more than an element of truth in here story, mainly as I can think of no motive for her to deceive that seems compatible with what we have grown to know of her character. If I was in her position I know the biggest challenge would be the social isolation – but we are told she has a constant companion, a very organised fetish master, a rubberist son and a circle of fetish and s/m oriented friends that they meets up with. Well if all that was true, the biggest physiological challenge (the “latex isolation” effect) wouldn’t be such an issue and suddenly the whole thing becomes believable to me.

Now for the motivation…. You certainly need a strong motive to find the necessary inspiration to even attempt a latex lifestyle.

Dark invented a term “platonic notion of enclosure...” - which sounds fascinating and would like to here more about…. I wonder if this is this linked to the transition from (instant) sexual gratification to the sensual experience that 24/7 REPs have reported?

To go into all the reasons for “the psychological need to enclose in rubber” now would make this already long entry unbearably long, but can agree there is probably lots of reasons for lots of people. Some that are less strong in me are the social counter culture stuff or (I think) a direct need to be perverse. I am not into this for peer approval (although not being alone does help!). Dark also mentions sexual need, sensual need and these seem more applicable to me.

I have one further (rather ill defined) theory to put forward. Motivations for some people to have alternative lifestyles, appearances, sexual behaviour (as well as physiological disorders!) is in some part due to a specific strong personal identify or body image issue that may be at odds with reality. How this stuff gets into your head I cannot say, but maybe some of us have a strong image of themselves that includes a latex covering. Being in a non-latex state would cause an unpleasing mismatch between the personal self image and reality. As for what aspect of the (idealized) self image would be missing, for some it might be the shiny appearance, the figure hugging appearance, the flattering/firming “hand” of skin tight rubber on the form, the sensual feel, the perverse mode, the loss of human identity, the objectification, the idea of being hermetically sealed, the feeling of being “the other”, the overtly kinky sexual association, the breath control associations of masks or even just the smell! For me I think it is all these thing in different measures and something more. My fetish really does include the love of what is obviously (to everyone else) an inanimate object. Some people have worshiped trees, rocks or fellows. This Looney is dedicated to the latex that gives me so much back and spending long periods in TE involves dedication and me making some sacrifices. All disturbingly common human behaviour patterns maybe...

Now the footnotes…

BTW – the powerful desire to strip off latex after sexual climax seems to be very common, but I can report that it is also eminently curable! I used to get around this by being physically locking in with no access to the key (!), but Latex Lady & others gave me the necessary encouragement and hints on how to overcome this and now I often don’t even get a slightest impulse to de-rubber. Overcoming this impulse really is possible – assuming you have at least the slightest interest in seeing what happens if you stay rubberier for a few hours longer….

BTW2 - One thing I didn’t deal with was the comment “and train your psyche to deal with the social issues.”… That’s because this is still work in progress for me!

Sealed