What's New In Sex?

Let’s face it: handcuffs and belts are pretty passé these days, as are ball gags and cock rings. Here’s an update on kink trends – and what they say about us.

- Arnesh Ghose

I met someone recently who has a rape fantasy. I was quite taken aback, actually. She is a staunch feminist — the khadi-morcha-penis-chopping-JNU kind — and to hear her say the word “rape” in a noninflammatory setting was a new experience. She wasn’t drunk either (well, as drunk as two glasses of red gets anyone). “Are you surprised?” she asked. “I am, yeah. Since when?”

“Well, I was watching Irreversible recently…” She went on to tell me how the idea of a strong, dominating man roughing her up turned her on. She still despised rape — as vehemently as anybody should — but in a controlled environment, with someone she is attracted to, she would like to try out consensual non-consensual sex. “I don’t want him to listen to me, hold himself back,” she went on.