Death Fetish?

Ok, this thread is purely theoretical. So don't assume I am asking because I am some sort of homicidal psychopath.

I have been reading some of the threads that deal with edge play, and had to wonder. Do they vale a fascination with death and the mystery it holds? Examples would be breath play, knife play, blood play. Each of those items are potentially lethal activities, and yet when done correctly are extremely exhilarating for all involved (no practical experience with blood play).

So my question, if you enjoy one of these particular fetishes, do you think there is a fascination with the implications, or is it that you enjoy toying with fate?

V/R
ID

I could argue the exact oposite. Considering what death is, (ie eternal peace) we could say being calm and quiet could be our longing for death while experiencing pain in any form is bieing more alive.

I'm just thinking aloud now so don't hold me to this. But it is a very interesting subject. Lacan argued that all humans main driving force in life was the will to die. Lacan. He makes a good case.

For me edge play is all about the TRUST involved. Knowing what could happen, but surrendering to Dragon, knowing he will not let it.

Mine is due to an obsession with with my own Mortality, and death in General (Not suicidal and I have no wish to be dead but playing with that natural fear is a thrill)

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Originally Posted by Dragon's muse

For me edge play is all about the TRUST involved. Knowing what could happen, but surrendering to Dragon, knowing he will not let it.

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you hit the nail on the head for me. i agree completely.

I don't know about other people who do knife and blood play, but I have found as long as you and your partner know what you are doing there is little risk in it. Most of the cuts have been small and in areas that aren't super easy to do somethign wrong. But when we play it is more about the sight and taste of blood than the amount.I guess part of it has to mortality because my enjoyment of it stemmed out of an interest in vampires, but I like the feeling of sharp things on my skin.
We also use several knives, there ae ones with cutting edges adn ones that are blunt that my Master uses in more delicate areas. If you don't know which one is in use then it ups thesensation. Even a dull blade can feel sharp in certain areas. I have heard if you put it int eh freezer it feels sharper too, but haven't tried that yet.
I have no expirience or desire to try breath control, so I can't say anything abotu that.

Thoughts of death aren't uncommon during bloodletting (with a knife), but it has nothing to do with why we do it. As you can guess, I have a horrible obsession with vampires, so when I watch him lapping at the blood with his tongue or sucking on my skin, in my head sometimes I like to fantasize about him drinking all of my blood until I slowly start to die. Now, of course I don't want that to actually happen lol. I think I've just read too many vampire novels, and the attraction for that is because it's such a romantic image of death being portrayed.

Another thought that just occurred to me that sort of has to do with the "how far would you go?" thread, is that I desperately want to please him, and I remember thinking before of how I wanted him to take more (blood) until he had as much as he wanted and not have to worry about my health, even though it could result in me passing out or dying. It was an incredibly stupid thought, but I think crazy things sometimes.

As for the cutting itself, it's not about the possibility of death at all, it's about the pain and being able to FEEL something so... good. But I also agree with what previous posters said about trust.

With breath play though, it's the opposite of what I just said lol. It IS about the possibility of death... and the fantasy of that. But that's because for us it usually goes along with a rape RP or something.

Oh, and did I mention we both have a fascination with necrophilia? lol

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Originally Posted by DrkRvn

I don't know about other people who do knife and blood play, but I have found as long as you and your partner know what you are doing there is little risk in it.

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Well there is always a risk, but you're right, if you really know what you're doing then it's not as bad. I think the bigger risk involved with the blood thing though is using a syringe instead of a knife.

Personally, I think it is a complicated issue that is composed of elements of almost everything that has been said above. I spent quite a bit of my life in a job that often put me in situations where there was an eminent possibility of death or serious injury. In talking, over the years, with others that I worked with, I was surprised to find that many of them were often sexually stimulated in those situations.

I've never really thought about it that way. But I do have... shall we say, "issues", with breath play. They relate to an earlier incident in my life that I'm not going into here. But suffice to say, without trust, I'd have a hard time doing much of anything comfortably with it, even though I'd probably like to. So I guess it's all about trust for me as well.

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Originally Posted by TomOfSweden

I could argue the exact oposite. Considering what death is, (ie eternal peace) we could say being calm and quiet could be our longing for death while experiencing pain in any form is bieing more alive.

I'm just thinking aloud now so don't hold me to this. But it is a very interesting subject. Lacan argued that all humans main driving force in life was the will to die. Lacan. He makes a good case.

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i agree with Tom.....for me...cutting was always a way for me to focus. when i get depressed...i get very very unfocused so to say. it's wierd because it's the same for when i get really hyper. i'm hypomanic. i have very extreme highs. i have pretty severe ADD at times. cutting myself helped me focus, brought me down to a normal level.

but cutting wasn't really all the sexual for me. now breathe play is a huge turn on for me. and i think that's more because of the adrenaline rush. breathe play is very intense....it's not like cutting. cuz it's easy to control cutting. but when you haveing someone squeezing the breathe out of you......and you can't stop them....the adrenaline rush is intense. and when they let go........oh it's a flood of air and wetness, lol.

but isn't there such a thing as a snuff fetish? i've seen snuff stories and snuff films.....well never watched a film but heard of them. isn't that a fetish for killing someone or watching someone get killed?

Even if the risk is not much with Knife play a person with a good enough imagination (I have an Extremely good imagination) can put the risk there (Never tried breath play, I would probley like it, just never met anyone brave enough to try it with, and I am not much on self injury, if its anything like that pass out thing we did as kids that was fun) One of my main sexual fantasies I die in the end. One of these days Ill get brave enough to post the whole story (One of those things that turns me on to think about it, the doing part is hell no)

Psynymph -

Yes there is a snuff fetish, and I posted this in the general area, intending to get the views of some Dom/mes as well as submissives who have an interest in the edge play activities.

As far as there being an interest in snuff. I find the idea of controlling the ability of my 'victim' breathing quite erotic. I enjoy the idea that I could never let her breathe again, and that she would let me do so, because she trusts me to not take it that far. I have never, nor do I intend to take it that far. It's just the fantasy that I find erotic.

V/R
ID

There is a fair amount of snuff fiction on the web. I don't think most of it is written by homicidal maniacs. Like most BDSM fiction, much of it is horrible, but I did see a usenet story by someone with the pen name "Happy Hangman" or "HappyHangman" that I thought was well done.

As to what it represents, do people into 'general' BDSM want to go back to the pre 1865 South and either be or own real slaves? The idea is repugnant, yet the 'master' and 'slave' tradition is well established in BDSM.
I have a couple of theories about snuff fantasies- one, already mentioned, is that just like BDSM it's about trust and control- the sub trusts someone enough to give up control, the dom is so trusted and you give yourself so completely that you can let him/her do anything, even take your life if they want. (You let somebody tie you up and you are literally putting your life in their hands anyway.) So what is the ultimate in control? Either taking or giving a life- again, in fantasy here. If you really do it not only do you loose a partner with your own rather unique kink, but the government tends to take a rather dim view of it.

I think it's also a way of dealing with death- eroticize it and it becomes more approachable. The association between death and orgasm is already known (one of the French euphemisms for orgasm is 'small death')- orgasm is a way of creating new life, but the only reason for that is because you're going to die. I've also read that there was a myth that men only got so many orgasms, that with each one they ejected some of their 'life force' and when they finished they died.

I wouldn't get to freaked out by fetish unless you think you're actually going to hurt somebody.