Sensory deprivation via mummification
One way of exploring the possible futures of sex would be to draw scenarios along an axis with the sexual act dedicated to the utilitarianism of procreation on one end and the frivolity of pure sexual play on the other end.
On the extreme end of utilitarianism could be the scenario as portrayed in the Hulu television series The Handmaid’s Tale based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, now streaming at SBS On-demand. In this dystopian world, an authoritarian theocratic regime forces fertile women into sexual servitude to repopulate the world.
A counterpoint to this would be pure sexual play such as BDSM where the raison d’être of the sexual act is none other than the act of sexual play itself. An interesting form of BDSM I witnessed and filmed in the Festival of Really Sex in Melbourne last June is sensory deprivation play through mummification. An excerpt of the workshop can be seen in the video below.
As described in the workshop’s web page (Really Good Sex Festival 2017):
Heavy restraint is the ultimate surrender. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, but venture into one’s own consciousness via sensory deprivation contrasting with the inventiveness of layered and dynamic sensory stimulation. Using pallet wrap to entirely encase, or mummify, the bottom is a delicate art of tension. Dehumanisation, objectification, metamorphosis, endurance, death and rebirth are a few of the frameworks for the D/s relationship in this hypnotic practice. Charlotte will mummify her bunny; demonstrating how to do so safely, offering different ideas for the technique and sensation possibilities in play scenarios. Participants may also have the chance to experiment with wrapping their own limbs to gain a sense of the material and somatic experience.
What I found interesting about this workshop is that it uses the ancient technique of mummification (known by most people through artifacts in museums from ancient Egypt) using a postmodern artifact of 20th century globalisation, the plastic used to wrap pallets of goods before they are packed tightly into large container vans loaded into massive container ships that sail across the vast oceans to the opposite side of the globe.
The transcendence aimed for (sensory deprivation) is also very 21st century. In today’s hyper connected, hyper sensory stimulated world, what could be more blissful for a submissive bunny than to lie down for 10 minutes without any sensory input. Then to be slowly playfully emerged into the sensory world by the Dominant.
There is an art in the wrapping and unwrapping. As Charlotte mentioned in the workshop video, she makes use of theatrical narratives and timeless human rituals of death and rebirth in her unwrapping. It makes me wonder what other combinations of ancient rituals and 21st century technology would arise in this space.
Reference list
Damian, O. 2017, Wrapped Up in Sensory Surrender, videorecording, Youtube, viewed 3 August 2017, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vi5Lu-qpfc>
Really Good Sex Festival 2017, Wrapped Up in Sensory Surrender with Charlotte Sway, Xplore Festival Sydney Inc, Sydney, viewed 3 August 2017, <https://www.reallygoodsex.net/melbourne-workshops/2017/4/24/sensory-deprivation-and-heavy-restraint-with-charlotte-sway >
Sway, C. 2017, Transcendence via mummification, videorecording, Youtube, viewed 3 August 2017, < https://youtu.be/06VQGkZrgWE >
