Silence is Golden – A Complete Compendium of Gags Pt1

Cover of Issue 10 of John Willie’s seminal fetish Magazine ‘Bizarre’ 1st published circa 1946

Silence is Golden

The basic purpose of a gag is to prevent the wearer from talking or communicating in any way, however the reality is very few gags totally silence a person especially from making noises (unlike the gags you see on TV). What they can achieve is to quiet the wearer and to prevent them from speaking words. They also add a psychological effect within BDSM play increasing the sub’s sense of helplessness.

Gags are an intrinsic component of erotic bondage but can be used for humiliation or as a punishment. There is something very striking about a gag – visually they are the epitome of submission providing an aesthetic ‘centrepiece’ to your bondage. There’s nothing so lovely as watching your sub’s pleading eyes as they grunt baba-talk while drooling all over themselves 🙂 Note – gags create a lot of drool!

If you are going to use gags in your play then ironically communication before the scene is more critical especially if you are not with a regular play partner. And as a safeword can not be used while the gag is in place you need to establish prearranged physical signs to signal an emergency or distress. Remember it’s never safe to leave an individual who has been gagged alone, not even for a few minutes and why importantly the use of gags requires continued awareness and diligent monitoring on the part of the dom/top.

A Complete Compendium of Gags

1. Ball gag  (& Wiffel gag) The (1 ¾ inch diam.) ball, usually made of rubber or silicone, is put into the mouth behind the teeth, with the straps going around the head to secure it in place. Wiffle gags are versions of ball gags but with light perforated plastic balls making them slightly safer than ball gags as this provides more airflow.

2. Bit gag Styled like the bit used in a bridle for a horse much of its appeal stems from this parallel. It consists of a bar slightly larger than the width of the mouth held in place by straps either side. Unlike the metal bit used in horse bridles, the bar of a bit gag is usually a soft rubber tube. Often used in pony play scene with reins or as part of a head harness.

3. Bandit or Over-the-Mouth gag A long soft scarf or cloth is put over the sub’s mouth or mouth & chin and tied at the back of the head. Frequently it is used in conjunction with stuffing (more about this later). It has a long association with vintage bondage scenarios & Japanese kinbaku and is often used alongside a scarf covering the eyes.

4. Cleave gag (Hanky gag) The cleave is a more effective variant of the Over-the-Mouth gag here the scarf or cloth is pulled between the teeth and tightly tied. Sometimes a knot is tied in the centre of the gag so it works more like a ball gag. Helpfully this knot is able to soak up the saliva while ball gags can’t.

5. Whitehead & Jennings gags (Ratchet gag) These are both metal dental devices used to spread the patient’s mouth open. Once in place using a ratchet you slowly open the mouth up in small increments. The Jennings has a single side ratchet and angles the mouth open; while the Whitehead is slightly superior with one on each side making it sit more evenly in the mouth and open up vertically. These days it’s better to buy these from fetish outlets as they come with a strap and importantly coat the metal with rubber as otherwise the metal can easily damage the teeth. (Shown is a Jennings gag)

6. Forniphilic gag This gags primary purpose is to objectify or humiliate the wearer. The term forniphilic comes from the word forniphilia which is the incorporation of a bound person into furniture or other objects. The gag becomes a mounting point for a tool or other device which allows a slave to perform a task or service. When employing the gag, the slave’s hands are usually bound in some way so they have no other option than to control the tool with the gag. The attachments can include: dildo or vibrator, ashtray, toilet brush, feather duster, boot or floor brush or a small serving tray. One of the best designs of forniphilic gags with the best range of attachments must be The Humiliator Gag System from Scott Paul Designs.

7. Dildo gag This gag has a rubber/silicone dildo projecting outward from the front. The dildo can then be used for insertion by the dom to pleasure themselves (or others) and/or humiliate the submissive. Dildo gags often have a small internal pecker gag for additional support inside the sub’s mouth allowing them some control over the angle of the thrusts to the receiver.

8. Mouth-guard gag This gag has two mouth-guards, similar to those worn by football and hockey players. One rests on the lower teeth of the wearer while the other is against the top. The mouth-guards are attached to a front faceplate with straps going around the head to secure it in place.

To be continued… in Pt2