Tom Taylor - Fet. Fetish and Kink Photography

fet

Fetish & Kink Photography

Tom Taylor

___________________________

fet Fetish & Kink Photography

Copyright 2020 by Tom Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

ISBN (978-0-578-76785-7)

Printed in USA by IngramSpark (www.IngramSpark.com)

First Edition

www.tomtaylorphotography.com

DEDICATION

To Dad and Rod. I wish you were both here to see this.

FOREWORD

Certain souls may seem harsh to others, but it is just a way, beknownst only to them, of caring and feeling more deeply. Marquis de Sade

Marquis de Sade, the 18th century French philosopher and libertine, was vilified for his literary works depicting sexual scenes of pain, bondage, and fetishes. The only boundary was his own imagination, and he openly advocated for sexual freedom. While Sades efforts garnered him more than three decades in various prisons and asylums, he left us with the term sadism, erotic literature to both titillate the mind and color the cheeks, and a legacy for other erotic artists to carry forward.

As time continued, the combination of pain and sex did as well, organizing into like-minded couples, groups, and communities with their own acronym: BDSM (Bondage & Discipline/Dominance & submission/ Sadism & masochism). It has been a long, slow emergence into open, mainstream society for BDSM, or kink. Organizations for kinky people began forming in the 1970s, and the subject crept into the occasional movie through the 80s and 90s.

However, everything turned on a dime in 2011 with the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, the fictional account of a relationship with some kinky elements. The 2012 release of the latter two parts of the trilogy only increased the publics interest in how this mysterious thing called BDSM works. We, as a society, are now at a point where it is commonplace to hear of spanking, handcuffs, and other lightly kinky activities in non-BDSM relationships. The younger generations accept this as part of normative sexuality.

As a therapist specializing in kinky relationships and power dynamics, I have been thrilled to see the shift in how BDSM is perceived, the shift to acceptance. However, despite this, I continued to see patients hesitation as they came into my office. I recognized their look: the fear of being judged. What would happen once they be- gan talking about their sexual preferences, fetishes, kinks, and darkest desires? Would I cringe? Think they were crazy? Decide even I, a sex therapist and seasoned clinician, could not handle them and refer them to someone else? Reject them?

Fortune smiled on me. My friend, Tom Taylor, gifted me with one of his photographs. My favorite, in fact - lovely picture of a masked woman with a ballgag in her mouth, spit slowly dripping from the gag. I placed it in my office, a sign to my patients, new and old, of support, understanding, and solidarity. The impact has been tremendous. Established patients enjoyed the addition to my office. New patients are noticeably at ease. All pa- tients comment positively on it. Most make the comment, I can tell Im in the right place. Yes, indeed, you are.

A photograph can have this effect on us. It can make us comfortable, uneasy, fill us with joy, sadden us, turn us on, or a thousand other emotions. As you look through these photographs, allow those emotions to come and embrace them. Tom is able to capture many unique aspects of beautiful, raw, kinky sexuality. Sade would be proud.

Kandice H. van Beerschoten, PhD, LCSW

INTRODUCTION

Through many years of photography, I mainly considered myself a photojournalist. I held jobs in the past as a photojournalist, and that seemed to suit me well. I subscribed to the legendary photographer Henri Carti- er-Bressons decisive moment concept. Cartier-Bresson believed the perfect moment that defined an event was fleeting, and the photographer should strive to capture it. Whether I was the Sports Editor and Photographer at a newspaper, a wedding photographer, photographing kids at a daycare facility, middle school proms, local and national musical acts, or exploring my tiny hometown with camera in hand, I was a photojournalist, and always chasing the decisive moment. I documented the world around me, and documented what others had to say. Perhaps I had nothing to say, myself. Or, perhaps, I didnt know how to say it. But, I always seemed to document, through pictures or words, what everyone else was doing.

At some point, I think I began using photography to say what I actually wanted to say. I began using photo- graphs as my words. I started using the emotions of my subjects to express myself. Somehow, saying my own words out loud left me vulnerable. Documenting emotions, personalities, and situations, however, was safer for me.

Growing up in a conservative rural area in eastern NC was stifling. Im not sure I was conscious of this at an early age. However, I was always very aware of the societal norms surrounding me. Eventually, those norms felt like a cage. Breaking free of that cage was a slow process. Actually, it still is a slow process. All these years later, I sometimes feel Im still trying to escape. There were several steps I took over the years that helped propel me fur- ther from the confines of my early life. Whether it was the four years I published my own entertainment magazine, the physical move from the NC coast to Raleigh, or owning a live music venue for seven years, each event and the ensuing experiences and people I met along the way helped pull me out of that cage a little more. This book is the next step.

Twenty years ago, this book absolutely could have been made. Im not breaking new ground with a book of BDSM photographs. But, years ago, I didnt have the balls to make it. I had the balls to take the photos, but I didnt have the balls to put them together in a book for the world to see with my name on it. I took my first kink photographs in the mid-90s. I showed them to the models, and no one else. I was still in the cage. Now, as I write this in 2020, Im publishing a book of some of my kink photos, and gearing up for the first solo gallery show of my work.

When I began this project, I thought I was ruled by Cartier-Bressons decisive moment. While that is still important to me, I also view these photos as portraits. In taking them, I wanted to capture emotion. I wanted to capture the beauty in something so many people still see as taboo. And, we all agree beauty is subjective. So, while your neighbor may not find drool dripping off a ball gag beautiful, or a transsexual model in a cock cage pleasing to the eye, you might. And, if you do, this book is for you! Thank you for helping pull me from my cage.

Tom Taylor