How can I introduce the healing potential of rope bondage in the well-being industry?
WHAT
Japanese rope bondage, also known as “shibari” or “kinbaku”. It translates to “to bind” and has historical roots in restraining prisoners. Over time, it has evolved into an intricate art form, expressing various scenarios and emotions. (Source: theguardian, 2016)
WHY
In my third year of undergraduate studies, I was diagnosed with moderate depression due to the stress and fear of the future. Overwhelmed by anxiety and depression, I sought solace, often finding comfort by tightly wrapping myself under a quilt. Aware of rope bondage and curious about its potential, I reached out to the community in China to explore whether it could offer a sense of safety beyond my quilt. Trying rope bondage provided relief from anxiety, leading me to join the community and become a rope bondage model.
During my observations, I noticed a prevalent male perspective in the rope bondage community, where the association with sex and the stigma surrounding pornography in Asia contribute to misconceptions. Messages about rope bondage often imply male dominance and objectification of women. In this unequal dynamic, women, transgender women, or non-binary individuals are subjected to the gaze of men. As a rope bondage model, I’ve been bound to cis straight men. My goal is to experiment with gender transformation in rope bondage, aiming for a power shift, artistic expression, and a more intimate and sensual exploration.
I discussed my project with guest expert Sarah-Lou Newman, an artist, mother, and feminist. I told Sarah there are a number of cisgender straight men who reject being tied up, and she listened and said, “They despise rope bondage, and in pornography, the women who are tied up are usually the object and the cisgender men are the subject, and when they’re watching porn they know exactly what’s going to happen next in the film, so when they’re going to be tied up, they’re very frightened.”
Initially, my focus was on engaging cisgender straight men with negative perceptions of rope bondage as stakeholders to “de-stigmatize” it. However, the shift from China to the UK provided a new perspective, highlighting significant social, ideological, and cultural differences, particularly in gender and perceptions of bondage between the East and the West. I searched “捆绑”(Rope bondage in Chinese), “Rope Bondage” and “Shibari”(Rope bondage in Japanese) on Google Trends in the last five years. The findings revealed that in China, the majority of searches reinforced stereotypes around rope bondage, whereas in Europe and the United States, searches were more geared towards teaching and knowledge content, reflecting a relatively positive impression. Struggling to find cis straight men at art school in London with negative impressions. I came to realize that this might not be a sensible direction of study in London.
While rope bondage is commonly associated with sexual pleasure, I firmly believe in its multifaceted positive aspects. Drawing from personal experience, my focus is on promoting the healing benefits of rope bondage, particularly for well-being and addressing negative feelings caused by academic stress, especially among students. Dr. Temple Grandin’s invention of the cuddling machine in 1965, a deep-pressure device, serves as a historical reference for applying even pressure to soothe hypersensitivity. Detroit therapist
Stefani Goerlich emphasizes that different nerve endings respond to various types of touch, with a rope providing the sensation of a hug. This aligns with the notion that self- bondage can mimic a comfort strategy ingrained since infancy, where wrapping or pressing is a source of comfort for some individuals. This theoretical support forms a solid foundation for my research.
HOW
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Initially, I utilized one-on-one online interviews for qualitative research, aiming to understand perceptions and feelings about rope bondage before and after trying it. The online approach provided geographical flexibility, facilitating feedback collection from Chinese rope bondage enthusiasts. This method offered flexibility for adjusting questions based on responses and gathering a diverse range of materials. One-on-one interviews, given the sensitivity of the topic, ensured privacy and encouraged openness.
However, interviews had drawbacks, such as being time-consuming and potentially psychologically stressful. To address these issues, in Intervention 4, I opted for questionnaires to collect feedback while analyzing the data qualitatively. This approach allowed for accurate data collection in a shorter time, facilitated easy result analysis, and reduced psychological pressure on respondents, as they could complete the survey at their own pace.
INTERVENTION
Having arrived in London without any friends, meeting Lik, the co-founder of Luckypot, a mobile, decentralized art collective dedicated to cross-cultural life creation and practice, and creating a vibrant community of Asian and Chinese artists in London, was a pivotal chapter in my life. Lik is my flatmate and the first person I’ve bonded with in London. After experiencing rope bondage, she commented, “Expressing my feelings has never been so easy. The rope bondage process made me feel cared for and relaxed – I didn’t have to worry about a thing.” This led to my joining as a member of Luckypot, and my work with Asian artists has expanded our collective voice and attracted more attention to my rope bondage practice.
Intervention0 is where I do rope bondage practice on a one-to-one basis, and is something I’ve been doing consistently since the start of the school year. It’s usually with friends I’ve just met as my pre-intervention and takes place at a number of random times and situations, including my living room, bedroom, garden, the corner of the dance floor at a party, and so on. As soon as I hold the rope in London I get curious questions and eagerness to try it out, and very few people feel shame or embarrassment. The atmosphere during bondage is very upbeat and we all get to know each other, so I made a lot of friends very quickly.
