Why I startedToyTorture.com
I grew up at a small island in the Baltic Sea thus I know how it is like if you don’t have first hand access to information about delicate topics like BDSM. The internet with its long tail effect has improved this issue but caused another problem. You can find detailed information on any major kink – as long as somebody can be bothered to write about it.
December 2011 after two month of renovating an apartment and a move, I was looking for something to get myself as a treat. Being a little bit of a BDSM toy collector, I was looking for something new and interesting. I spent an evening web browsing looking for inspiration but I didn’t find any. Furthermore, I was quite surprised: There are guides who compare hundreds of soundboard apps and reviews of table cloth weaving but I couldn’t find any website dedicated to gay BDSM toys. Sure, there are blogs who post product links and the short reviews on various shopping sites, but no website was solely about my hobby and kink.
The months following this experience were full with applying for my semester abroad and writing my bachelor thesis. But every once in a while I thought about the concept of a website which tests (BDSM) sex toys, I made sketches, took notes. What really made me get determined on realizing this project was an experience with a colleague of mine. In the lunch break we went to a straight sex shop in downtown Dortmund because he needed a lubricant. Besides only finding minor quality lubes there, they had a table in the middle of the shop, displaying “50 Shades of Grey” and all “toys” needed to reenact what’s written in the book. On the one hand, I was relieved that they offer “professional” toys, preventing people from using things like clothesline for bondage. On the other hand I was shocked by the quality and the prices of the articles – and felt a little bit pity for the people who bought these shabby products at a price point where at a specialized shop they would have gotten something way better.
This week I finally wrote last exam for this semester and thus I finally sat down to realize my little project.
If you are interested in learning more about the creation process of this website, take a look at the blog. I wrote a few entries there.
For who do I publish on this website?
I created this website for everybody who is interested in BDSM. Straights, lesbians and Trans* are as welcome as gay men even though I mainly focus on the needs of people with a penis and a prostate because I simply know the most about it.
Regarding the “experience” in the scene, I wrote this website for everybody. For old stager who are looking for a new thrill, for new comers not knowing which toy to choose when entering the scene, for people who read “50 Shades of Grey” and want to try something from the book, for parents/ partners/ priests who found strange objects and are determined to figure out how evil they really are, for people living in a remote area, far away from big cities where they can get infos and have to rely on the web.
