Nudity - As You Were!

Doh!

Panic over! Blogger has now reversed it's 'no nudity' plans so it's business as usual.

They cited fairness to people 'who express their identities through their sexuality' which seems a pretty good description of most gay men - and I don't mean that facetiously! My sentiments entirely.

Perhaps we've misjudged Google - or did they misjudge their users?

(Photo: Todd Sanfield for DNA)

Blogger to end nudity

When I wrote about Charlie Hebdo and freedom of expression (above), I little thought that Google was about to withdraw that very privilege from us on their territory, but that is what they have now announced. 

 

From March 23 explicit nudity and sexual imagery will be banned on Blogger. 

(announcement text)

I can't say I was totally surprised by the announcement, Blogs are completely open to public view and Google's tolerance and defence of of explicit porn over the years has amazed me. However, the writing was on the wall when they started excluding it from search engine results. This storm has been brewing for some time, helped along by irrational feminists, resurgent religious enthusiasts of all flavours and anti-Western extremists who will chortle with glee at this sign of our Society taking up the typical defensive posture of banning everything deemed to be subversive.

The good news is that mitchmen will not disappear! 

Sometime after March 23rd, this blog will become 'private' 

unless I remove the explicit imagery. 

That would mean you would effectively have to join a membership to see it.

Even then I would still only be able to add vanilla content

HOWEVER

• My gateway blog  http://mitchmen2.blogspot.co.uk/ is not affected as I take care to keep it vanilla. It will always signpost you to my work.
• Likewise, if 'mitchmen2' goes down the drain, my domain name http://mitchmen.com will continue directing you to wherever I am
• My Yahoo! Group where I publish most of my own work is also unaffected by this announcement.

If you want to keep in touch with mitchmen, 

make a note of these addresses!

I am still considering my options for continuing the blog. 

These include going vanilla here (a big job of retrospective editing, but it would preserve my search engine rating and public 'face') 

or switching to another platform like tumblr (although, in the hands of Yahoo!, I fear may it go the same way before long). 

A third alternative is reverting to membership format which I suspect will become the new reality before too long. 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Watch this space for announcements.

Meanwhile make a note of the fall-back route for finding me.

Ulf's Wedge

Ulf - Almost There (2013)

Ulf's  take on the theme of 'riding the wedge' (click on label below for previous articles) treats it as an ancilliary to the main action. Instead of a having a pointed apex, a wicked looking, metal, saw tooth strip is fixed to the top of the frame. The captives legs are pulled forward and it looks like they are attached to the front legs of the 'horse', which prevents him from supporting his own weight with them - as if the barbed wire binding were not restraint enough!

This is the first time I've featured Ulf and it coincides with our arrival at the letter 'U' in my A-Z of fetish artists. Normally I don't cover CG art in this survey, but it's about time I covered this artist so I plan to do a feature on him in the very near future.

(click on label below for previous 'wedge' articles)

A-Z Article Updated - 'Adam'

 Adam - Cop Restrained

I have today published a completely new article on Adam. My original was rather dismissive of his fetish credentials and only contained the cop picture above, but revisiting his work I realised there was more to say.

Adam - Locker Room Initiation

Adam's fetish work covers surprisingly risque topics like the piss stream above 

and some interesting examples of 'hidden eroticism'. 

See more in A-Z of Fetish Art - Adam

For other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below or search by artist name.

Ministry of Silly Hats - 8 Furry Ears

 Well, I suppose it's a good joke to juxtapose 'hot' and cold in the same picture, 

but it's hard to get excited over a man who doesn't remove his hat for sex. 

Perhaps it's for that long trek to the unheated bathroom! 

(Model and Studio not known)

 'Winter' by Seva Galkin

The title probably refers to the model's reaction when he found out what he was wearing for the shoot. Humiliating handsome models (à la mitchmen) seems to be becoming an international pastime. No wonder he's groping for his rosary for comfort!
... and what are the guys down the pub going to say?

Still, looking on the bright side,
someone from Disney might give him a role in the next 'Ice Age' movie.

 Jordan Miles by Gilles Crofta

Same trap, different hat, but Jordan's toughing it out, putting on his best catwalk stare.

 Actually the great coat, skillfully aligned with the line of the ear flaps, 

showcases Jordan's body absurdly well and makes this image slightly less silly. 

No sillier than the D&G underpants anyway, who designed that garment?

 Matt Carlin by Gilles Crofta

An even frostier reaction from Matt Carlin, it seems. 

As a modern man, he's no doubt aware that ink and droopy ears are not 'on trend' right now. 

Adding a pilot's helmet on top of the fur hat was the last straw,
Like wearing a double condom, more is sometimes less.

