You might think of submission as allowing yourself to be controlled, being passive, losing your own will. You’re wrong. Submission is as powerful as dominance. It’s just that it is a different kind of power. Let me tell you my story, so that you understand the true meaning of submission.
I had never heard of Shibari before, but I saw an ad asking for a girl to play “bottom” in a Shibari scene. The pay was good, so I took the job. He was a mature man, almost old, who was a businessman and an amateur photographer. He was showing interest in Shibari for its aesthetic value, and he needed a model. That’s when I came into the picture.
At first, I hated it. I thought I was being used like some sort of toy. Staying motionless and quiet made me feel like a doll, not a person. I was about to quit, when I realized that it was I who had control over every single aspect of the scene. It was my attitude that made it a great day or a waste of time; it was my emotions that mattered. The whole studio, with its expensive equipment, was there for me, not for him. I was the artist and what he did was capture my art in an image.
That was so liberating for me! Eventually, of course, I came to acknowledge his contribution to the scene. What he did was as important as what I did. The point is that we had become partners in beauty. We worked together to create something alluring and each of us gave our best.
I’ve worked as a Shibari bottom for many other artists ever since. I have met interesting people and I have acted in many roles, which have given me insights about unknown aspects of my personality. Shibari has been the door to a whole world of new experiences for me. Now I know the true meaning of submission.
This is my Shibari story.
