BOUND - January 2023

Editors Letter

What does liberation mean to you? Liberation means ‘an occasion when something or someone is released or made free’ according to the Cambridge dictionary.

For me, liberation is freedom from the oppression that society puts on those who fall outside of the ‘norm’. Throughout history, people in power have found ways to silence the voices of those who are different and strange. But the different and strange have always fought back. The LGBTQI+ community has been marginalised more than most - though there are pockets of acceptance where you can find the embrace of those similar to you.

One subsection of this is the underground fetish scenes that are below the surface of every city. Staying in the shadows, communities of oddities, eccentrics and the curious lurk amongst us all.

Some profess themselves via social media, doing live performances of drag, sex and everything in between. While others stay private and unleash their flamboyance behind the closed doors of their local fetish evening.

Self-acceptance is liberating. Brought up Catholic, a religion with exclusion embedded into their core beliefs, finding those who felt the same way helped me to accept myself and ultimately set free of the shame associated with growing up queer.

If you so wish, use this magazine to help you delve deeper into your own journey of discovery. Whether you are questioning your sexuality or gender, or you’re wondering if there’s more to sex than missionary, experiment and be your true self. In the words of Lady Gaga, you were born this way baby.

- Sapphire Anastasia

Contents

What are we really into?

An exploration of what ‘fetishes’ the United Kingdom are searching online. Each region is seemingly into something different. Some categories can be considered controversial and others are gaining more and more popularity each year.

Crossbreed comes to an end

Celebrated sex party, Crossbreed, announced the sudden closure of the events company as the founder becomes surrounded by contravercy. What other options do sex-positive people have?

Infamous leeds fetish evening reviewed!

A growing fetish scene lurks beneath Leeds’ busy night life. Hosting events every few months, Sex Club is seemily becoming the top choice for Yorkshire’s alternative crowd.

Special thanks to

Sex Club and their photogrpaher, Matt Girling

Photography by Dylan Tyrer

Karl Hodge for subediting the articles Elise Collinge for modelling

Should we be paying for porn?

Everyone has their thing. Some love to play music, others play sports. But below the surface, we’re all a little strange. Whether you choose to embrace it or not, the digital era has helped to indulge the public’s fantasies. But what are we really into and how much are we willing to pay for it?

PornHub claims to be the world’s biggest porn site and publishes the UK’s top searches each year. Separated by county, it appears that each of them are into something vastly different. You’ll be surprised to discover that here in Yorkshire, the top relative category is ‘MILF’. For those not familiar with this term, it stands for Mother I’d Like to Fuck. But when diving deeper into the subgenres of pornography that British people are watching, ‘vintage’ comes out on top for Yorkshire and the Humberside. According to PornHubs insights, ‘hentai’ is the fastly growing in popularity across the world with it being a top ten search in almost every country in 2021. Added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011, it defines hentai as ‘a subgenre of the Japanese genres of manga and anime, characterised by overtly sexualised characters and sexually explicit images and plots.’ Although the genitals are still censored in hentai consumed in Japan, the western world appear to have some access to the explicit version of the art form (with the option for censored version, if that is what their heart desires).

The public are able to access content for free on various websites across the internet but for those looking for something specific, they are more likely to find it from specialised content creators using sites like OnlyFans.

Launched in 2016, OnlyFans is a subscription based social media platform where ‘fans’ pay a monthly fee to access the content posted by entertainers, artists and sex workers.

On the site, you’re also able to ‘tip’ the creators, pay to have conversations with them and even purchase original content that can’t be found anywhere else. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, many sex workers moved over to the platform and it seemingly gained a reputation from this. However in August 2021, the app announced their plans to enforce a ban on explicit content that October. Due to extreme backlash, they went back on this idea. But some creators decided to switch over to other subscription based platforms like PocketStars.

Whilst free porn sites have their ups and downs for those looking to get off, OnlyFans and other content creator driven porngraphy have shot up in popularity for the everyday consumer.

Former OnlyFans content creator, Venus, was in the top 30% during the year that she worked on the platform. Porn Hub insights claim that the search term ‘goth’ was searched 283% more in 2021 compared to the year before. With a growing relevance due to pop culture, Venus capitalised on this by creating specialised gothic solo content.

“I left due to it being a lot of work for not enough money. It was £7 for a subscription and up to £50 for pay per view content. Over the year I worked using the site, I only earnt around £1000”

However it seems the more niche your content is, the bigger the clientele is. Starryfawn (she/her) started creating content on OnlyFans three years ago and is currently in the top 0.21% of creators on the site.

lot of work for not enough money”

“A

“Theres a big niche for what I do”

When asked what her niche is, she replied “I create large toy and fantasy toy based content as well as some cosplay content. There’s a big niche for the niche I do.” Charging $22 per month, Starryfawn has a boom in creators and an oversaturation in the market of her niche despite there being a large interest.

Some creators choose to make requested content for ‘fans’ and are able to charge high amounts for this service. But Starryfawn chooses to focus on gaining more subscribers. “I don’t sell requested content anymore but I did when I first started. [The most I charged was] probably about £800. I found they were too time consuming and high energy, I put the energy into advertising more and made more from subscriptions”

With so much free pornography freely avaliable across the internet, some feel no need to pay to see the explicit content that they’re looking for. However with 170 million registered users on OnlyFans and over 1.5 million creators, it looks like these numbers are only going to increase over the coming years as people search for more and more niche content to get themselves off to.

Sex Club Review!

A liberating night out at Sex Club. Founded by DJ Weaklings, Sailor Stephens, and co-organised with Superfriendz, it is a queer fetish event held at the Belgrave Music Hall every few months.