That sulky crossed arm pose is doing wonders for his pecs though.
Just imagine someone has just walked into the room with a whip.

 Nick Wolanski by Gilles Crofta

Gilles is a serial offender in the Court of Silly Hats but this image is redeemed by the erotic adaptation of a humble vest into a very sweaty, sexy garment indeed. I can recall similar experimentation in my youth, improvising a leotard from the utilitarian underwear supplied by my mother. It felt as good to me then as it looks on Nick here. Would that I had such thighs! Once again the colour olive demonstrates it's power to flatter the flesh
(search on 'olive' for more articles on this subject).

 

photo by Ron Reyes

Russian troops seem to enjoy opulent barracks these days!

Rumour has it that this was a prototype "invisibility hat", a concept pioneered by Wagner in 'Das Rheingold' and extremely useful when invading neighbouring countries.

As you can see, it doesn't work.

Only joking Mister P. No need to send in the troops!

Not, that is, unless they are all like this chap..........

In deference to my many readers from the frosty, Eastern end of Europe, 

I must admit that the furry hat is an entirely sensible item of outdoor, winter clothing

 and a useful addition to the erotic toy box, but please not on the head! 

Let us hope that peace, fairness and good sense will prevail in  the Ukraine.

Vintage Bondage - Mark Nixon

Mark Nixon (by WPG)

This image of Mark Nixon by WPG has many of the bondage shortcomings I mentioned in my last post  - loose ropes which are not really tied and a fairly relaxed model - but it has it's compensations.

The hands over head and feet together pose really shows off the model's lean physique and long, long legs.  This also constitutes a seriously vulnerable position when in bondage, particularly when coupled with his near nudity and the open air setting. It closely resembles the classical images of St Sebastian and hints of serious danger to that beautiful body.

 

.......but who wouldn't want to tie up such a cute young man?

Two more pictures from the same set which are rather less exciting but I like the hands behind pose on the right. The raised leg trick does nothing for the fetish atmosphere but it does allow his total nudity and you can imagine tying his ankles together yourself. The model's slightly worried look in this picture adds greatly to it's impact. You might think he's seen an archer approaching, but more probably he's concerned about losing his posing pouch! The controversial garment in these pictures is slightly better fitting than those in the last post and fits into the pseudo-classical theme more naturally than the motorcycle scenario seen there.

Mark Nixon caught in the Net

 

 This rear view is another classic male nude pose and shows Mark's well developed upper torso to good effect, the glimpse of his bottom cleavage presumably being acceptable. The net is another regular beefcake accessory, suggestive of fishermen and gladiators ensnaring their quarry. Draping it over the model's lower body creates something of a merman effect for classicists - and a suggestion of captivity for those with baser interests.

 

Mark Nixon Repentant

A powerful study of subservience with a hint of  bondage, but not a rope in sight.

The 60's prudes would find it hard to criticise this image.

This model was blessed with an understated muscularity and slender proportions

 which are a good match for his boyish face.

WPG stands for Western Photography Guild. 

Like AMG (Athletic Model Guild) they adopted the Medieval term for a skilled trade association in order to impart respectability to their brand. Sunny outdoor images were WPG's speciality and this lighting (with the help of some oil) made the most of the model's muscularity and suggested health and vitality. They stuck quite closely to semi-classical studies but there's a stirring undercurrent of eroticism that is pleasurable but also frustrating, since it always goes unfulfilled (although you will find naked, frontal images of this model elsewhere if you search). The much reviled posing pouch, symbolically emphasising what it conceals, is actually a key ingredient in creating this feeling of sexual anticipation. WPG's 'duos' showing two gleaming male bodies intertwined in various pseudo-wrestling positions demonstrate an amazing capacity to suggest sweaty, erotic struggle while remaining strictly decent. This conservative approach no doubt allowed them to recruit body-builders who would not have touched more smutty stuff.

Vintage Bondage - Leonard Chambers

This post was updated in Dec 2023 with additional images including bondage images 3 and 4

1

Vintage bondage imagery is usually pretty disappointing with ropes that usually aren't tied at all, but just wound round limbs or simply draped, and models who look as if they are suffering no inconvenience at all. These pictures of Leonard Chambers in a hogtie by AMG are a cut above that. The ropes are still loose but it's a genuine restraint position and Chambers muscular body reflects that stress, particularly in the image above.

2

The draped podium on which Chambers is balanced is a typical device from 60's beefcake imagery. The model would normally stand or sit on it, imitating a classical statue. This flavour of artiness was supposed to deflect accusations of smut. With the model in bondage it conjures up more adventurous associations with ancient, ritual sacrifice. This probably seems more eyebrow-raising to us now than it did then - that was the era of Tarzan, Lost Worlds and 'She', when scantily clad movie heroes routinely faced such bondage and unpleasantness on their way to ultimate victory. 

