Don't be a victim! Don't be Prey!

After the last blog update, I got such a resonance from women and men who have been stalked, some of the stories were really harrowing and the stuff nightmares are made of. I was aware that it happens very often, I had no idea HOW often.

I thought it's time to address it and show you that there is a life after and while being stalked, don't give the stalker power to take your life away, friends can tell you that I was in a bad state while it happened, my mistake was that I was late in looking for help, by help I don't mean talking to the police, though if anybody would start telephone terror again, I wouldn't even consider waiting until it "blows over", I would be straight down at the police. While it might not get worse and blow over, it's not worth taking the risk, seriously not.

What I mean with looking for help is apart from all the legal steps (do NOT delete anything, keep all the messages, have them printed out as you don't want them to get lost in a computer crash, have a diary where you write down every attempt to make contact, all the usual drill) go and see a help group, seriously, I can't stress enough how important a help group is. Not every group is a good fit, so do shop around. There are also a lot of online resources, utilize them:

Pandora's Project - Resources for stalking victims

More Resources for Stalking Victims

Cyberstalking

Victim Support

Create a log

http://cyberstalkerhelp.org/

Protect your eMail address

Protect your phone number

Alexis Moore - Advocate for Stalking Victims 

Mistress Didi's Article on How To Stop A Stalker 


Read the book: The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

Here are is a summary or what you should watch out for, but please read the book, it's a very pleasant read and reads more like a thriller:

• Forced Teaming. This is when a person implies that he has something in common with his chosen victim, acting as if they have a shared predicament when that isn't really true. Speaking in "we" terms is a mark of this, i.e. "We don't need to talk outside... Let's go in."
• Charm and Niceness. This is being polite and friendly to a chosen victim in order to manipulate him or her by disarming their mistrust.
• Too many details. If a person is lying they will add excessive details to make themselves sound more credible to their chosen victim.
• Typecasting. An insult is used to get a chosen victim who would otherwise ignore one to engage in conversation to counteract the insult. For example: "Oh, I bet you're too stuck-up to talk to a guy like me." The tendency is for the chosen victim to want to prove the insult untrue.
• Loan Sharking. Giving unsolicited help to the chosen victim and anticipating they'll feel obliged to extend some reciprocal openness in return.
• The Unsolicited Promise. A promise to do (or not do) something when no such promise is asked for; this usually means that such a promise will be broken. For example: an unsolicited, "I promise I'll leave you alone after this," usually means the chosen victim will not be left alone. Similarly, an unsolicited "I promise I won't hurt you" usually means the person intends to hurt their chosen victim.
• Discounting the Word "No". Refusing to accept rejection.

Please, do talk to the police rather sooner than later, I understand you might be embarrassed, especially if your stalker met you on a kink related board, but the longer you wait the more difficult it becomes and the police is there to protect you, not to judge your life-style choices.

Warn them off ONCE, say loud and clear that you do not wish to have any further contact and keep a copy of it, or make a note about it, apart from that, nothing, do not give them a reaction, every reaction, even a "LEAVE ME ALONE" is encouragement for them... You tell them ONCE and then ignore, but do not delete their emails, you might need them if they "crank things up a bit".

Fact: In the US only 37% of the male and 41% of the female stalking victims go to the police!

I assume that in kink related cases the number is even higher due to the embarrassment of the victims, by NOT reporting a stalker, you're not only empowering the stalker, you also allow him or her to feel more secure and continue with his stalking, you're endangering somebody else! Think about it, wouldn't you have liked that his previous victim would have done something and stopped him or her?

The "if you ignore the stalker he will go away" theory is FALSE, in almost every case the behaviour will escalate over time. Don't wait until it gets worse!

Here is a rather sobering fact sheet

Stalking Fact Sheet 

About 10% of all the victims were stalked for 5 years or more. Can you afford to live in terror for 5 years or longer?

If you see signs of somebody being stalked, don't look away, you could be the next victim!

Look, being stalked is hardly ever the victim's fault, in most cases it isn't a complete stranger but somebody you know, be it in real life or online. There is no telling why somebody stalks you, most of them aren't even "crazy" in the usual term of the word, as in they haven't been diagnosed with a mental disorder. So the typical stalker that obsesses over a celeb is actually the minority. In terms of statistics, about 80% of the stalking victims are women, almost 90% of the stalkers are men.

