Bondowolf

   Masculinity. It's a word that represent the different values that we attach to the male gender, what makes a man a man. There are many types of men, from the dangerous looking bad boy in a street gang to the stoic policeman keeping us safe at night. Opposites that have nothing in common but represent masculinity in their own way, both trying to be brave and strong in their own way.

   As a gender, men like to be seen as brave and strong. The expression "Men Don't Cry" doesn't come from a true fact, but an idealism that men should be unwavering in the face of danger, as the protector that fight to preserve the things he holds dear. It's perhaps something primal; the animal instinct within us that makes a man walk with his chest puffed up as a showcase of physical strength.

   Sexually, the male leans towards a muscular physique and physical dominance. "Might makes right" is an ugly sentence, but represents the naked truth: That the more powerful a man seems, the more masculine he becomes. At their core, men are about dominance, fighting for it with testosterone as fuel in an arena of physical strength.

Masculinity and Testosterone
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   Then you introduce bondage into the equation and you get a conflict of interest. Bondage is objectification of the body through restraints, rendering the man helpless and without power. He's supposed to be strong and dominant, yet suddenly he's forced into a weak and submissive position. The result is a struggle to retain his identity, fighting to break free from his bonds.

   With male bondage, the bondage itself imposes an artistic challenge. Because the male form prides itself on being physically strong and hard as rock, the restraints themselves also need to be convincing enough to show us he's been subdued physically, immobilized even with all of his bulking muscles, truly helpless and unable to get free.

   When all naked and tied up, even the strongest man suddenly becomes vulnerable. Not because he can't handle it emotionally, but because he's been rendered so powerless and exposed, you can take hold of the embodiment of his masculinity and play with it like a toy. His dick is his pride as a man, but he's not even in control of it anymore and it becomes the key to dominance over his sexuality.

Sexual Objectification

A Bondage Slave
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   He can't see. He can't speak. He can't even move, all he can do is flail about like a captured fish. All his clothes has been stripped away and he's only wearing a black hood over his head, like his identity doesn't even matter. He was a mighty minotaur, a man of powerful status who was almost always the center of attention. Now he's just a naked body, an object without opinion to be looked at and only given attention when his captor feels like it. 

   The rope binds his arms together behind his back, the least flexible position exploiting the weakness of his anatomy to make sure he can't rely on his strength to break free. His upper and lower legs have been tied together in a kneeling position, ensuring he can't stand up and immobilizing him. He can't even walk around freely anymore, one of the first abilities you learn as a child.

   The body he has trained and honed so well has been exposed for everyone to see, all of his strong and bulking muscles serving nothing more than decoration with his big juicy cock begging for the attention he's unable to give himself. He can't see anything and can only sit patiently waiting for something to happen, sensitive against the sudden touch against his naked and smooth body. He would call out for help, demand to be released, but all he can utter are incomprehensible and muffled grunts.

   He's become something less. He no longer decides what happens to his own body and everything that makes him a person, such as moving and talking, has been taken away as well as his privilege to wear clothes.

   Yet within this moment of utter and complete humiliation, he finds himself to be aroused. Not because he identifies with captivity, but because he's never physically felt more like a man. His mind is focused only on his own body, without his sight or hands his sense of touch has been greatly amplified to the point where he can feel the air brushing against his bare skin. He's putting every muscle to work in his struggle against his restraints, the sweat rolling down his chest with his hard shaft bouncing from the movement. It feels like he's fighting with his very own sex in defiance of his captivity, struggling to show he's still dominant and strong in the face of submission.

   Somehow he feels a little bit of pride. Even if he's been turned into a bondage slave, he's still going to show he's the strongest and most powerful man. That in some way, all of his masculine attributes add to his value as a slave.

Master and Slave

Master and Slave
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   Within life, you have two roles that keep projecting themselves into different themes. The leader and the follower. The boss and the employer. The teacher and the student. The dominant role demands authority while the submissive role must obey. That's not to say we're all categorized as the queen bee or the mindless drone, but that it's a part of our nature to assume these roles under certain circumstances.

   During sexual intercourse, we typically assume the role of the top or the bottom. Within bondage, you also have the master and the slave. The master is the captor while the slave is the captive. The roles are defined by an exchange of power through the master gaining power over the slave.

   This exchange of power is created with physical dominance over the slave. By restraining him, the master takes control of his movement and decides where he should go or stay. By gagging him, the master decides when the slave is allowed to speak his mind and when he should stay silent. The master will also typically wear clothes or some form of attire while the slave is either minimally dressed or entirely naked to symbolize clothes is a privilege controlled by the master.

   But most importantly, the slave becomes part the master's property, hence "master and slave." The master owns the slave, and the slave has become sexually objectified as the master's sex toy. Because this relationship is based on an exchange of power, a master seems more masculine and powerful the more slaves he has, but less the more masters are present. A truly dominant master wouldn't want to share his power, but would rather take the other masters as his slaves.

Role Reversal

   Physical dominance. The alpha male. Unquestionable power. Three concepts that all come together in male bondage. When you talk about physical dominance, it's a question of body language, the message the mere presence of your body sends to those around you. The bigger and stronger you look, the more intimidating and powerful you seem to those around you.

   Between males, there is always the contest of the alpha male. Which male is the strongest and most powerful. When you then enter bondage into this competition, physical strength suddenly becomes an additive attribute, because even the stronger and bigger guy will look less impressive if he's been tied up by a much smaller guy. Instead, all of his physical strength becomes a testimonial to his captor's power.

   We call this concept in bondage role reversal. When a big guy sexually dominates a smaller guy, there's no surprise as we expected it to happen, like nature taking its course. But when the underdog sexually dominates the alpha male, using restraints to compensate for his physical inferiority, it's a much more impressive and unexpected feat.

Role Reversal
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   And at some point, we all root for the little guy. "It's so awesome to see such big guys get taken down a notch by just an ordinary fox," one of the first comments I received on my artwork. Because at some point in our life we have all been in those shoes, and we want the little guy to feel physically dominant and get sexual gratification for ourselves.

"That, and it's just hot to see big muscle guys tied up."