Collar (BDSM)

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A BDSM-style collar with a D-ring, and buckles in the back. BDSM collar back.jpg
A BDSM-style collar with a D-ring, and buckles in the back.

In a BDSM context, a collar is a device of any material worn by a person to indicate their submissive or slave status in a BDSM relationship. A person wearing a collar to symbolize their relationship with another is said to be collared. Some people conduct formal "collaring ceremonies", which are regarded as effectively solemnizing their relationship in a similar way as a marriage ceremony and the collar having similar significance as a wedding ring. The standard form of a collar is a black leather band around the neck, often with metal D-rings added to allow the attachment of a leash, rope or other restraints. Some people may wear an ordinary choker or jewellery necklace instead.

Contents

Collars may be used in role-playing games involving erotic humiliation because they have connotations of control and pet-like status, especially when worn with a leash.

Construction and appearance

Isometric-Collar-BDSM.svg

The most common material for a collar is leather, and many people use actual dog collars with a buckle.[ citation needed ] Other materials include rubber, PVC, and metal (typically stainless steel). Many collars are constructed with several different materials, and may also be decorated in various ways. Collars often feature buckles, straps and hooks, padlocks and other attachments.

Wolf collars

Castle Party 2008 13.jpg
Woman wearing a wolf collar

A wolf collar is a collar fitted with spikes, studs, or nails, which in the BDSM context are decorative. The name may originate from the use of such collars to protect dogs from wolves. The spikes are considered to be dangerous, and such collars are used with care. Some wolf collars have the spikes coated in plastic for added protection. [1]

Neck corset

Submissive woman wearing a head harness with a ball gag and posture collar Harness gag and collar.jpg
Submissive woman wearing a head harness with a ball gag and posture collar

A neck corset is a type of posture collar that incorporates stays. It is a corset-like device designed for the neck instead of the waist, but usually it is not used to compress the neck in the way that a normal corset compresses the waist, except in breathplay.

Stays incorporated in a neck corset are specially made shorter, used to support the weight of the head on the shoulders, while its corset structure helps in maintaining posture by keeping the chin high and the neck extended. It is often combined with a traditional corset in order to achieve better posture. [2]

Some neck corsets and posture collars are designed to also cover the mouth. These devices, often called mouth corsets, are primarily used in BDSM because they can be used as a gag.[ citation needed ]

Social significance

A woman with locked collar Bondage Collar Example.png
A woman with locked collar
Woman wearing collar in public at Folsom Street Fair Woman on Bondage Cross at FSF.jpg
Woman wearing collar in public at Folsom Street Fair

Collars can have varying degrees of significance for people in the BDSM community. A person wearing a collar may wish by doing so to make it known that they are submissive. Wearing a collar may similarly be a signal to others that the submissive is "owned" by or is in a relationship with a dominant. It may also be a potently tangible symbol of the relationship itself or of the ownership the submissive is held in. A lockable collar may further symbolize a transfer of power from the submissive to the dominant holding the key.

Some submissives may not wear their collars all the time. Many choose to wear a collar only when in private with their partners, or with other members of the BDSM community.

Collars can be made from lighter materials such as cotton, or heavier materials such as leather. Steel collars are also worn by some and lockable (metal) necklaces are also regarded as a form of collar.

Other wearers of collars

Although in many instances collars are worn solely by a submissive partner in a relationship with a dominant, in some cases the dominant partner or an unattached person may also wear a collar. People often wear casual collars, purely for fashion. Collars used for fashion are worn by both men and women, and made from various materials such as soft leather, cotton, neoprene, nylon etc. often in bright friendly colors but varying from bright, neutral into darker colors. The lining ranges from bare leather to lambskin, to faux fur. The collar most often has a buckle either in black, nickel, or brass design, but snaps and velcro closures are also found.

In more mainstream culture and especially in pornography, images depicting women wearing collars are common regardless of whether these women are intended to be depicted as submissive or dominant.

Collars and other alternative clothing can also be found in certain subcultures such as goth, punk, heavy metal, Japanese anime and manga culture, otherkin or the furry fandom. These collars can vary wildly.

Collar etiquette

In some social groups, one may be expected to follow certain rules regarding a collared person. A dominant may ask if the submissive wants to be collared. Contrarily, the submissive may be asked to "earn" the collar by proving themselves worthy of wearing it. The collar itself is often affixed by the dominant and treated as a symbol of highest care. In those social groups, only the "dominant" is supposed to affix and remove the collar.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fetish fashion</span> Extreme or provocative clothing

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corset</span> Garment, reinforced with stays, that supports the waistline, hips and bust.

