Acquired Tastes, XXV: CBT / Cock and Ball Torture

Introduction:

Makes you wince, huh?  It is a curious little kink.  Think about it: as men we are taught to protect our ‘boys’ at all costs.  Jock straps, cups, tighty whities - all designed to make sure our scrotum comes to no harm.  And yet, here we have a population of ball pain enthusiasts – and it’s not just gay men.  Most of the photos I found on-line featured dominatrices taking a shot at the baby makers.  So where is the pleasure in such pain?

Join me, as I wrap my mind around and take a whack at the topic of….  

CBT / Cock and Ball Torture

Scope of Activity:

Torture of the male genitals for the purpose of sexual pleasure.

For the purposes of this post, we will focus mainly on ball torture.  Electro-Stim, Sounding (Urethral Play), and Wax Play may be topics covered in future ‘Acquired Taste’ entries.

The Official Line:

From Wikipedia:

Cock and ball torture (CBT) is a sexual activity involving torture of the male genitals.  This may involve painful activities, such as wax play, genital spanking, squeezing, ball-busting, genital flogging, urethral play, tick torture, erotic electro-stimulation, and even kicking.

The recipient of such activities may derive direct physical pleasure via masochism, or emotional pleasure through knowledge that the play is pleasing to a sadistic dominant.

Activities may include:

Ball-Busting

Kicking, hitting, flogging, or squeezing of the testicles.

Ball Stretching

Stretching the ball sac using a ball stretcher made of chrome or leather.  Some people use rope or twine (not recommended).  

Ball Crushing

Using a ball crusher – a device that consist of two flat panels made of either metal or clear acrylic that are placed on both sides of the genitals and then tightened, like a vise.

Parachuting (Weights)

A leather collar is affixed around the base of the genitals.  Weights are then attached by chains to the cuff, stretching the genitals.

Use of a Humbler or Testicle Cuffs

A humbler consists of two lengths of plastic or metal bound together.  The testicles are placed between them and the lengths of plastic or metal then run along the back side of the thighs (see below).  The person wearing the humbler must remain in a certain position until the humbler is removed by the dom.  Stretching the legs or attempting to stand stretches the testicles, causing pain. 

A testicle cuff is a ring placed around the top of the ball sack, separating the body and the testicles in such a way that the testicles are not allowed to draw up or pass through the ring.

Psychological Aspects:

From a 2009 article in Scientific America:

Most people think of pain as resulting from physical injury or disease, but psychological factors play a huge role in pain perception. Pain is intimately tied to brain functions that govern behavior and decision making, including expectation, attention and learning.  Recent investigations are unraveling how factors such as expectation of reward or punishment, fear, stress and mood alter perceived pain intensity and affect our choices.

And as science continues to determine just how far pain reaches into our psyches, the pleasure/pain freeks out there continue to devise new means for sexual fulfillment and expression.

Where does this kink come from?  Is it some childhood or adolescent experience – such as being hit in the groin by ball or playmate - that triggers the association?  Or is it something learned?  Does it begin with a little experimentation and then, just as we learn to delve deeper into sex itself, do we simply continue to expand those horizons?  Is it a learned response in the sense that our expectations of reward, need for attention and desire to learn all come into play?  

Precautions:

• Circulation blockage is a big concern when it comes to CBT.  Be on the watch for discolored or pale genitals or the development of edemas. 
• Abrasions, bruises, cuts, swelling may occur. 
• Testicular ruptures or torsions are extremely dangerous and will require immediate medical attention. 
• Novices:  Start small, as in, less pain, more play.  Build up your tolerance gradually and over time.
• Employ a safe word, the utterance of which stops all play.
• Only engage in this activity with people who are professional sex providers or whom you totally know and trust.

My Experience:

As I’m typing this I am watching an episode of ‘American Dad’ in which Stan’s boss, the head of the CIA, pays three strippers to hit him the genitals with various appendages and items.  So, I guess cock and ball torture really has gone mainstream.  I mean, this cartoon is on a major network and seen by children and is now in national syndication!  Something tells me that future generations of Americans are going to be a lot better sexually aware and a lot less uptight.

