5 Ways That L.A.’s DomCon Is Just Like Every Comic Con You’ve Ever Been To
This could be considered NSFW. You know, if you work somewhere BORING.
I got my character name on my badge, because why not?
You’ve heard before that there’s a connection between the geek community and the kink community, and I’ve spoken about as much at comic cons before. Recently, I had the chance to go to my first DomCon – a professional and lifestyle domination convention in Los Angeles – in support of my digital series, Incredible Girl, and while I’d never been to DomCon before, it felt really familiar. After all, geeks go to cons all the time, right?
Dr. Seuss paddles, anyone?
Look familiar?
Craftsmanship is key.
1) Kinksters geek out about their toys, too!
Whether it’s action figures or floggers, a geek is a geek is a geek, and they love to talk about their toys. Not just about using them, but how they’re made, the differences between varieties and brands, and of course, the eternal geek argument: which is the best. Not to mention the fact that there are plenty of geeky kink toys. I’ve seen Firefly floggers and met a gentleman who creates custom paddles in the shape of Spock’s Vulcan salute. I spent a lot of time in the DomCon vending area, and it made my heart gleeful to hear vendors of paddles, canes, corsets, and latex attire discussing their crafts in detail. So much work and talent goes into creating these implements, and it reminded me that the greatest talent can often be found on the fringes. Speaking of…
I play Cupcake Dominatrix on Incredible Girl, but this is a real-life Cupcake Sub! And she’s rad.
2) DomCon, like any comic con, is a place where members of a subculture can congregate without judgement.
People who aren’t “out” as kinky in the wide world are accepted without question at DomCon, and I saw any number of gender identities and expressions, as well as varied levels of interest in kink represented there. People were kind to each other, and welcoming. People felt safe. And while kink, like geek culture, is beginning to find a little more mainstream acceptance, it still has a bit to go, which is why events like DomCon are so important. They allow people to be who they are.
Dat corset. So pretty, but such a pain in the ass to put on.
3) Cosplay
You think you’ve seen cosplay at SDCC? You ain’t seen nothin’ ’til you’ve seen someone dressed like a pony pulling their mistress in a cart. It’s amazing the outfits one can see at DomCon – the only sad thing is that, because of the nature of the event, photos are severely limited, as I wouldn’t want to risk outing someone who doesn’t want to be outed. But let’s just say that just as much thought, creativity, and work goes into the outfits at DomCon as goes into any superhero garb you see at a comic convention. It’s pretty amazing.
Aurora and I met Goddess Moon, aka Ms. Sanctuary Leather 2015 – a sort of grand ambassador of kink!
4) Where Industry and Fans Collide
DomCon is a place for industry professionals – ie; professional dominants and submissives – to learn more about how to do their jobs safely and with increasing expertise, and they attend classes and seminars devoted to what they do. It’s also a place for casual doms/subs and fans of the pros to meet their heroes. I had the chance to meet the lovely and talented Mistress Hudsy Hawn, who was one of the Mistresses of Ceremonies at the event, and she quickly became a hero of mine – not just because she was an insanely talented domme, but she also performed a musical one-woman show about how she went from being a shy girl in Alaska, to being a sub, to being a pro-domme. Musical theater is definitely a sure-fire way into my heart! What’s more, she’s actually a sweetheart. Yes, dommes can be really sweet – unless you’ve agreed to have them be otherwise.
Me and Incredible Girl’s “subs” for the weekend. Actually, they are actor friends of ours, but they were totally open-minded and down to have some fun!
5) Unusual Performances Abound
I saw everything at DomCon – from the aforementioned musical theater performance, to burlesque, to suspension demonstrations and skits. They very much reminded me of the kind of thing you’d see at any convention Masquerade, for example. So, not only were people there to be kinky, but they were there to geek out about it and infuse their other talents with a kinky sensibility. They poured their hearts, and their love of kink, into art, and made things beautiful. Incredible Girl proudly sat among them.
Our table at the con. Poster image, check! Mailing list, check!
When you don’t wanna do a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for your web project, try a spanking booth instead!
My Incredible Girl co-producer and I got to MC the Opening Ceremonies, and among other things, I made a shout-out to all my geeks in the audience. The second I asked “Who here watches Doctor Who on the regular?” dozens of hands went up. And when I looked out at them, I realized that they were all people I recognized. Not personally, but recognized in the sense that they were My People – geeks who, in the wide world, might appear to have zero game and no love life to speak of, but then come to events like this and end up having scantily-clad hotties on leashes or under a stiletto boot.
It’s amazing what some geeks get up to over a weekend.
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