Think about what you might need in terms of postplay sustenance, and have it handy. After you’ve bridged the gap between fantasy and reality, it is a great idea to debrief and see how it was for all involved parties. Things might come up for you immediately or take some time to bubble to the surface. Listening and discussing how things went can lay an excellent foundation for the next time you choose to go spelunking in your imagination.
Whatever turns you on, whatever the intent of your fantasy, whatever your desired level of complexity, ultimately this is about you—satisfying your desires and exploring parts of yourself that you might not be able to access every day or any other way. From the tender and mild to the whole-hog buck-wild, your fantasies are as individual as your fingerprints.
Exploring your sexuality by trying out other characters, creatures, or personae is as ancient as humanity and as cutting-edge as technology. Whether it is quickie in an alley or a scenario that takes weeks to plan and nine friends to pull off, adding your most vivid imaginings to your sexual alchemy is a fantastic way to bring your deeper self, or selves, to light. Leave behind your apprehension, step out of your nervousness, and be you, elevated and expanded and limitless.
So, sure, go ahead and order the full Klingon ensemble with prostheses for your head, download the Klingon language tutorials. Or maybe just turn to your lover tonight and say, “Lets pretend you are me, and I am you.” And take that leap.
CHAPTER 12
A ROMP ON THE WILD SIDE: EROTIC HUMAN ANIMAL ROLE PLAYING
LEE HARRINGTON
THE CALL OF THE WILD
The call of being something other than human appeals to many of us. As kids, we pretended to be wolves hunting in the woods, trotted around being pretty ponies, or curled up on the floor and had fun as a spoiled house cat. That desire is still present for many of us, and in the world of kinky and adventurous sex you too can be something other than human—or have a human animal all your own.
Each person is called to animal role playing for their own reasons. Perhaps you like having fun and being silly, or you’re looking for an outlet for letting go of stress. How many of us have tough days at the office and just would like to be “something else” for a while? After all, puppies don’t think about paying taxes, and being a dragon means not worrying about whether the dishes need to be done.
When we take away our human masks to become more animalistic, sometimes core parts of our identity come to the forefront.
All forms of role playing let us step out of being ourselves for a while. We try on a different role, a different mask, a different character. We transform into plundering pirates, wicked dominatrices, and naughty schoolgirls. The same is true for human animal role playing. When we get to be an animal for a period of time, we set aside our day-today concerns and just have fun with the interactions.
For some, animal role playing is a chance to connect with a partner. By becoming a puppy, we are reliant upon our partner to care for us and our needs, and in doing so we might be able to build trust with our partners in ways we never did before. As the owner or handler of a human animal, we can learn to see our partner in a new light—as playful, loving, feisty, bratty, proud, delicate, service-minded, or strong.
When we take away our human masks to become more animalistic, sometimes core parts of our identity come to the forefront in ways that we were unintentionally hiding from the world at large. When I was in Melbourne, Australia, I was invited to attend a human puppy romp, a party night at a fetish club called Chains. I showed up as “Gunner,” my Rottweiler persona. About eight human puppies were there with their handlers, and about 60 other people. I wandered around sniffing crotches and having fun playing with the other puppies, until I noticed a problem. A man had brought his girlfriend to the event as a human pony, and the other dogs were barking at her. She was scared.
I rushed away from the person I was flirting with, still on all fours. I was barking at full volume, a loud angry bark, as I got between the pony girl and the human puppies. Yipping and snapping, they were confused at me—why wasn’t I joining the fun and scaring the pony? In that moment I realized that I held a core value that the fun of others is never worth the true suffering of another. It was through my own animal role playing that I realized how deeply I felt about my own convictions.
Sexiness and an outright erotic turn-on can call many to animal role playing. I have met sensual snakes who liked to taste every inch of their lovers’ flesh before squeezing down tight, and well-hung pony boys ready to be used as the studs they are. Animal role playing is about sexually consenting adults choosing to dress up or play pretend as if they were animals. It should not be confused with bestiality, in which humans are erotically involved with actual animals. Those who are turned on by animal role playing have sex with their human partners, who happen to be animal characters, and they may or may not be using the role playing to play with a specific taboo.
Sometimes it is all about the wardrobe. That inexpensive pair of kitty-cat ears you wore at Halloween a few years ago with the slinky matching outfit? You were doing animal role playing! Some people go all-out with wardrobe or fetish wear, investing in hoof-shaped boots, mitts to take away the use of their hands, makeup that expresses their primal self, or hoods shaped like the face of their animal persona or character. There are even butt plugs available on the market nowadays that look like pony tails, puppy tails, and even curly pigtails in pink.
Wardrobe isn’t just for the animals either. How many of us have lusted after the smart-looking woman in an English riding costume, or the bad-boy dog-fighting trainer? Whether dressing up in jodhpurs and boots or a sexy jogging outfit, we as the human counterparts to our animal characters can have fun with costuming as well.
For those more attracted to complex costumes, there is an entire community known as Furries or Furry Fandom. Role-playing anthropomorphic animals (such as walking, talking lions) rather than “realistic” animals, the Furry community is a blend of science-fiction fandom, cosplay (Japanese costume/ character-based role playing) and costume aficionados, and erotic role players. Not all Furries see themselves as being into erotic animal role playing—so don’t assume that just because someone plays dress-up they want to “yif” with you (engage sexually while in character or role as Furries). Some Furries wear complete mascot costumes, while others are happy in just ears and a tail—or they may consider their animal identity always in place, even when not in costume.
Perhaps you are drawn to animal role playing because it is a chance to actively engage with your physical body. Many of us wander around partially disconnected from our bodily experience. We ignore that our back hurts sitting at our office desk, or tune out the noises of living in big cities. By becoming an animal, we have a chance to be fully present in our bodies; we might be petted or brushed down, engaging with our skin through sensation play. Perhaps it is a chance to activate our muscles by challenging our body, for example, in role as a strong horse, pulling a cart that our partner is sitting in. Our olfactory sense might come to the forefront when we take the time to actually smell and taste the world around us—licking our partner’s body and smelling them inch by inch.