Confessions of a Closet DID Fan - An Editorial

In my younger and more innocent days I spent many an hour browsing through the library. By then I was already a fan of junior detective books, including the likes of The Famous Five and Secret Seven, the Hardy Boys, and a little known series featuring a gang of rookie teenage girl sleuths whose title escapes me now. As I searched this section I came across a collection of Nancy Drew tales. I picked one from the shelf to find, on the front cover no less, a full illustration of Nancy and I think Bess stringently chairtied and cleave gagged, trapped in a dusty building with Nancy's eyes staring at you from the cover. I was reeled in hook line and sinker. (Despite my searches I think this cover was from an extremely rare UK only edition, and I have never seen it since).

        Backing up for a moment, I've seen many others here on DA tell of their moment of realisation when they discovered their attraction to DID, as it were. Mine was more of a gradual awareness, starting with the good old fashioned likes of danger prone Daphne and later on the Totally Spies girls. Though I must make a special mention to Lady Penelope Crichton-Ward from my favouritest kids show Thunderbirds, the blonde aristocrat turned secret agent for International Rescue, and often ending up in peril because of it. (Going off topic, while the show's puppetry and animation remains timeless, the dialogue is now hilariously outdated. For example, when captured by a rope wielding bad guy Lady Penelope asks "Oh my, are you going to tie me up?" Then she requests that she can fix her make-up beforehand, in order to secretly call for help...and the bad guy actually says yes!)

     The influence of Nancy Drew and her contemporaries remains with me to this day, as you can probably tell given my main OC is also an eighteen year old rookie sleuth. But the curious thing about Nancy Drew is that, despite her impressive tie up stat sheet, her fanbase is overwhelmingly female orientated. Her popularity doesn't solely come from slightly kinky people like myself, rather from her personality and how independent, strong willed and outspoken she was for a teenage girl in 1930's to 1950's America. She provided good old fashioned escapism and a sense of adventure, which was why readers bought her books in droves.

    Which brings me back to myself. As I grew older I of course discovered the more sexual aspect towards DID, and in my wanderings ultimately ended up here on DA. After coming into contact with the more 'rough n tumble' side of bondage, shall we say, I found myself drawn back to tales of ladies going on adventures, getting caught and having to escape against the odds. It's taken me a while to realise why.

     When you merely take a model, truss her up and let the cameras roll, as many sites on t'internet do, then she simply becomes an image for sexual arousal. I have little problem with this, but it's not the reason I'm interested in DID. When you add proper story and dialogue, develop a suitable setting, give the damsel a personality and backstory, then add a final sprinkle of imagination and creative flair, then you can transcend this. You're sharing her plight, privy to her innermost thoughts and concerns, perhaps even willing her to escape because you know what she has to lose. In other words, you form an emotional attachment to the character, which makes the scene a whole lot more exciting.  

    'Ah but Golavus,' I hear you cry. 'Why is it then that your main OC is an eighteen year old leggy brunette who likes trotting about in denim minishorts and tights?' Well aside from the fact that this is currently the in vogue fashion style for many girls her age, I'm not going to completely deny the sexual overtones of DID. Doing so would just be naive. But if that was all I wanted from Sara, then I'd simply dress her up in something ridiculous and skimpy, plonk her in a scenario for no reason, and then leap straight into the DID part and have her wriggling about for 4,000 words. But I don't want that from her, because that's just lazy storytelling and kind of misses the point of what DID is actually about.

     With Sara I've endeavoured to develop her personality, making her a courageous, intelligent, determined and fiercely loyal young woman, though also impatient, reckless and even thoughtless sometimes. I've developed her backstory and have a very good idea of what the future holds for her. I've provided her with a close knit family, an even closer knit group of friends, a detective rival to spar with and a growing list of enemies. Hell I've even given her a boyfriend. And above all else I make sure the story is as much about her investigation, how it is resolved and her development as a character as it is about the part where she gets tied up. Why have I done all this? Because I want you, the reader, to view her as a character and not an avatar. I want you to identify and root for her, because ultimately that is what great, exciting stories are all about, in any genre. And that's something I intend to do with all my characters, not just Sara.

    There is a reason we still see tie up scenes in pretty much every soap opera, crime drama and superhero flick. Because they can provide excellent drama, with a lot of scope for intense dialogue and storytelling. Writers don't throw these scenes in thinking, "Well, best cater for the kinky brigade." They do so because it adds to the story. It is said that there are only seven basic plot definitions, one of which is overcoming a monster or demon. Essentially this is what happens in DID, the heroine has to overcome an antagonist that is standing in the way of their goal. It's a story as old as literature itself, and one which will continue to be used for as long as literature exists.

    Despite all of this, bondage and indeed DID still gets a bad press. It still bugs me how people can make judgements about people who's sexual preferences are different to theirs. A loving couple engaging in a bit of consensual, harmless escapism is seen as being perverse, while cheating on a long term partner, causing huge emotional damage and stress to their partners and their family, is pretty much seen as being A-OK. Moreover, it's a tad hypocritical when the tabloids brand DID enthusiasts as sex crazed pervs while on page three Sasha, 23, from Essex, tells us who she thinks the next England football manager should be while wearing only knickers and some knee socks.

    I consider myself a closet DID fan because, apart from this corner of the interwebs I've crafted for myself, I've barely divulged these thoughts to anyone. My family and friends have no idea, and I don't think I ever will tell them. Moreover, while my life so far hasn't exactly been celibate, I've unfortunately never been in a position to properly act out my fantasies for real. (My first girlfriend, and the only girl I've ever truly loved, was a massive claustrophobe. Go figure.)  I have met people and friends in the flesh with similar tastes to mine, proof that these fantasies are now more widely accepted, but there's still a long way to go. It's a shame, because I think there are plenty more people out there who'd enjoy DID, and indeed GID and CID, but are put off because of popular prejudices and misconceptions.

    As for me, well I'll continue to write stories for as long as I enjoy it, or until a significant reason comes along for me to stop. I hope some of my ramblings made sense, and that maybe it provides some context as to how and why I write my stories. For me DID can transcend the sexual and become equally, if not more, about drama, romance and suspense. Ultimately though, all stories are about likeable characters in extraordinary circumstances, and as a writer, it's my job to provide this. Lucky for me that I've found a wonderful group of like minded people who appreciate my passion for writing as much as my love of DID.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I've left Sara in a bit of a bind, and I suppose I'd best write in her next dramatic escape.