Page 76 - AVN April 2019

ABCs of BDSM
Whether you’re a beginner who
wants to be kinky or a kinkster
who wants to heighten your BDSM
sexual experience, Ultimate Guide
to Bondage: Creating Intimacy
through the Art of Restraint will be
your how-to (and your how-not-
to) guide. Author Mistress Couple
(pictured on page 74), who has
experience as a slave and as
a dominatrix, promises to take
the reader “for a journey into the
complex world of erotic bondage.”
An interesting read, the book also
features essays at the end so you
get to feel like a voyeur peeking
into the kinky sex lives of others.
“The UPS guy likes delivering
packages to our house now,”
says Couple, “because he has
accidentally walked into ongoing
BDSM scenes.”
The book explains the various
forms of bondage, including
Japanese rope bondage, device
bondage (using physical restraint),
mental bondage (mind control),
objectification bondage, costume
bondage, sensation bondage,
sen sory deprivation bondage,
fetish bondage, physically stressful
bondage, predicament bondage
and suspension bondage. Oh,
and self bondage. (Explain that
one when you’re calling 911.)
This useful book also explores
theories and tips for consent and
safety, because, let’s face it, some
of this stuff is scary and dangerous
(which is why people like it so
much). For adrenaline junkies who
want to up the excitement factor,
the book discusses the “pain
scale,” verbal communication
and safe words, and physical
communication such as “hand
squeezing” when things get too
intense. Pre-negotiating sexual
activities is essential, because
people who do the most extreme
stuff need the most extreme
communication. Even if you don’t
want to do all the kinky stuff outlined
in the book, at least you’ll read
about the weird shit other people
do and what you might want to do.
Anyone for getting stuffed into a
gigantic balloon and then having it
popped?
The book is published by Cleis
Press.
7 6 A V N . C O M | 4 . 1 9 | S E X P L O R A T I O N S
Radical Ideas
Before I even started reading
Rebel Love: Break the Rules,
Destroy Toxic Habits, and Have
the Best Sex of Your Life, it had
me at the dedication: “This book
is dedicated to “the radicals and
rebels who live bravely outside the
box.”
In an era where people are
obsessed with how they look, how
many likes they get on Instagram,
and how they can brand
themselves to become famous, the
book’s author, Dr. Chris Donaghue,
returns to the whole idea of
authenticity, especially in dating
and relationships. “What leads to
the best sex of your life?” is just
one of the concepts explored in
the book, all discussed from a hip,
unconventional and refreshingly
thoughtful sex therapist’s
perspective.
“The key,” says Donaghue, is
radical “honest sexuality,” which
he says “creates intimacy” in
relationships. “Discussing your
kinks and fantasies is one of the
most powerful things we can
do,” he says. “It makes us all
“super vulnerable.” Stop caring
what people think of you or your
sexuality,” he says. It will set you
free. Agree, shame always cuts
down on the smokin’ hot sex.
Despite the fact that his office is
filled with “wounded” hearts, “sex
positivity is radical, revolutionary,
and provides much needed
liberation,” he says. The forward is
written by Amber Rose, who calls
Dr. Chris her “work husband” and
collaborates with him on The