What you shouldn't do is retaliate! Leave it to the authorities, it's not uncommon that the stalker will claim to be the victim and if you try to warn him or her off, she might actually take legal steps and claim you are the one doing the stalking (I was actually accused by my stalker of stalking him among a lot of other stuff, just to try and get others to cut contact with me). It's normal that you want to strike back and defend yourself, but by doing that, you are playing into the stalker's hands! In a lot of cases they also make false allegations to the police (been there), to cause trouble, their goal is to disrupt your life. A stalker in almost every case WILL make up lies about you, he wants you on the defensive, he wants to isolate you from your friends, for a stalker that IS a power game and he wants to present himself in a good light.

They will try to befriend people around you, it's a way of getting to you and they will try to influence them, sometimes they will succeed. I lost a lot of friends, some have disappointed me, but to be honest, in general, even while it hurt, I'm better off without them.

I'm not going to lie to you and claim that you're going to come out of such an experience unchanged, hell, I'm seriously dented, but you CAN get through and the sooner you get help, the quicker you react and ask for help, the less damaging it is for you. It was my mistake to wait too long, you know the "ignore him and he will go away" approach, I ended up throwing up so much, that my throat was sore and I had to deal with mouth ulcers as a result from the stomach acid. We went through changing numbers, you know removing myself as a target, it doesn't help, they're obsessed. Basically everything you do as a reaction to the stalking is a reaction for the stalker, something that tells him he's successful. They might be nuts, but most of them are cunning, they have to be or else they'd be arrested.
 
The best way is to avoid stalkers, however that's often not possible, because you don't have to invite them into your life, they force their way in, but a few clues how you might recognize them online:

If you see them following a poster around obsessively and trying to goad that poster or make snide remarks about him or her, it's a pretty good sign, just be careful and stay away from them.

I can't tell you enough how important it is to document everything, I know it's a lot of work, but you might need every piece of evidence you have, make screen shots, print them out, keep chat logs, phone logs, everything. It is normal to delete everything because you want nothing to do with the person (made that mistake myself) but it is exactly the wrong thing to do. It's overwhelming, I know, but chances are your stalker has experience and has stalked others before, he will know every trick in the book, why give him even more of an advantage?

If something feels creepy, trust your instincts:

 Look, you are certainly not alone in this:

 

Your silence empowers your stalker! Speak out! Get help! Contact the police and helplines!

Even if the videos bore you, here are a few more, seriously, if you wonder if you are being stalked, you probably are. Watch this 3 part series and listen to what the retired police officer says: Stalkers don't have boundaries!

Here is a documentary about cyberstalking, it's quite long and I haven't seen it completely yet...

And here is a somewhat sensational approach about stalking and how to decode their behaviour,  those cases usually end up with murder, it doesn't need to go that far for you to be afraid, but you really shouldn't take anybody stalking you lightly!

Romantic or creepy?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

We’re not a sub species…

We’re not a sub species…

I broached that before http://exdomme.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/dommes-escorts-and-everything-in-between.html and I possibly shouldn’t harp on about it, but I made the mistake of looking at MF again and reading some old posts…

Guys, I don’t care what you are into, if you like going to a strip club, seeing Dommes, maybe seeing escorts, I honestly don’t care, as long as the women don’t mind what they’re doing, I’m for one don’t mind their choice of work. I don’t believe in female superiority (unless it’s for a really hot role play), I believe in equality, I believe in freedom of choice in every way of life, that includes not dictating women what they can do with their bodies, and if a woman doesn’t mind being a porn star, an escort, a stripper, an adult model, a domme, then why on earth should I mind?

What I do mind, and I fucking mind it  A LOT, is the attitude most people have when it comes to women in the adult industry, the “We’re not a sub species” isn’t a line I came up with, somebody said it and I can’t get it out of my head, maybe because it resonates so well?

Look, whenever you purchase a service from anybody in the adult industry, no matter what, remember you’re still dealing with a human being, a woman, somebody’s daughter, sister, possibly mother – so how would you like some stranger treating your relative? Treat her the same way, I don’t care what service she is selling, she still deserves some human decency. If you think she doesn’t deserve it because you pay, then think about it this way: YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HAS TO PAY! Maybe you should be damned better be grateful that they are out there, because your money can’t get your dick as hard as the woman can. So just show her some decency and respect! She's not a disposable item!

