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A bondage hood (also called a gimp mask or bondage mask) is a fetishistic hood. It may be made from rubber, latex, PVC, spandex, darlexx or leather. Bondage hoods can come in a variety of colors and patterns and may even be made of transparent fabric. A bondage hood may be either full-faced or open-faced and usually can be either pulled on and over the head or partially opened and closed around the neck and head with some means of separating and joining fabric such as a zipper or cord lacing. Some hoods are anatomical and tight-fitting while others are looser in fit or otherwise have a more fanciful or exaggerated shape and design. Fancier hoods may contain special decorative features like multiple fabric colors and patterns, extra closures, buckle straps, chains, studs, horns and streamers, as well as artificial ears, whiskers and hair. These more elaborate hood designs may also include perforations, tubing, piping, sheathing, bag and funnel attachments, inflatable rubber, and sex prosthetics such as internal and external dildos.
The use of bondage hoods in BDSM
Full-faced hoods and gimp masks are typically used for the actual practice of head bondage, and to restrain and objectify the wearer through depersonalization, disorientation and/or sensory deprivation. A rigid, tight-fitting hood greatly reduces a gagged person's ability to make any noise at all. The texture of certain fabrics against the skin may also provide tactile stimulation which may make the wearer more amenable to suggestion and fantasy. In the context of a BDSM scene, the restrictive and depersonalizing effects of bondage hoods reduce the wearer to the status of a sexual toy, rather than a sexual partner. Unless made of transparent fabric, these types of hoods can serve the function of disguising someone's identity when desired—for example, at play parties. Hoods and masks with a zoomorphic design—such as a "catwoman" mask, which typically only covers the top of the head and face—are often an essential fetish garment for BDSM animal roleplay.
In comparison, an open-faced bondage hood is less restrictive for the wearer, and its sensual texture (usually latex or leather) and theatrical appearance generally serve to enhance the level of tactile, visual and psychological excitement in an encounter. Also, an open-faced hood is like a costume accessory that may complement an ensemble of dress (such as a catsuit or a corset) which creates or highlights a certain persona for the wearer (see: sexual roleplay and cosplay).
Tight-fitting open-faced hoods are sometimes worn by dominatrices to project an image of intimidating sexual power and superiority. Some feel that the aesthetic appeal of these open-faced hoods in BDSM and cosplay lies in the way that they define the anatomical shape of the wearer's head with a smooth, shiny, luxuriant form-fitting fabric and emphasize the dominating woman's stern and haughty expression by elegantly framing the symmetrical features of her face. If the dominant party in a BDSM encounter chooses to wear a hood, it will almost always be one which allows for a greater level of awareness and control than the submissive possesses.
Full-faced hoods
A full-faced hood is designed to cover the head completely in the manner of a medieval executioner's mask. Latex and spandex hoods are often stretchy and pliable enough to fit over the wearer's head without any extension of the neck hole, although leather hoods usually feature a zipper or some other closure sewn into the design. Other optional openings include two eye holes (sometimes these can be closed using zips), nostril openings, and a mouth opening (which is often closed with a zip or used by a gag that goes over the hood). Sometimes the eyes, nostril and/or mouth openings are covered by a grille of fabric or mesh, or otherwise feature small perforations which allow a slight passage of light and air into the hood. Some rubber hoods can be inflated with a hand valve.
Spandex hoods are see-through, so a blindfold is also required if the intention is to prevent the person from seeing. Darlexx is a fabric which allows for very little light to penetrate, and the other materials allow virtually no light through at all (though some may get in through breathing holes for the mouth and nostrils and/or poor eye zips).
Hoods can also be complemented by a gag or even a "mouth dildo" prosthetic—the latter may be a built-in feature of the hood or can otherwise be fitted over the mouth and around the head with a harness gag holding the dildo in place. The mouth dildo prosthetic (or external "penis gag") typically serves a dual purpose: (1) to objectify and degrade the wearer (who literally becomes a kind of sex toy or "dickhead") and (2) to sexually penetrate either another submissive or the dominatrix herself by compelling the wearer to thrust the dildo into a receptive orifice by moving his or her head back and forth. In some scenarios, a dominatrix—or someone else commanded by the dominant party in an encounter—may have a mouth-dildo-wearing submissive lying prostrate while she squats over his or her head in a "facesitting" (or "queening") posture and "rides" the prosthetic in the cowgirl position. Some "dickhead" hoods have the dildo prosthetic attached to the forehead or chin instead of over the mouth area.
Full-faced bondage hoods can also be fitted with mouth or nostril tubes channeling respiration or even a funnel and tube system allowing forced drinking of any liquid poured in the funnel (compare funnel gag), as in the case of a submissive receiving a golden shower.
Wearing a full-faced hood is potentially quite dangerous, as blocking all access to air will result in rapid asphyxiation. The safety warnings regarding gags also apply. It is wise to use a hood with a mouth hole and a gag over the hood that can be removed quickly. Full-faced hoods without air holes are sometimes used for erotic asphyxiation, and a number of BDSM-related fatalities have been attributed to the improper and/or unsupervised use of such hoods in connection with this particular activity.
Open-faced hoods
There are also similar tight-fitting open-faced hoods which, as mentioned above, are less restrictive and more practical for sex and/or cosplay. Open-faced hoods are also much safer to use because they do not obstruct the wearer's breathing. The fabric covers the wearer's entire head and fits snugly like a swimming cap. The defining characteristic of an open-faced hood is a large frontal opening, or aperture, that frames the wearer's face in the manner of a medieval wimple or a nun's cornette.
The top edge of the frontal aperture may simply form a straight horizontal line across the wearer's forehead, or it may taper down to form a kind of curved "V" shape at the center of the forehead—creating a heart-shaped frame for the face. Some hoods with a heart-shaped frontal aperture feature a decorative bisecting pinstripe which runs over the fabric from the back of the neck and over the top of the head, and which terminates at the tapered point in the middle of the forehead. The hood may also be decorated with a different-colored trim along the edges of the frontal aperture. Another design feature is a frontal aperture with a bottom edge that covers the chin and jawline, while other less restrictive apertures leave this part of the head exposed with the bottom edge only covering the neck.
In some BDSM scenarios, especially if the wearer is a submissive, the frontal aperture of an open-faced hood may be covered with a removable gag and blindfold.
Ponytail hoods
One of the most popular and distinctive kinds of open-faced hoods is the "ponytail" hood. These hoods may have a small opening and support cone at the back, allowing lengthy strands of the wearer's hair to be tightly gathered, threaded through and left hanging down the back of the head as a ponytail. Other hoods of this type have no such opening for hair and instead feature an artificial flowing ponytail made of colored hair. There are also hoods which feature thin colored latex streamer strands flowing up from the top and down the back of the head as a kind of decorative mock-ponytail.
Full-faced hoods may likewise feature an artificial ponytail, and some full- and open-faced hoods feature a double ponytail. A double ponytail is usually held up with attached support cones that protrude from either side at the top of the head, in the manner of devil's horns. Artificial ponytails may come in a variety of colors and fabrics, and these may or may not use actual hair.
References
- Kingston, Amelia May (2006). The Triumph of Hope. Lulu. p. 363. ISBN 1411676955.
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