The Purposes of Shibari

Shibari can serve several different purposes. Whether you’re going to do a scene, a performance, an art installation, or even if you’re going to use it privately, it is important that you take a moment to consider which of the purposes of Shibari you’re going to emphasize in this particular experience.

Shibari can have an aesthetic purpose. Just as a painting or a sculpture, a Shibari scene can be the expression of an artist’s feelings and ideas. If this the case, then careful considerations about structure, stillness, motion, color, lightning, color and location are of the utmost importance.

Shibari can be part of a BDSM dynamic. In this case, elements such as power exchange, pain, punishment, and the inclusion of specific tools become very important. Remember, also, that, as in any BDSM practice, consent and safety are a must. This is not negotiable.

If the purpose of a Shibari session is emotional connection, then it is the communication and exchange between top and bottom that take the prominent place. Here, you’re not looking for a professional partner or a model, but rather you’re looking for someone with whom you can share intimacy and with whom you feel a strong affinity, previous to the scene.

When Shibari is part of a spectacle, it is very important to see it as the audience would see it and make sure that the scene conveys a message beyond ropes. It is also very important to consider the “production values” of the performance: lightning, color, clothing, music, and such.

Two or more of these purposes can be combined in a single scene, in which case you must carefully review everything ahead, so that the result shows synergy instead on confusion.

Now you know everything you need about the purposes of Shibari.