You know, no matter what we do in the adult industry, we're going through enough shit as it is, with clients falling in love or mad stalkers there are tons of other things, just go through the blog, maybe I should order it by themes. It would be kind of nice to be also recognized as human beings, not just a disposable item.  

End of soap box rant!

You're still thinking about it?

Oh right, yes, you think you will become the rising star and your life will be easy because there are subbies who do all the menial tasks for you. Get real! First of all, chances are that you are going to work in a dungeon to learn the ropes, most dungeons don't like to have non-paying slaves hanging around, it's bad for business and it also does create some friction, then there is the issue of space....

95% of those slaves don't do it because they are truly service oriented subs or slaves, stop kidding yourself, they do it because they want something out of it, it has little to do with your charming personality. Oh and please, no, you are not a born domme, you weren't born wielding whips, you got to learn the skills like everybody else. Your natural dominance is fine, but switch it off if somebody is trying to teach you something, the guys who'll see you and pay for it, they are paying for a service (you can turn it any way you like it, that's what it is), so you better be skilled and able to act, because while they want what they want, they also expect you to act as if that was exactly what you've been dreaming about all day long...


Sorry guys, I warned you yesterday, you don't want to read this, but the bitter truth is that not everybody enjoys every session. To let you into an even bigger secret, I am a sadist, I really am, but there were sessions that involved a lot of corporal that left me a bit cold and bored.

OK, girls, back to your devoted slaves, first of all if they want to clean your house dressed up, forget about it. First of all why let a stranger into your house? If things turn sour, you really don't want him to know where you live (and some weirdo informing your neighbors and landlord...). Then if he does want to do it in a sissy outfit, you do know how things are going to pan out?

It will take ages for him to get ready and put his "uniform" on, then you have to admire him, possibly fix his makeup and lace him into a corset. So you basically just spent 30 minutes giving him a free session. Girl you've worn a corset, they look great and I love how they feel, but it's not really what anybody in their right frame of mind would wear for cleaning, same goes for high heels.
So basically you have some guy dressed up in your house, tottering around in high heels and a corset, he can't bend down so floors are out. If you're like me, you have a certain way you want things done, so you got to teach him. At that point he possibly will lose interest, I mean you expect him to really clean? He realizes cleaning isn't quite as exciting as it was in his mind, so he wants you to watch him clean. Honestly, if I have to watch somebody clean, I rather do it myself because then I at least know it's done right.

Of course you won't believe me, so I guess you'll learn the hard way, stuff is going to get missing, you spent ages showing how somebody to clean, you watch somebody clean until you're fed up, and of course they guy will think he has done such an outstanding job (even if he just smeared the dirt over the floor instead of cleaning) that he deserves a "reward". So you end up wasting a lot of time, in the end you'll clean yourself, but the guy got a free session and his jollies off. You don't want to see him again? Guess what, he's going to rubbish you all over the internet and your commercial domming is taking a hit. Oh and of course everybody will know where you live, how you live... Gossip, gossip...

Honestly, keep most of your private business to yourself, if you don't want it to be discussed in every dungeon in town. Guys like to brag...

Work calls, I think this will have a few more entries a bit later... I doubt the wisdom of this a bit, I don't think a lot of people will read this anyway, and sod it, it's therapeutic for me, I'm just thinking if an aspiring domme reads it, she's possibly going to ignore it because I am an idiot and she knows better. Guys possibly really don't want to hear about it, the occasional reader stumbling across this thinks we're all a bit fucked up anyway... However it's fun writing.

Truth to be told, I have met the odd sub who's a service sub and excellent at what they do, but they're the proverbial needle in the haystack and most dommes will snatch them up ASAP!

What on earth are you thinking?

HMP's comment got me thinking (and it was so exciting to get a comment, almost like the first reader's letter, I feel young again...)

What he said was:

I have come to realize that pro domination is an extremely difficult and competitive profession. All the adorable young ladies out there in search of "easy money" are in for a rude awakening. My advice to them is "don't quit your day job."

