Brittania Rules The Slaves

To be more specific, Britain has one of the most active fetish sub-cultures in the World. This largely underground array of clubs and bars caters to people who have a more complex approach to sexuality that the average citizen.

It is important to make a distinction between fetish clubs and sex clubs. The former involves dress codes that bar people wearing street clothes -- only those clad in PVC, rubber or any of the other exotic materials favoured by aficionados can gain entry. Once inside, attendees are expected to be respectful of one another and ask before getting intimate with strangers. Many clubs have a 'dungeon' where attendees can 'play' consensually with others -- this can involve spanking, whipping and restraint. Not all at the same time necessarily.

Sex clubs on the other hand usually have no dress code and a looser grip on what is acceptable or otherwise. These 'swinging' clubs constitute an entirely separate sub-culture to the fetish scene. Confuse the two at your own peril.

London in particular has a variety of clubs that cater to fetishists -- clubs such as Torture Garden have almost become household names, if not bywords for the scene. World famous publications have emerged from the city, such as Skin Two, who have also hosted events of renown such as the amusingly named Rubber Ball. There is even a fetish-friendly cafe and gallery recently opened in Covent Garden called Coffee, Cake, and Kink.

The Rub

I wanted to find out more about this sub-culture. So I spoke to Kim from Club Rub, a night that has been running for over ten years in London. My first thought was how does someone get into the scene for the first time?

In Kim's case, it was a friend she had made on holiday in San Francisco - a drag queen. Kim's friend was visiting London and invited her to a fetish club. She went and found to her delight that this was a place where she felt she fitted in. It felt right and she found the scene was full of intelligent people.

Having found her groove in life, Kim attended fetish parties for eight years before progressing to running her own club. As Kim had worked as an Entertainments Officer when she was at college and had gone on to a career in marketing, PR and corporate event management, running a fetish club seemed a logical use of her talent and experience.

When I asked Kim why she thought Britain leads the world in the fetish scene, she thought it had a lot to do with aspects of British culture such as corporal punishment in schools. But now that caning is no longer used in schools, she predicts that this particular fetish will go into decline.

But in terms of fetish fashion, Britain still leads the world. Until very recently, virtually all the sheet rubber used for outfits was manufactured in Derbyshire. British designers are innovative in their use of these unusual materials, compared to more conservative creations from countries such as Germany.

Fiddly & Twiddly

Kim sees Club Rub as a laidback place where people can socialise. Her current venue is Duke's of Houndsditch in the City of London -- handy for the financial district! As well as the usual bar and dancefloor area, there is an area known as the Den where people can lounge around and get more friendly. By law, attendees are forbidden from having sex but in Kim's wonderful phrase they can get 'fiddly and twiddly' with each other. She sees this as a prelude to going home and carrying on.

There is only one rule at Club Rub (apart from pay on the door) which is "Wear fetish gear to get in -- that's all you have to do." Everyone is welcome, even single men, as long as they keep to the dress code. She does not like to discriminate against anyone. If you do turn up at Club Rub in street clothes, you will be handed a roll of bondage tape and instructed to fashion your own costume!

Her advice to anyone who is contemplating going to a fetish night is don't be afraid. People are friendly and considerate. The only thing you have to fear is fear itself...once you get over that, you might be pleasantly surprised.

For more information on Kim's club, visit the official Club Rub website. For more general information, visit London Fetish Scene.