3

This example from the set (added in Dec 2023) is the clearest I have found so far and gives a great view of Chamber's face and arm musculature. To modern eyes this arrangement conjures up a fantasy of the model as a trophy capture, displayed for sale or awaiting some other fate, probably non-terminal, but possibly quite taxing. The slight overhang of his body at each end provides an extra element of discomfort.

4

This fuzzy image was a thumbnail used to advertise the set in magazine ads. The white restraint cord is barely visible around Chambers wrist, but the background pattern confirms it's connection with the images above.

In his bondage pictures above Chambers has the look of a typical 50/60's movie hero but here on the beach he's more the fun-loving boy next door. In the 50's the motorcycle was every young man's passport to freedom, since few could afford a car. It was an accessory that added to his desirability. 

I'm not one of those who decry the posing pouch/G-string but would admit that this picture probably gives ammunition to the detractors. This version of the garment seems to be simultaneously revealing and baggy - or is it just badly padded? 

 This pose is not exactly modest but showcases the model's muscularity - and that dubious pouch.

I wonder if the bottle is used for Eau de Toilet!

This image shows restraint of a different kind. Images like this regularly appear up to the present day. It encapsulates a  romantic yearning to totally possess a beloved - or if you think about the genie in the bottle, the desire to control and contain a more powerful being. Both are universal and timeless desires and surely are the part of the essence of the bondage fetish. 

If you like your men bottled, this might appeal even more, the flask shape being more constraining and vaguely phallic. I imagine the technique needed to produce this image in 1950 was less straight-forward than it would be today. They have even managed to conjure the effect of seeing the model through slightly clouded glass.

There are lots of images of Leonard Chambers on the net, use a search engine to find him with 'vintage model' or similar if necessary. There's an interesting story about his tragic death at Vintage Male

Click on the labels below for other vintage bondage.

Channing Tatum - A wrestler controlled in 'Foxcatcher'

 

Channing Tatum in the Wrestling Arena

 

Those of you who enjoy my stories of hunky male stereotypes being controlled and dominated might enjoy watching the film 'Foxcatcher' which I discovered this week. A fleshy Channing Tatum plays a Gold Medal winning, Olympic amateur wrestler (above). His character is one of the US team taken under the wing of a wealthy sponsor, John Du Pont, who wants to help them win more medals for the US. As part of the deal they have to live and train in the grounds of his mansion.

Channing Oiled up

Du Pont takes a particular interest in Channing' s character, showering him with attention, using his image to promote the venture (above) and parading him to conventions to talk about it.

It soon becomes apparent that Du Pont is delusional about his abilities as a wrestling coach but the wrestling establishment is enthusiastic about the live-in workcamp arrangement and the hefty financial sponsorship he provides.

Channing in the back seat

There's a suggestion that Du Pont's interests in his sportsmen are homosexual as he repeatedly contrives encounters where Channing is partly undressed - like personally oiling him up for the photoshoot or visiting his cabin to confer on training late at night.

Channing is intimidated by the man's confidence and wealth and flattered by the attention he is getting. Anxious not to rock the boat, he accepts the offer of friendship and gradually falls under Du Pont's spell.  His increasing hero-worship and subservience also contributes to that 'is-it-gay?' theme but it's just a hint. There's no confirmation of a sexual relationship but he ends up performing personal, menial tasks for his mentor (above). 

Channing hammered in the Ring

 

Gradually Channing's training suffers and his performance in the ring deteriorates (above), he fails to win a second gold medal and retires to a lesser existence as a coach and Pro-wrestler (below)

.

Channing stripped for action

The gay angle has caused something of a spat with the author of the story, Mark Schultz, whose own real life story the film is based on. He denies having any homosexual relationship with Du Pont but this outrage seems to have been triggered mainly by the predictable insinuations of the media following release of the film. Prior to that he seems to have found the manipulations and closeness shown in the film and Channing's moody and slightly dense portrayal as acceptable. 

 

Channing leaves Camp

 

It's rather sad that Schultz believes it matters to anyone important whether he was seduced or not, or that it's a matter of shame. He certainly would not be the first young man to experiment or to fall under the control of power and wealth. Actually the film is harder on his character than his sexuality. It suggests that he was groomed and no more. He is humiliated but proudly walks away from it all at the end, explaining "You know why I can't stay". But sadly his sporting career is already in ruins. 

There's a lot more to the film than this, which I won't give away, but just as a study in mitchmen-esque grooming and control of a strong and attractive man it makes fascinating (and disturbing) viewing.

Foxcatcher produced by Annapurna Pictures , Likely Story, Media Rights Capital