I can't agree more, unless you're a straight 10 (and yes, I really do mean model gorgeous and in that case modelling is a much more lucrative option), chances are that you will have to work for quite a while until you get regular sessions (i.e. a dependable income). A couple of years ago (before the economy tanked) guys were eager to session with a new domme, now money is a bit tight and they want to be sure to get a good session, so they will look if you stick around before they book and what others have to say about you. So a bunch of cameos and you most likely won't get paid for them just so they see you, in case another domme is nice enough to get you into her session. The economy is quite tight and more than a few will be worried about introducing you to their clients - because your gain would be their loss. In the better dungeons the staff is encouraged to not have this competitive attitude and it makes a lot of sense.

• It creates a really bad work climate
• Clients pick up on that and are less likely to come for sessions
• The bad work climate makes being stuck together quite horrible, waiting for clients (yup, this is what you will be doing for most of the time, better bring some books or knitting with you) in such an atmosphere leads to fights and staff leaving...
• Rather than losing a client to another house, keep them at the same dungeon and let them "slut" around there, guys are horndogs and most clients will session with several different dommes, if they get the feeling that you disapprove and they have to hide it, it reminds them of being married. If they stay in the same house, they will do their rounds there and most likely will come back to you. They also might sing the praise of that house, which will result in more clients.
• If you are working in a friendly environment, you really learn much more and instead of letting you run into an open knife, the other women will cover for you, teach you and assist you.
• They will work with you and warn you of bad clients or will tell you about the particular quirks of a client they have seen before - so don't try to poach their clients, be fair and things are much better and more lucrative for everybody involved.

Think about it this way, if you're going to a restaurant, you want to have your dinner in a pleasant atmosphere and not where there is tension in the air...

Some other stuff you will have to consider is the start up costs, you will need fetish clothes (not cheap) but go for quality and not the cheapest outfit you can get away with. There are a lot of things you can do with a corset and a leather skirt and a pair of thigh high boots, if you buy cheap stuff, I guarantee you it's going to rip or lose shape ASAP and you have to buy again. Get a steel boned corset of decent quality, you're better off with an underbust corset, more versatile and the fit can be adjusted, with an overbust corset, doesn't happen. An underbust corset of decent quality you can order online but it still will be about 100, give or take 10 or 20, if it's too cheap to be true, it's not going to last very long, the hooks will be of bad quality and get wedged, the eyelets will come off, etc. It's a waste of money. A real leather skirt, depending on quality, you might find 2nd hand or on eBay (better make sure it's real leather) for maybe 20, boot you might have a pair at home already, but you will want a pair that has a BDSM look, you can get some in goth shops, but I'd advise you to go for the stiletto heel, good quality leather (they really have to fit well, nothing looks worse than boots that are far too wide and you're flopping around in them, or boots that are so tight that your thighs have love-handles, book 300 for halfway decent quality...
You can combine it with a black bra, a hot black bodystocking, a transparent blouse, etc while you get the money together for a leather top and more items.

I always told newbies to buy stuff they like themselves and would wear or could combine with normal clothes, so it wouldn't hurt so much if their career in BDSM wouldn't take off. It certainly does help a lot if you actually like BDSM. It makes learning easier and the clothes won't just be an expense but something you really enjoy.

So you got the basics covered and you're already out of pocket, don't expect to make a fortune or the rent the first few weeks, have another job, even if you're just washing dishes or waiting tables, a secure income helps to take the stress off, it also helps to keep you grounded and in the real world. With a few exceptions over the years (the longest might have been 6 weeks when I had to cover for the head mistress) domming was never my main income. It has another practical aspect, you are never pressured to accept sessions you really really don't want to do because you need the money. I don't mean sessions you simply don't like, I mean stuff that really disgusts you or goes against your personal boundaries. I don't think I need to paint a picture...

