- Dresscode (BDSM)
In
BDSM , a dresscode is a policy of appropriatedressing for social events such asfetish club s and play parties. It specifies how guests have to be dressed to be admitted into the event.Dress code s are usually strictly enforced.The most important rule in a BDSM dresscode is that guests' attire should be
erotic and/or fetishist. This usually makes it the opposite of a standard formal dresscode - although casual "jeans andT-shirt " is excluded from both, what is included in one is generally excluded from the other. There are two reasons for having a dresscode. One is to discourage those people not in the BDSM scene from entering the event solely to ogle at the guests, and another is to raise the event's atmosphere by ensuring guests are dressed excitingly enough to attract others' attention.By far the most BDSM play parties and other social events require a dresscode. However, in some cases, it is possible to enter in normal casual clothes at a higher entrance fee - this is called a "party pooper fine". Some Nordic BDSM organisations do not have a required dresscode at all in their minor social events, but still encourage fetishist attire.
What kinds of attire a BDSM dresscode includes varies slightly from place to place, but usually follows a general guideline. The following is a list of generally accepted attire:
*Rubber ,latex andleather clothes are considered "safe bets".
*Military uniform s are usually allowed, especially for men. They do not have to be from the guest's own country, any country's uniform is allowed. The only major exception isNazi Germany . Especially inGermany and in some places in theUnited Kingdom , wearing aswastika is absolutely forbidden, even without a purposeful connotation to Nazism.
*School uniform s from countries that mandate such uniforms, for example United Kingdom orJapan , are allowed in some places, especially in countries that do not themselves mandate specific uniforms for schools.
* Formal dress wear (black tie for men, long evening dress for women) is allowed in some countries. Historic dress wear (for example, from the 18th century) is usually preferred to contemporary dress wear. Usually, formal dress wear by itself is considered too neutral, so it is given a more daring edge with accessories. Such accessories might include awhip (if the person is dominant) or a collar (if the person is submissive).
*Crossdressing is nearly always allowed, and sometimes even stretches to more casual wear than would be allowed for the "right" sex. Overly feminine clothes, likeballgown s, are allowed for men, and "macho" clothes like construction worker uniforms are allowed for women.
* Exposing the more erotic parts of the body aids towards inclusion (although this usually favours women over men). At least inEurope , women may partially or fully expose theirbreasts , but baregenitals are usually forbidden, regardless of sex. However, note that the emphasis still has to be on the clothing - entering an event naked or clad only in underwear is taken more asexhibitionism than fetishism.Criticism of dresscodes
Not everyone in the BDSM community agrees with mandatory dresscodes. Some common criticisms are:
* Dresscodes are ineffective against unwanted outsiders. A normal vanilla guest wanting to enter a BDSM event solely to ogle at others merely has to invest in kinky clothing, he/she does not have to actually have a kinky mindset.
* Dresscodes favour some fetishes above others. Rubber and leather fetishes are the most common, but other, much more unusual fetishes also exist. Some people are even attracted towardswool lyjumper sFact|date=April 2008, but wearing such a jumper would never get past a dresscode.
* Dresscodes sometimes favour women over men. Even in the mainstream, women enjoy a greater deal of variety in their formal dress than men. This is emphasised in the BDSM scene, where a woman merely has to show enough of her body to get past a dresscode.
* Dresscodes seldom allow "streetwear" even in the context of another highly formalised look - typicallyskinhead , where the wearing of denim is completely central to one of its forms, and where wearing anything else (such as rubber) is totally inappropriate - unless it is a specifically gay event.External links
* [http://www.londonnet.co.uk/ln/out/ent/clubs_fetish_feature.html London Club Guide]
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