On a dark October night, I entered the upstairs venue room of the Belgrave Music Hall for Leeds’ infamous fetish evening. Sex Club is a self described queer, fetish, goth party showcasing drag acts and a safehaven for people to reveal a part of themselves that is usually hidden away. Although, don’t be fooled by the name. There’s no live sex shows here, as of yet anyway. Just a celebration of queer entertainment and an audience decked out in harnesses, latex and all other forms of fetishwear that you can dream of. The event itself is hosted in two rooms. One with a bar and a large comfortable seating area where attendees can mingle with each other.

The other with a stage and large dance floor, that would later become filled with smiling oddities and eccentrics. A few hours after the doors opened, both rooms were filled with some of the most flamboyant individuals that I have had the delight to come across. All gathered with a common interest in self expression in a non judgemental environment, free from the outside worlds expectations and restrictions. Before the night began, a variety of drag performers took to the stage to entertain the excited and decorated crowd. Hosted by King Confusa who announced the running order of the evening, Lady HD graced the stage. Lip syncing their heart out in a deep v neck dress while their breast plate swung along to the music while

“Weird, wonderful and raunchy”

they doused themselves in ‘milk’ from brightly coloured baby bottles. Every pair of eyes in the room were seemingly transfixed onto Lady HD.

Liv Vicariously was next on the bill with their politically inspired drag act, entering the stage in a gingham skirt with a comically large back upon their back.

Throughout their hilarious performance, my eyes were fixated on their own pair, covered in carefully drawn circles of colour accompanied by lashes that resembled miniature umbrellas.

One thing that stuck out about the evening was the diversity in the cast. Many drag shows across the country are known for having an all cis male perfomers. Finally it was time for the headliner Adam Christensen. Walking on looking glum, they sat on a chair centre stage with an accordion.Not something you’d usually see at any sort of show.In no time, the

audience were in hysterics as Chistensen sang crude lyrics about their various sexual experiences across the globe. After everyone had had a laugh and a boogie, it was time for the DJ’s to take over and the dancefloor to become seemingly darker. The night descended into what I presume a slightly tam-

Creatures of the night came together to dance to the likes of iconic goth bands such as The Cure and Siouxie Sioux and the Banshees alongside a whole lot of German techno. Even I was even hit on by an incredible figure covered in red fishnets and leather, and handed some of the kindest compliments I’ve ever been given regarding my behind. It was so incredibly refreshing to be in a nightlife environment that felt safe from start to end. Every person I talked to spoke highly of the event, one of those people being a man far out of his comfort zone named Jacob. He said ‘It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I’m amazed by everyone’s outfits. Weird, wonderful and raunchy, all blended into one’.

I left the event feeling enlightened by what I had just experienced. Every single person in the room was free to express themselves to the fullest and be embraced wholeheartedly by their peers. It is a tremendous evening of art, love and fluidity that I would recommend to anyone looking to broaden their horizons.

The Abrupt End of Crossbreed

A popular queer sex-positive rave has announced the closure of its events after allegations of sexual assault, manipulation, abuse and rape were made against the founder.

Founded by Alex Warren (they/them), also known as Kiwi, Crossbreed first opened its doors in 2019. With a recently announced residency at Corsica Studios in South East London and hosting events in Manchester,

it looked like Crossbreed was the new hotspot for kinky people. Then, in mid-November an anonymous Instagram account made several serious accusations against Warren, ranging from manipulation to sexual assault and even rape.

On November 16th, Warren released a three part statement on Instagram denying the allegations and announcing their choice to step down from their role at Crossbreed. Warren claimed that the anonymous Instagram page shared “some inaccurate and false stories before finally making some very serious allegations and coming offline”. They addressed the accusations by saying, “The allegations made are serious and I need time to properly investigate what they are, process and understand them. Should there be anyone who feels harmed by me who feels safe coming forward, I am open to hearing from anyone I might have harmed, directly or indirectly.”

Warren added “I aim to hold myself accountable, centre the well-being of those close to me who I love dearly and grow as a person.”

The Crossbreed management team then made a statement via Instagram on the same day announcing that they had decided to no longer work with them.

The team has made the decision that it is not possible to work with the Crossbreed brand further and as such, I have to close the company down. I want to thank everyone who has been a part of the last 3 years, everyone who has worked with us and everyone who danced. Words will never really be enough. This community is so special and I hope that in time other spaces will grow too.”

They went on to say that all tickets for future events will be automatically refunded and the brand’s Instagram page will be taken down.

“It is with great sadness that I announce that Crossbreed will be closing permanently.”

What

was Crossbreed?

Crossbreed started gaining more popularity post lockdown featuring in The Guardian and The Evening Standard. It appeared that they were fast becoming a well known name in the kink community.

Enforcing a dress code and priding themselves on positive discrimination on the door, Crossbreed was a safe space for many people. One of those people is musician Con O’Neil (they/them). Attending their first Crossbreed event in July and planning to attend more in the future, Mx O’Neil went with their partner at the time.

Made use of the playroom a few times as well as using a fuck machine available at the event and we also made use of the quiet room when things got a bit overstimulating.”

A regular Crossbreed attendee, Lizzie (he/she/they), felt that its closure was “a huge loss for the kink community but even more specifically the queer kink community.”

They added, “At the time I went I was definitely questioning my gender a lot, Crossbreed felt like a safe space where I wouldn’t be misgendered. I’m autistic and queer as fuck and it was a super safe space for both of those! Kink-friendly, sex-friendly events and clubs are hard to find. It’s rare you find places with quiet rooms.”

While the British queer kink community mourn the loss of a beloved event, others may be inspired to start new sex-positive club nights in its absence and provide new safe spaces in the future.

There have been no statements that a police investigation is underway and the Instagram page that made the accusations has since been deleted.

“We did a bit of everything and enjoyed the rave room with our friends.”