For the first couple of months and maybe a year, you will have to invest in more and more fetish clothes and toys. The dungeon might have most of them, but there's a difference between using your own whip, the one you're used to and the ones that are in the dungeon. The same with other stuff, you clean them yourself and all that, you'll be much more comfortable using them. Don't go over board and blow all your money on a ridiculously expensive fetish item, keep in mind you need something you can combine with a lot of other stuff and create a lot of different looks. The guys don't want to see you in the same thing over and over again, they come to see you for a break from reality, don't kid yourself, don't buy into their BS of everlasting devotion, it's a fantasy, it is the adult industry, best look like you stepped out of their fantasy. And while a lot of them will swear they really care for you as a person and want to know all about you, don't be too open... Think stalker, they don't tend to announce themselves, think that you might have to drop the guy as a client because he will want more than domination, not everybody plays with a full deck of cards, some of the guys might go a bit nuts. Unless you want your family and all of your neighbors knowing what you do (it might be a cool idea and you'll feel like a rebel, but if you want a career outside of BDSM, not such a great idea), be careful...

Got a lot more to say about this, if I don't get distracted maybe tomorrow, but for now I want to watch a movie with hubby...

All hope abandon ye who enter here

Now that I figured out the background (still looks pretty awful and embarrassingly long to fiddle around with it) and I am still in rant mode (have I mentioned how therapeutic it is to get that stuff off my chest?), a few home truth about the glamorous life of pro-dommes.


You want to keep your illusions, well then don't enter through the gates of hell here, because it might be Dante's Inferno.

OK, I'm the first one to admit that they typical - well stereotypical - domme does exist, we all met them, they're fucked up, be it on drugs or whatever else or just with their heads so far up their own anuses that they almost disappear (unfortunately that only makes them louder), dumber than a garden tool and all that,  but seriously, the majority of us really isn't like that.

I'm not claiming every domme is a rocket scientist but there is a rather large percentage of us who actually have a fairly good education and another career. We might be attracted to BDSM and it's various activities, and yes, also to the money. Think about it, you have a skill that's very sought after, you invested a lot of time and money in your skills and your tools, say you're a great guitarist, of course you may want to play at friend's parties for free, but if strangers would offer you quite a bit of money to play at their parties and events, wouldn't you charge? Wouldn't you like your skills, the amount of time and money you invested into learning them being appropriately reflected in that payment? Not to mention the costs for you to take that gig (guitar strings, wear and tear on your guitar, petrol money, time...)?
Or you are working for your boss for free and you pay your rent out of a trust fund?

The old chestnut of dommes charging too much is just so fucking ridiculous. We don't actually have to get into how much it costs, you don't believe me? Rent, advertising, outfits, toys, cleaning material...

If you want to have the super cheap session, look for the usual suspect in a city, a house with a lot of very young dommes, most will have no or only basic equipment and fetish gear, a good indicator is if they pose on the webpage only in underwear. You might not have the best session, but then again,  you possibly also spent less than the going market rate. Or if you feel really adventurous, Craigs List, Backpage, a bit of a gamble...

Apart from the costs, you also have a lot of dangers. The ever popular stalker, stalkers are drawn to dommes like moths to the light. I don't know why guys become so obsessed, and oddly enough not just submissives or kinksters, regular guys can get really obsessed with them too. I never really figured out why. There are several reasons that I think are distinct possibilities, yet none of them makes sense to a rational mind. But I guess to be a stalker the absence of a rational mind is a prerequisite...
It's kind of scary that I really don't know a single domme who never had to deal with a stalker, most don't talk about it, it's not glam, it's bad for business, clients don't want to hear about it, and you know if you do talk about it openly, often copy cats are encouraged. Sadly enough most stalkers have seriously criminal energy and know exactly how to avoid being caught. They can be the most uneducated hicks, when it comes to that, they're effing marvels.
Another problem in the domme world is that nobody wants to get involved, some fear about their business (thinking that they can handle the guy and the other woman was just not domme enough and more such BS), others might be afraid that they will attract the attentions of a stalker if they help the victim. Unfortunately there is a lot of backstabbing in the domme world, that's so stupid, I mean nobody is going to get more business if they get another person out of the way, doesn't work. It really doesn't, all it does is making everybody weaker. So yes dommes, if you are warned about a stalker or a bad client, it's your call to ignore it or not, but do not rat the person out who's trying to help you because you want to take care of the competition. It's really that simple...

And on that happy note (no, my rant is far from finished) I'm off to do some mundane house cleaning as I am expecting a guest tomorrow... I told you, you'd be disappointed...