Des Moines Register
by Courtney Crowder
” ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ came out and we just exploded,” said Jay, a founder of local BDSM group Central Iowa Power Exchange (CIPEX) who requested to be referred to by his first name. “We are growing left and right.”
A pop phenomenon, “Fifty Shades” centers on college student Anastasia Steele and her complicated relationship with Christian Grey, a 27-year-old CEO and kink enthusiast with dominant tendencies. The movie is Fandango’s fastest selling R-rated title, according to the company, and the YouTube trailer has been viewed more than 50 million times.
“I am expecting to have another big spike (in members) after the movie,” Jay said. “When the book came out we were nervous we were going to get men saying ‘I’m dominant, bow to my needs,’ but we didn’t get that. Instead, we got a lot of people who were curious and wanted to learn.” …
Kink defined
BDSM is short for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism. But tying down what exactly that means is like herding cats. Simply, to those in the BDSM community, it means what you want it to mean.
“It’s about stimulating other parts of the body and the mind and the heart,” said Susan Wright, founder of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, an advocacy group for the kink community. “… For some people, it’s not a sexual thing at all. It’s a spiritual response, a cathartic response. For other people, it’s an endorphin rush, like a runner’s high. For other people, though, it’s sex and it’s how they have sex.”
For Ms. Robin, domination is about the skill, not the sex. “I, myself, am always clothed,” she said of her client sessions.
Unlike the popular image of the leather bustier-wearing, stiletto-healed, foul-mouthed dominatrix, Ms. Robin is merely a free-spirited craftswoman. She spent five years apprenticing with dominatrixes across the country before turning pro. Now she speaks at conferences and colleges nationwide.
“I’m the most monogamous person, (and) I’m pretty straight-laced in some ways,” said Ms. Robin, who lives with a partner. “But I’m very open and accepting of people and their kinks.”
She was 40 when she entered the BDSM lifestyle. After a divorce, she dated a man who pointed out that her natural sexual penchants were dominatrix-like. She didn’t know what the word was, but a quick Internet search introduced her to the culture.
Many people come into the kink community in a similar way: Someone tries something, they like it, they seek out people with similar interests.
It’s like quilting, but with whips. …