A visual ode to niche kinks and sexual misfits
- Text by Miss Rosen
Katharine Gates made Furries a household name, being the first person to document this curious kink in her landmark book Deviant Desires (Juno Books, 2000). But Furries were far from the only fetish Gates researched at length, as she delved into the lives of Sploshers, Crushers, Balloonatics, Pony Players, Feeders & Gainers, and Adult Babies with exquisite care, bringing the world of kink out from behind closed doors.
Now Gates returns with Deviant Desires: A Tour of the Erotic Edge (powerHouse Books), a revised and updated version featuring new chapters on Cannibals and Foot Fetishists. Beautifully illustrated with new images that are the perfect mix of the sexy, sensual, and subversive, Deviant Desires will satisfy your inquisitive mind with fascinating stories from the sexual fringe.
“Most people are aware of the Internet’s Rule #34: ‘If it’s out there someone is making porn of it,’” Gates observes. “Kinky people are no longer thinking they are all alone in their idiosyncratic interest. Isolation is a terrible, dangerous thing. They are able to connect with other people and get support as well as tips for how to act on fantasies safely and consensually.”
© Mukis Kitchen
As a result, kink is moving out of the shadows and coming into its own. Gates’ work is devoid of shame, openly embracing and accepting the incredible diversity of erotic experiences that humans enjoy on their own terms. “Most scenarios make use of the themes of power, transformation, comfort, and taboo to enhance and intensify the erotic experience. It’s just a lot more obvious when you look at something like Pony Play or messy fun!” she observes.
“The erotic gets its power from giving meaning to arousal and orgasm. Humans are a storytelling species and so all of these rich varieties of erotic scenarios are ways to make sex more than just a bodily function,” she notes. Indeed, her subjects show just how powerful sexuality is when it moves into the realm of the fantastical.
© Ron H
Consider the “Turkey Man,” the inspiration for the book – a travelling businessman who hired a New York dominatrix, who shared this story with Gates back in 1994. The dom arrived at his hotel room, where he had a large cardboard box crudely fashioned to resemble a microwave. “Turkey Man” would strip down to just his socks, climb into the box, and lay on his back with his legs and arms raised like a turkey as the dominatrix narrated his fantasy: “I’m turning up the heat… You’re going to get really, really hot… You’ll feel your skin crisping and turning brown… In a few hours, I’ll carve you up with my carving knife. Then I’m going to eat you!”
At the completion of the season, “Turkey Man” would ejaculate without any physical stimulation whatsoever – illustrating the power of the Cannibal fantasy.
“It’s about adults wanting to have a chance to have the kind of transcendent and FUN experience we had when we were kids,” Gates explains. “It’s a grownup version of Hansel and Gretel being captured and eaten by the witch – with negotiated consent and orgasms!”
© Mark McQueen
©Looners United
‘Treacle’ © Splosh
© Ned Sonntag
© Pangur
© Marj Borjorquez
© BigCuties.com
Deviant Desires: A Tour Of The Erotic Edge is available now from PowerHouse Books.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
A tender portrait of life and ritual from Mexico City’s streets
Órale — For the last six years of his life, photographer, collector and designer Michel Hurst documented death rituals, street life and religious pageantry in contemporary Mexico. A new monograph showcases his work.
Written by: Roxana Diba
In photos: Washington DC’s Black communities facing up to gentrification
A Language We Share — A new exhibition featuring the work of Beverly Price and Gordon Parks preserves historically Black neighbourhoods in the USA, before development and economic forces made them disappear.
Written by: Miss Rosen
On the frontlines of Britain’s ’80s protest movements
Protest and Equality — Against a backdrop of Thatcherism, hospital closures and global conflict, photographer Sarah Saunders was a documentarian of the long decade’s effects on society, as well as the communities actively resisting it.
Written by: Miss Rosen
How one of the world’s best big wave photographers & filmmakers gets the perfect shot
Staring down the barrel — Sachi Cunningham has built an immersive body of work documenting huge barrels by getting closer to the action than most. Josh Jones speaks to her about her process, finding order within chaos, and the importance of feeling awe.
Written by: Josh Jones
In photos: The gritty golden age of the UK’s skateboarding scene
Elsewhere — A new book from Science Vs. Life founder Neil Macdonald explores the characters, photographs and ephemera that defined the sport in the ’80s and ’90s, just before the internet and commercialisation changed it forever.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The London passport picture studio that became an unexpected repository of 20th century stars
Passport Photo Service — From Mick and Bianca Jagger to Muhammad Ali and Poly Styrene, the unassuming Oxford Street store was frequented by hundreds of musicians, actors, artists and more over its 70 years of operation.
Written by: Miss Rosen