Personally, this activity is a relatively new interest for me. About two years now.  The thought of it still makes me wince, and I very much doubt I will ever attempt some of the more extreme activities. In other words, I just barely have my big toe in the CBT door.

My latest preference is to wear two chrome cock rings; a larger one around the base of my dick and balls with a smaller one around my scrotum, just above my balls – like a testicle cuff.  Sometimes I will wear a series of cock rings around the base of my dick and balls – up to three, usually chrome or rubber. I like the feel of the stretch and the weight added.  I also found (in a porta potty at a public park I frequent) a leather strap device with adjustable snaps.  It acts as a testicle cuff and has two additional leather straps with snaps that loop through a cock ring worn at the base of my dick and balls.  All of these combinations result in an intensified erection, a weighty feeling stretching my scrotum, and constrains my balls in such a way that the feel very tight.  I like to slap my balls lightly with my fingers making them bounce or press them on a flat surface.

That’s as far as I have taken this activity and probably as far as I am likely to take it.  I have no desire to get hit in the nuts with anything or kicked in the groin.  I do get off on pressing my junk against a dude’s bare feet as I massage them and have had dudes press their booted foot on my junk while I wear a jock strap.  Something about a dom male in a pair of kick ass boots keeping me in my place in this manner is a total turn on.

I think my fascination with my balls may also have something to do with getting older.  They are definitely more relaxed than before.  Typically, as I get closer to orgasm, my balls tend to creep up nice and tight, sometimes even climbing back inside.  Using a testicle cuff keeps those suckers from doing that and makes for some pretty intense experiences.  You should see the veins on my cock stand out!  It’s like playing with someone else’s dick.  I have found that having all those contraptions restraining my dick has a definite negative effect on my shooting ability.  It’s an intense orgasm, but it doesn’t exactly spurt out, it’s more of an intense ooze.  So, as Dan Savage advises all masturbators, I change it up all the time, sometimes going without any cock rings at all.  I want to preserve my sensitivity.  And that sensation of it being somebody else’s cock?  That’s a sign of losing said sensitivity.

I have yet to wear any of this stuff in front of anyone.  When I do see others wearing it, I can’t say my reaction is a positive one.  Something about it looks contrived, over the top, and just a tad too complicated for my tastes.  A cock ring is cool.  Beyond that?  Well, I think it all starts to interfere with just how beautiful a dick is in its natural state.  So, I guess I end up feeling embarrassed for those who wear this stuff at a bathhouse or sex party.  Because, while I think it is great for occasional masturbation sessions, this equipment doesn’t make for great sex – unless you’re participating in some kind sub/dom bondage play.  For sex of the vanilla variety?  Overkill, I’m afraid.

Maybe my opinion will change, but I doubt it.  Props and costumes?  Not really my thing.  Underwear is cool.  But a fishnet body suit?  Not so much.  A single cock ring?  Hot.  Some kind of contraption restraining things and stretching them and looking kind of technical?  Not so sexy.

My Conclusion:

I get it.  Exploring the pleasure/pain principal can add additional dimensions to one’s sex life, be it during self-love, one on one play or in a group setting.  A device like the humbler brings into play all sorts of additional sub psychological triggers such as humiliation and restraint/being controlled.  So, CBT is more than just wrapping your balls up with stuff.  Whatever connects pain to sexual expression and pleasure for a given individual is part of what’s going on here.

The more extreme stuff leaves me cold, but I will concede that I am a total novice and possibly don’t fully appreciate the type of joy that can be found using some of the more involved devices.  My personal pain/pleasure levels are pretty much in their infancy.  Still, I very much doubt I will ever actually want to experience anything more than I am currently experimenting with. 

For those that do enjoy the more extreme activities I wish them all the ball-busting pain they can muster and/or stand. 

Me?  Make mine a CBT-lite!

Happy ball-busting!