My intervention 1 on April 30, 2023, I and other artists from Luckypot were invited to participate in the event at Canalway Cavalcade Arts Festival. Bondage From start to I chose the performance format for this intervention as it is a complete process that is both performative and visual, and for this intervention, I was involved in curating a performance about rope and making my own rope-inspired costumes. My Bachelor’s Degree is in Fashion Design and I have always been passionate about fashion design, so I wanted to normalize rope bondage for the general public by incorporating rope elements into the clothing. The rope costumes received great feedback, ZhaoZhao, who participated in the
event with me, said “Your costumes made me feel interested and want to try bondage because usually bondage gives people an impression of being kinky and aggressive, whereas my costumes were very relatable.”
Unlike my previous rope bondage experiences, this was the first time I had practiced rope bondage in an outdoor open space with a large audience, which was a challenge. Considering whether or not everyone was able to try rope bondage, I wasn’t sure of my stockholder yet. The audience for this intervention were British citizens attending the festival who didn’t stay for long, so I wasn’t able to actively collect feedback from the audience this time around, but judging from the enjoyable atmosphere at the venue, the intervention succeeded in breaking down the perception that rope bondage has always been on the ground and put it in a public environment.
On the 28th of May, I conducted an intervention 2, an event I curated in collaboration with other artists on the theme of furniture and bondage. The event was inspired by a daily practice of rope bondage from intervention, the day I whimsically attempted to tie my friend Momo to a chair to help her temporarily escape from the hassles of mobile phone-social media. In contrast to intervention 1, which was mainly attended by students from various art colleges in London, this event was held in a safe and intimate indoor venue. Personally, performing indoors has improved my performance coordination with other artists. Secondly, the audience responded in a more engaged way, integrating my performance into the overall storyline. I believe that transforming rope bondage into an artistic performance produces better results in a closed and intimate environment.
At the event, I randomly bound audience members who were willing to try it. One anonymous participant said, “The feeling of being tightly bound was quite tranquil. The initial nervousness and worry contrasted with the subsequent feeling of security and calm”
For Intervention 3, I organized a Halloween party on October 10th with fellow Luckypot artists, featuring a rope bondage performance and one-on-one experiences at my home. After narrowing down the target audience to students, the event aimed to explore whether rope bondage could alleviate negative emotions associated with academic and life stress. The diverse attendance included students of various ethnicities and genders in London. During a session with D, a 19-year-old student, on the parlor dance floor, I discovered that he had fallen asleep and was snoring. Despite his deep sleep, I woke him up for safety reasons. D shared that he had been busy and tired lately, and during the bondage experience, he felt safe and experienced an unprecedented sense of peace. Despite our initial unfamiliarity, the rope bondage session facilitated a deeper connection between D and me. We delved into personal topics that we wouldn’t typically discuss with someone we had just met. Through this experience, I observed that rope bondage not only connects people physically but also fosters a meaningful mental connection.
I got in touch with Gandalf, an expert in the field of rope bondage therapy who trained as a cognitive scientist before leaving academia. He works to diversify rope education and create safer spaces for rope practitioners to explore the potential of rope beyond the erotic, emphasizing attention and empathy in bondage.
In sharing his views with me, Gandalf emphasized the ease with which rope bondage can be exploited, especially in the absence of a general sense of consent. They referred to the famous Shibari Healing case, highlighting how rope bondage can be a tool for sexual assault. Gandalf also discussed the importance of recognizing that rope bondage can be therapeutic, but that it can also be highly triggering. He suggested that I include a discussion of trauma awareness in my project.
Thus after I identified stockholders as university students who were negatively affected by academic stress, I began my intervention 4 by referring to Gandalf’s advice. In order to reach out to more unfamiliar individuals, I put up open recruitment posters at the school inviting students to experience rope bondage. The intervention took place from the 10th to the 20th of November in a quiet, private, and relatively enclosed space – my living room. I had one-on-one sessions with each participant, each lasting approximately two hours.
The structured workflow for the rope bondage session is as follows:
**30 mins:** Introduction, discussing preferences, emphasizing informed consent principles, and addressing safety concerns. Participants rate their current comfort level on a scale of 1 to 10.
**10 mins:** Assisting participants in relaxing their bodies and creating a personalized rope bondage program.
**50 mins:** Initiating the bondage experience with focused attention on the participant, continually observing physical and mental sensations, and making immediate adjustments.
**30 mins:** Concluding with physical and psychological aftercare. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences by completing a questionnaire.
CONCLUSION
In Intervention 4’s survey analysis, with 11 participants aged 19 to 27, all university students, the mean mood score before rope bondage was 3.818 out of 10, indicating a negative mood prevalence. After attempting rope restraint, the mean mood score rose significantly to 7.727 out of 10, reflecting a positive mood shift.
In the interview analysis, Initial impressions of rope bondage included keywords like perversion, control, sensuality, and shame, while post-experience feelings shifted to safety, fun, calm, and self-acceptance. Participants endorsed rope bondage as a health benefit and recommended it for those facing life challenges.
In the future I will keep as a bondage educator, I aim to promote the healing potential of rope bondage in the well-being industry. I aspire to spread knowledge about rope bondage publicly, encouraging those interested to explore this practice. Within the community, I advocate for innovation, emphasizing intimacy in bondage culture and promoting a “healing through touch” approach.
Despite challenges in reaching experts, I approach the journey with optimism and courage. This year, my commitment to research questions has led to introducing others to new experiences and forming meaningful connections in the field. Grateful for the transformative journey, rope bondage has offered invaluable experiences and knowledgeable friendships.