BDSM
There's an interesting problem in the gay community. If, like me, you have an interest in BDSM and you tend to be in the submissive role...

...you don't really have that much of a choice. There's a lot more subs than there are doms in general, take a look at any adult profiles site - gay or straight. You'll find that about 50% of the people on there are pure submissives, about 30% are 'switch' (which usually means they're a sub but willing to take turns domming), 10% are genuine switch and able to enjoy either role.

That leaves only 10% who are genuinely dominant and interested in having someone submit to them.

Now, if you want to do things heavily and properly, you need a certain amount of equipment. None of this comes particularly cheap - leather in particular is very expensive. A decent set of wrist and ankle cuffs will set you back £50-60, and that's only the start. Take a look on certain... shall we say equipment sites, and you'll find some of the seriously heavy gear there in the £1200 region or above.

So, if you're a male submissive looking for a male dom, you are far more likely to find an older dom than a younger one, simply because of the time and expenditure required to get the equipment and the practice you need to get really good at it. Yes, there are some very talented well-equipped younger doms, but they're the exception rather than the rule. A lot of the really good older doms were subs once who gradually migrated into the dom role.

And so a lot of my BDSM experience has been with older guys - usually in their 30's and 40's. I'm 26 now and got into BDSM when I was about 20. I'm not particularly fussed about the age of my partner, if we click and there's chemistry, that's all that matters to me.

But it does look kinda odd :) I could still pass for 21 in the right light, and when I've been out to the pub with my dom (or Master) it really does look like a proper sugar daddy relationship, despite the fact that there's no money involved. Just lots of discipline ;-)

Apologies for length. I'll use a shorter piece of rope next time.
(calamarain just invented dehydrated water, Sat 6 Dec 2008, 14:28, 3 replies)

Bow down before me and lick my dirty boots boy.
Ok! I'm female but beggars can't be choosers.
(Jimmy Saville's bitch Is a sucker for gold jewellery, Sat 6 Dec 2008, 19:06, closed)

It's cheaper...
to buy tools and learn to make your own equipment.

Trust me, I'm a (straight) switch who does exactly that
(SarcasticBarSteward wants to be good at Photoshop when he grows up, Sun 7 Dec 2008, 0:12, closed)

Skill
Yeah... but to be quite honest it's never as good. Yes you can improvise discipline equipment (restraints, canes, paddles etc) easily, but the heavy stuff like straitjackets, sleepsacks etc... that needs a professional.
(calamarain just invented dehydrated water, Sun 7 Dec 2008, 0:45, closed)