Free B003B0W1QC EBOK by Dossie Easton, Catherine A. Liszt Page B

experience and point the reader toward other good sources of information. Netfolk can also share their thoughts “bulletin-board” style in various forums, including Usenet newsgroups and kink areas sponsored by some websites and Internet service providers.
    Many people’s first experiments with kink take place in the cyber-forum of a “chat room,” where they type their ideas and communications into the keyboard and someone possibly thousands of miles away can read their message simultaneously, like a telephone conversation. It’s not unusual for people to form very devoted kinky relationships on-line with folks who live across the globe and whom they have never seen face-to-face. In such relationships, one partner may give the other directions about a particular kinky activity to try out at home, then report back on how it felt - many people who have never done S/M in the real world have been “cyber-slaves” or “cyber-masters,” a relatively safe way to experiment with the emotions of intense play for those who are too scared or too new or too committed to an existing relationship for anything more tangible.
    The ’Net has brought untold thousands of people into the kink community by giving them a safe way to experiment and to find like-minded people near them. The “munch,” a social get-together of like-minded kinkyfolk from the Internet who meet in a restaurant for no-pressure chatting and flirting, has become one of the commonest kinky events.
    A deeply closeted friend of Catherine’s discovered on the ’Net that a woman he’d worked with for over a decade shared his interest in spanking. Their friendship has now attained a level of intimacy that it never had before.
     
    Professional dominants. Part of our sexual underground is a skilled cadre of women, and a few men, who earn a living helping their clients enact their kinky fantasies. These “pro-dommes” (short for professional dominants, or dominatrixes) are probably the part of our world that is most visible to most outsiders, through (usually inaccurate) representations in movies, television and novels. They are an important link between our world and yours.
    The client who would risk the loss of his job, family or status if his kinky desires became known can visit a reputable pro-domme in complete confidentiality, safe in the knowledge that she will respect his personal boundaries and his physical and emotional limits. A client who is already in a happy kinky relationship may ask a pro-domme for help in enacting fantasies that are beyond the limits or skills of his current partner, often with that partner’s enthusiastic support and perhaps even his or her participation.

     
    Many professional dominants run their own businesses, with their own play spaces and equipment. Others group together in establishments that offer the potential client a selection of partners and environments. A few such establishments also offer professional submissives, who play with selected clients under close supervision to ensure their safety.
    Although professional dominants earn an hourly rate that is on a par with many highly paid professions, their annual income is rarely anywhere near at the level you might suppose. Most see only a few clients a week, and must spend a great deal of money on obtaining and maintaining equipment, toys and fetish wardrobes.
    Pro-dommes occupy a shadow world between legality and illegality. Most do not offer conventional sexual services, partly to help protect them against prostitution laws, and perhaps also because that boundary feels more comfortable. However, the definition of a sexual act varies widely from one state to another, and often includes activities like erotic spanking that most people don’t think of as sex. Professional dominants may also be susceptible to arrest under statutes outlawing things like “lewd and lascivious behavior” or “running a disorderly house.”
    Many pro-dommes are among the most respected