Working at a dungeon vs. being an independent Domina (part 1) by Claudia Typhoon

when I first became a Dominatrix it was at Mistress Jasmine's in midtown Manhattan. a few years later I became an independent Domina. there are certainly benefits and drawbacks to both. now, these are based upon specific details to the Dungeon of Mistress Jasmine's and my being independent so I'm sure some variations will arise.

the drawbacks to working at the dungeon was that I could not advertise for myself. I was not allowed to have a website, to put up ads or otherwise market myself. the dungeon has a website with all the house Dominatrices schedule and a gallery of their image listed. the owner was.......special (just like all dungeon owners that are male.) he would only put up ads sporadically and not advertise/market all the Dommes that were in employ there. I am more than aware being a Dominatrix is not a get rich career, but I still would like to make an income from it. it also arouses me to take a man's money and then his submission. how am I to do this when I'm not being marketed? also, you are required to work a certain amount of hours per week. usually 3 or 4,  6-8 hours shifts per week. and if you don't have any sessions that week? no new experience gained + no money in your pocket = time wasted and money lost (transportation and food cost). I loved hanging out with the other Dommes and never have I felt more connected to a group of women until I met Dommes, but still.....NYC is an expensive place. but the the things I learned were an investment and well worth the cost of my time.

on the plus side, Jasmine's has a beautiful facility, its very secure and well equipped. I was always grateful for the room to play, the thought out play-rooms and the cleanliness of the place. I did not have to screen my clients or filter through phone calls. I did not have to book sessions for myself. there were managers there to take care of all this for you. I met one of my favorite people in the BDSM world at Jasmine's, one of the manager's there. I could always trust her insight and advice when it came to either skills, following my intuition, and dealing with all other aspects of BDSM and clientele. having someone you can trust and rely upon in any industry is very important. also, because so many different types of people come into a dungeon, you really get a crash course in BDSM. you will learn and experience more things than you thought possible in a short amount of time.

I neither am against either working or visiting at Jasmine's nor do I endorse it, those decisions are up to your discretion. 

a marine as a human ashtray. by Claudia Typhoon

I had a marine approach me with the desire to serve as personal slave. I make my potentials work for my attentions, test them, and push them before I accept them as my own. I am not for the impatient or for those that just play at being submissive. only a true submissive will past my test and endure my humiliations and boundary-pushing behaviours long enough to become my personal slave, a relationship I hold in reverence and once you have earned a position as my slave, you must do something incredibly stupid or disrespectful to loose this place, so vigorous my testing. I find that those that have served in military branches, are strongly influenced by the Asian culture they come from or follow old school BDSM protocols are the best fits for me.

as soon as I laid eyes upon the marine I knew what his first test would be for me. cigarettes I'm not partial too, but other forms of recreational smoking I rather enjoy. I love cloves directly from thailand and a fine cigar is a joy. there is a place in particular on hudson on the edge of the meatpacking district and the west village in manhattan that I adore. the padded leather chairs, the wood paneling, the old world ambiance, a respect for the cigar-smoking ritual coupled with one of the best selections of whiskey and scotch make this a place to savour and enjoy. I'm not informing him of what our meeting entails, but he knows the location and time. I'm seated in the deep, dark corner of this dimly lit sanctuary and start to puff on my neatly trimmed, cedar-lit cigar. my timing is perfect. as he walks up to me, I already have my drink order in mind. I lift my hand to give him pause and after a moment of examining him, I lower my hand and direct him to fetch orangerie scotch, served straight. I give a sensuous puff on my cigar as he does as he is bid and upon his return I direct him to kneel next to my seat. with both hands held open in front of him, I use one to hold my scotch and the other to roll the ash off of my cigar. he is not at an angle to observe me, but I can easily admire him. he is resting on his haunches and does not flinch from the heat from the cigar as it brushes against the callouses of his palm. I like his discipline. I enjoy my scotch and cigar as long as it pleases me and leave enough of my drink in the glass for him to enjoy a taste of it. as I look directly in his eyes and part his lips with my long red nail, I slide the cigar in his mouth, a little forcefully and suggestively. I stare at him a moment longer, inches from his face until he becomes visually uncomfortable. I give him my lovely devilish grin, and sashay away, my hips swaying beautifully. he did well, he will get to see me another day.

The forbidden feet of Egypt by Claudia Typhoon

I had a session week ago I found particular interesting. Not that I find foot fetish to be the most obscure, nor wild of fetishes, but it was the conversation I had during this session that I found engaging. My fetishist under foot was from Egypt. he grew up there and told me about the evolution of his fetish. as with most foot fetishist, he was exposed to intimacy with a woman via her feet. he had an aunt allow/encourage him to massage his feet to relax her until she went to sleep. he found he really enjoyed this activity and would continue to massage her sore soles while she was asleep. his love of feet grew from this and as he became a man he would try to pursue this with others and find that woman thought him strange and he would be given a critical eye from his male peers. he couldn't mention this fetish of his to anyone. I feel as though I've down-played how people would react because he was sure that pain or punishment would follow anyone finding out. for all the things I've been able to experience sexually I was astonished that something that I would consider simple and playful would be risqué or taboo. I inquired further about sexuality in Egypt. if foot fetishism was taboo, what was "normal sex" there? sex it seems was not too difficult to achieve, but it was what most would consider "normal", heterosexual intercourse. penis in vagina thrusting in a variety of positions mostly missionary and doggie-style. it gave me food for thought. this was one individual telling me an entire population of people were not exploring their sexuality. I was in disbelief. surely this wasn't true? I was assured that it was a sad reality. was this true for all Arabic cultures? the center for Arabic media is in Egypt, and thus the "normal" or standards to which Arabic peoples as a whole would be determined or represented there and then send out on waves for the rest of Arabic culture to see. was all of Arabic culture so repressed? historically Arabic cultures were not sexually conservative peoples, when did all this change? am I thousands of years behind the times?