A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes, or support the breasts. Both men and women are known to wear corsets, though this item was for many years an integral part of women's wardrobes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belt (clothing)</span> Worn band or braid, usually around the waist or hips

A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather, plastic, or heavy cloth, worn around the natural waist or near it. The ends of a belt are free; and a buckle forms the belt into a loop by securing one end to another part of the belt, at or near the other end. Often, the resulting loop is smaller than the hips. Belts come in many lengths because of the variety in waist sizes, and most belts can be adjusted at the buckle to suit the wearer's waist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Necklace</span> Jewellery worn around the neck

A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as symbols of wealth and status, given that they are commonly made of precious metals and stones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leash</span> Device for controlling children, dogs and other animals

A leash is a rope or similar material used to control an animal by attaching it to a collar, harness, or halter. In British English, a leash is generally for a larger animal, with lead being more commonly used when walking a dog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cock and ball torture</span> Form of sexual play

Cock and ball torture (CBT), occasionally known as penis torture, dick torture, or male genitorture/male genital torture, is a sexual activity involving the application of pain or constriction to the penis or testicles. This may involve directly painful activities, such as genital piercing, wax play, genital spanking, squeezing, ball-busting, genital flogging, urethral play, tickle torture, erotic electrostimulation, kneeing or kicking. The recipient of such activities may receive direct physical pleasure via masochism, or emotional pleasure through erotic humiliation, or knowledge that the play is pleasing to a sadistic dominant. Many of these practices carry significant health risks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gag (BDSM)</span> Device used in sexual situations

A gag is a device used in sexual bondage and BDSM roleplay. Gags are usually associated with roleplays involving bondage, but that is not necessarily the case. The person who wears the gag is regarded as the submissive partner, while the other is regarded as the dominant one. People may wear gags for a variety of reasons. Some people derive erotic pleasure from a gag, either in a submissive or dominant role. When combined with other physical restraints, the wearing of a gag can increase the wearer's sense of helplessness and anxiety level within a BDSM scene by rendering them unable to speak during sexual activity, which some people enjoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominance and submission</span> Erotic roleplay involving the submission of one person to another

Dominance and submission is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or lifestyle. It is a subset of BDSM. This form of sexual contact and pleasure has been shown to please a minority of people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Posture collar</span>

A posture collar is a rigid collar used in BDSM and fetish play that is wide enough to restrict movement of the neck. Posture collars help in maintaining posture, keeping the chin high and the neck extended. Posture collars typically flare widely at the front to reach from the chin to the collarbone, preventing the wearer from hanging their head or looking downward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet harness</span>

A pet harness is equipment consisting of straps of webbing that loop nearly around—that fasten together using side release buckles—the torso of an animal.

A dog collar is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A collar may be used for restraint, identification, fashion, or protection. Identification tags and medical information are often placed on dog collars. Collars are often used in conjunction with a leash for restraining a dog. Collars can be traumatic to the trachea if the dog pulls against the restraint of the leash, causing severe pressure to the neck. Use of a harness instead of a collar may be beneficial for dogs prone to tracheitis or those with a collapsed trachea. Conversely, dog breeds with slender necks or smaller heads may easily slip out of collars that are too loose. This can be avoided by using a martingale dog collar which tightens to distribute pressure around the neck when training the dog not to pull. Any style of dog collar must be properly fitted to ensure safety and collars should not be worn when the dog is unattended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic humiliation</span> Consensual use of humiliation in a sexual context

Erotic humiliation is consensual psychological humiliation performed in order to produce erotic excitement or sexual arousal. This can be for either the person(s) being humiliated and demeaned or the person(s) humiliating, or both. It is sometimes performed before spectators, including through pornography and webcam modeling. It may be part of BDSM and other sexual roleplay, or accompanied by the sexual stimulation of the genitals of one or both parties in the activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal roleplay</span> Animal roleplay or petplay (erotic roleplay related to BDSM)

Animal roleplay is a form of roleplay where at least one participant plays the part of a non-human animal. As with most forms of roleplay, its uses include play and psychodrama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collar (animal)</span>

An animal collar is a device that attaches to the neck of an animal to allow it to be harnessed or restrained.

A neck corset is a type of BDSM collar. Unlike a normal corset which compresses the waist, a neck corset is usually not used to compress the neck, except in breathplay. It may act as a posture collar that incorporates stays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clothing fetish</span> Sexual fetish relating to particular type of clothing

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master/slave (BDSM)</span> Consensual authority-exchange structured sexual relationship

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ring of O</span> Ring design with BDSM meaning

The Ring of O is a specially designed ring which has been worn as a distinctive mark among BDSM practitioners, mainly in continental Europe — and especially the German-speaking countries — since the 1990s. Its use is relatively widespread within this subculture. Its name derives from the name of the central female character in the classic BDSM novel Story of O, who was a sex slave and wore an analogous ring.

Collar may refer to:

References

  1. "Spiked dog Collars". The Dog House. Archived from the original on August 17, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  2. "Clinched.net". Archived from the original on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-07-08.