Fake Rigger

As with clothes, watches, lawyers, doctors, and everything else, there are also falsifications in Shibari. One of the most harmful ones, and unfortunately a very common one, is the fake rigger: the person who pretends to be a skillful and caring top, but, in reality, is nothing more than a selfish reckless bastard.

The main characteristic of the fake rigger is that they lack the necessary skills to do their job properly. Either because they haven’t studied and practiced enough or because they are just too lazy and irresponsible to behave professionally. Fake riggers often tie knots in the wrong way, hurt their bottoms, and, ultimately, compromise the whole scene and the wellbeing of the participants.

Another defect of the fake rigger, and a certain way to unmask one, is that they have little or no regard for the bottom with whom they are working. A true top knows that the emotional connection between top and bottom is as essential for the success of a scene. That it is as important as the quality of the rope structure. Moreover, true professionals know that bottoms need to feel that they can trust their tops. A fake rigger, on the contrary, doesn’t work with bottoms: they use them. They don’t build trust. Actually, they enhance fear as a means of domination.

Fake riggers are irresponsible and do things that they shouldn’t or do things incorrectly. Therefore, they put their bottoms at risk. They don’t care enough about safety, which can lead to serious injury and legal responsibility. Finally, at their worst they are psychopaths who take advantage of the bottom being restrained to abuse them. The abuse can be psychological, physical, or sexual. In this case, we’re not talking just about an incompetent idiot, but of a criminal predator. And that kind of people should not be part of any Shibari community.

Now you know everything you need about what a fake rigger is.