You can always rely on Dark for some detailed comments – thank u! Not going to address every point, partly as the entry stands on its merit and partly because I feel out cultured by the ballet references… But having said that it does raise some interesting points regarding the Platonic ideal I carry in my head for my self image based on my fetish.
A quick note on the phrase “Platonic Ideal” Dark uses, as I see there is a great risk of readers getting the wrong impression here. I believe Dark is specifically NOT talking about some sort of Platonic love (love without carnal desires), but a philosophy of attempting to capture the essence of a pure form / concept. i.e. Perfection. The essence of a wheel is a perfect geometric circle. The essence of my perfect form may be a sleek, rubber enclosed person … bla bla… You get the picture.
I did find it interesting to realise that a person’s pursuit of the Platonic Ideal does seem to usually require dedication / hard work / compromise / sacrifice / discomfort in most endeavours and not just my own - being a totally sealed rubber enclosed person. It also seems to often involve some additional voluntary compromise to subdue the ideal in order to integrate into some social contexts – as in: a ballet dancer may decide to refrain from pirouetting in their tights during a funeral service at the risk of being thought to be showing off their Platonic Ideal package! Of course, no body could stop him from turning up in his prancing outfit – although they may try discouraging him if forewarned.
I must admit to being a little shocked by Darks comment that 2nd skin fetishist ‘…could only be tolerated in very minor doses before "laws" were enacted against it.’. Laws? My goodness, do we really live in societies that are so intolerant as to criminalise a particular mode of dress, just because of a sexual overtone or dehumanisation effect? Surely we are living in a society where we are progressing towards tolerance and that things that would have been totally unacceptable for (say) any women to wear 50 years ago (too explicit) are now the basis for all ladies summer fashion? Do you not live in the land of the free!!! Hmmm… I just looked out the window and remembered the latest rant I heard from the far right… and I am starting to think that Dark may have a point...
On another topic, the idea that my fetish ideal requires another to view my in that image does not ring true for me, I have to say. I accept it does for Dark and others – even if it is a theoretical other person. I am NOT saying that I do not want / have sex with others. I am saying that my fetish is not contingent on another’s perception or interaction, even if their participation would be welcome. Primarily, my fetish (Fetish~=fixation on an inanimate object who’s presence is necessary for sexual gratification) is my desire (love?) of the rubber second skin, which ideally should be fully enclosing MY body and/or secondarily, another person’s body. My fetish dreamscape may typically involve other(s) similarly totally enclosed to myself – but it is not contingent on it, even if their presence only facilitates an enhanced experience.
I like to sail, drive and act out my fetish with the company of another. I can do all these on my own without invalidating the essence of what I am doing. I have chosen to live with my partner – but this unrelated to my fetish, which was at least as strong, vibrant and important to me when single and not dating.
For a while I thought I may be alone in this attitude, but as you have probably guessed, have found others via the internet with even more polarized positions than myself. A local fetishist comes to mind, who it seems has absolutely no sexual desires or even preferences for other people – but loves his fetish and does not mind being social with others. To be honest – I am still trying to get my head round this mind set, but accept that it is very real to them and very revealing of my own…
BTW – Work place total enclosure may not be possible for everyone – but it is a reality for me for at least some of the time. As some will recall from last year, up till the end of November, you could have counted the number of days I worked in anything other than “near-TE” on your fingers (Near TE as I chose to remove my mask for some phone conferences). This was obviously not because I braved the work place fully suited up, but because I mainly worked from home. I guess us home workers are very lucky – but then again home working is a growing trend for those whose work can take advantage of new technology.
Yes there is a lot of de-humanisation involved in my chosen mode, with the lack of facial signals etc. You do end up being judged by your words and actions rather than facial expression. It’s not as bad as being on the end of a phone – but more effort is needed to communicate, unless you are wearing a very clear mask.
Biological issues are just physical (plumbing) problems waiting to be overcome – and only solutions which enhance your existence need be adopted, as the degree of totality of the enclosed lifestyle can be adjusted by the individual to suit their limits and preferences. It puts me in mind of all the “artificial” technological solutions many western people take for granted, which provide for better sanitation / hygiene / comfort / warmth. I don’t think that a woman is totally “inhuman” just because she may be wearing tampons, coil, sanitary pads, eye glasses, cycling helmet, pacemaker, implants, piercings, painted nails, wrist watch, antiperspirant, toothpaste, hair colour, makeup, roller blades, skis, ipod or mobile cell phone (although I may suspect her judgement if she tries using all these things while cycling). One of my relatives had bowel surgery resulting in them needing a permanent colostomy – but they are still human, but found a technical plumbing solution to their biological needs. Yep, I know some will argue about the fact that many of these things are not a matter of choice – but I chose the enclosed lifestyle and the plumbing issues are just the consequence, not the objective, and I chose to make the best of them. Most of us westerners who work in offices in close proximity with others would choose to pollute their bodies with volatile chemicals to hide their odor and make the best of it – just different ends of a continuum perhaps.
But I think we always expect their to be some sacrifices and a lot of compromises involved in pursuing any Platonic Ideal. The question for the individual is, does the benefits outweigh the personal cost and dedication required to be aiming for that ideal. The occasional day of being terribly cold may be a price you have to be prepared to take to be able to sail in some of the most beautiful waters. Occasionally getting to too hot, bouts of profuse perspiration and thus being water logged in my rubber skin for the rest of the day is one of the discomforts I find I am prepared to put up with.
At the moment, I am finding I have found a very good level of attainment towards my ideal at a personal cost I find I can take and am willing to afford. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than to be in my rubber skin for the majority of the time. And that is my own personal benchmark – the majority of my time in my rubber skin and my goals are to continue to engineer the rest of my life and work to support the aim of sustaining a (largely) rubbery lifestyle.
To want anything else, now seems incredible to me. As a rubber enclosed person I am comfortable, feel safe and am also more sensual. I look more like my “ideal” self in the mirror and spend much of my time feeling very much more sexually stimulated. There is much less dichotomy between sexual and non-sexual activities in my life as I carry my perfect bedroom scene around with me all the time – and this make me feel more vital, alive and yes, more human – or at least more animal. Yes, it is frequently exhausting and often quite uncomfortable to be 3 strokes away from orgasm much of the day, every day of every week, while trying to achieve non-sexual objectives – but it should be no surprise that it is “addictive” (in the loosest sense of the word).
I know many/most fetishist require more variation in their existence and even I feel the same craving sometimes as I force myself to change into my clean suit. But I discovered, almost be accident, that before long I never regret actually having got into my rubber skin, even if I strongly craved being uncovered when I was first getting dressed. This discovery was after dedicating a month to compelling myself to wearing rubber each day all day - just for an experiment to see what happened.
Over time I discovered that if I was going to want to wear rubber total enclosure for long periods frequently, then there were advantages in trying to minimise the amount of time I ever spent not in rubber (at least from the neck down if not TE).This would overcome the negative aspects of re-acclimatisation and overestimation. It also means I have an easy framework for the daily indecision on question of “should I get into rubber today, when and for how long? Am I in the mood?” – where the question becomes Q1 “Is there any specific reason I could not get into my rubber skin right now?” and Q2 “When would I need to strip and change into non rubber?”.
Once in that state there seemed to be no way back for me and I am now looking forward to a time in a few weeks when the answer will always be “no” to Q1, every single day and “not any time soon” to Q2! Until then, I must take what opportunity I can through the week and suffer the effects of withdrawal and re-acclimatisation – exhausting but still fun….
Sealed
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