GASKIA
Dark Connections Featured Member August 2003

Name: GASKIA / VERDAD / VRAI / WAHR -- the nappy DOM

Age: 34

Orientation: DOM

Marital status: free as a bird*

*a bird that has a little gunk on his wings.

Do you currently have a sub or play partner: nope.

Occupation: artist/adventurer

How long have you been a vegan and what were your reasons for beginning the vegan lifestyle?
i've been vegan for 4 years, i was lacto-ovo veg for 7 years before that & didn't eat red meat a year or 2 before that. the reasons are several... ethical: why do i have the right to point my finger at another living being and say "GOD gives me the authority to slaughter u for my benefit"?

the slave trade flourished becuz white people felt that there was a natural hierarchy in which they were above blacks, and could therefore exploit us in any way they saw fit. of course, many blacks would challenge that belief, yet employ the same faulty argument when it comes to chickens, cows, pigs, scrimps...

alice walker once said (i'm paraphrasing) "animals were not made for humans any more than women were made for men or blacks made for whites."

environmental factors: it takes, for example, 25 pounds of food in the form of grain to produce one pound of beef. how many more starving people could be fed with those 24 extra pounds of food? the livestock industry is poisonous to the soil, the air, and the water. the conversion of rainforest into grazing land destroys millions of acres of irreplaceable oxygen-producing trees...

health factors: most of the diseases that plague modern industrial societies can be traced back to an unhealthy animal-based diet.


Vegans are against the suffering or torment of any living creature. When you are brutally punishing one of your submissives, do you feel you are betraying your vegan values in any way?
of course not. the "brutal punishment" in my personal relationships is consensual. the chicken that supplied u with your buffalo wings didn't do so consensually.

Vegans do not use any animal by-products, including leather floggers, straps, and restraints. How have you gotten around that?
i used to be into leather. i would make pilgrimages to nawlins (which has a very active sexual subculture) and buy leather gear there. since i stopped buying leather (and wool and silk, btw) i've gone into macgyver mode...i use whatever is at hand. panties for gags, blouses for blindfolds, scarves, socks, household items... having the DOM mentality and being an artist are similar in that both allow me to view things in unintended ways, and to recontextualize objects to fulfill my vision.

What is your favorite mode of discipline? favorite toy?
i find slapping to be very effective for instilling the notion that i am in charge (spankings are good, but they are so common in vanilla relationships...slapping a bitch's face gets her attention to a much greater degree). however, for more serious behavioral problems, i have "the 'splaining room." it is where i take women who need to have something "'splained" to them. it's in my basement, so it has all the elements of an effective punishment space: it is hard and cold and dark and wet and dirty and soundproof. it's amazing the behavioral transformation that occurs after a trip to the 'splaining room!

favorite toy? hmmm...i'm fond of my belt, and my handcuffs, and i like finding tree branches to beat a bitch's ass with, but my favorite toy has gotta be my video camera. i tape every session.

What process did you and your wife undergo in deciding what was the best marital arrangement for you both?
my marriage, which i had to end last year, was poly. she & i didn't have a D/s relationship, so we worked out an arrangement that was based on the idea that we were equals and should have equal freedom.

What specific requirements must your submissives follow when they are in your presence?
most importantly, they must always show deference. they must dress respectfully: no pants (only long skirts or dresses with no slits), no exposed cleavage (i own everything they have -- their tits, their asses, their legs -- so why the fuck would i want to share that with other men?)...and of course i'm only interested in women in their natural state: no fake / altered hair, no perfume, no make up, no fake nails or polish.

the specific requirements vary from ho to ho, they might include being on her knees at all times, household chores, being naked or exposed for the duration of her visit...whatever will cement in her mind the role that she is to perform for me...

What is a Black Dominant's worst nightmare?
dunno that i could answer that specifically from the perspective of being a black DOM, but as a person, my worst case scenarios involve dishonest or emotionally / psychologically unstable women. had my fill of that shit.

Do you find it difficult to find submissive women of color? Would you consider dating interracially?
hell fucking yes it is hard finding subs of color. in general, blacks aren't as "out there" with their sexual tastes -- or at least, not in a publicly organised way. i could have a session with a white sub -- i mean, who better deserves to get their ass beat than a white person?? but i don't wanna fuck white women, so the xperience is limited. white people in general are too draining. their ignorance is too pervasive. i am in the midst of a discussion on another art-community-based email list that is overwhelmingly white about use of the word "nigger"...having to explain to them that "artistic license" for them to use the word isn't valid.

so no, i'm not interested in cracka bitches (unless they just wanna get they ass *beat* & then get kicked to the curb).

What is the most extreme "edge-play" you have ever gotten into? Would you do it again?
a former bitch of mine wanted me to rape her. rape play is a tricky thing becuz when "rape" is consensual, it ceases to be rape. so the question becomes: how do u rape the willing? for me, the only way that i could "rape" her -- or at least, the only thing that could differentiate "raping" her from what we did normally was the level of violence. as much as i love sexual violence, i never intend to bring it to the level of injury. i don't want to break ribs, dislocate limbs, fracture skulls, knock out teeth, bust lips or black eyes. not that i don't have the intensity within me to do that -- but my higher voices prevent me from actually harming anyone.

so in order to rape her, i had to step over that boundary and increase the level of violence. one day i began to test the waters. i began slapping her. i stepped up the intensity and duration of the slaps until her face was swollen & bruised & she had trouble talking.

i got no pleasure from the act. i got no pleasure from seeing her face in that state. i got no pleasure from knowing that she would have to be seen that way. with the fire that burns inside me, if it were unleashed completely, serious harm would be done. i just can't -- in good conscience -- go there.

As a professional artist who works for himself, do you feel less of a need to be discreet about your lifestyle than the average "professional" lifestyler?
in general, i have the desire to be open about everything. i realise however that that's not necessarily prudent, so i do take precautions to disguise my identity, but not many. if i were a banker or politician, i'm sure i would be much more discreet.

How has being a Person of Color affected your lifestyle as a Dominant?
only to the extent that i have no interest in mainstream / white bdsm culture, people or events, so it greatly limits my options. if whiteness is your thing (or u don't mind it) u could have a very full bdsm-flavored life in nyc, but that's not where my head is at.

Contact Gaskia at: dom@hgx.com