Playing with a toy such as a ball, as seen above, is one part of a kink subculture known as 'pup play.' Wearing gear, such as the mask above, and a tail can also be part of the role playing, but is not necessary, explained Dr Phillip Hammack, one of the founders of the Fog City Pack in San Francisco and who goes by the pup name Turbo 'I think puppy play is really light on the spectrum in terms of the power play or the role play versus, say, a dominatrix.' 'I would just make that distinction… that kink dynamics occur on a whole spectrum… in terms of dominance and submission,' said Hammack, a psychology professor at University of California, Santa Cruz who researches and teaches about sexual and gender diversity. Pup play is under of the umbrella of BDSM, he said, an acronym which stands for bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism. In his relationship with his handler, Hammack said he felt protected and appreciated the framing of their dominant-submission relationship, which was less aggressive than having a master. 'When it comes to a lot of these sorts of kink-type cultures there's this idea that you have to do everything a certain way but one of the nice things about all this is that it's such a release and… it really is what you would make it of it.' 'Jumper allows me to be a much more playful and social than I would normally be, I guess, as Joe… I can be much more reserved,' he told For him, pup play has been a way to get out of his own head and be more in the moment.
Joe, who is also a part of the Fog City Pack, explained that completely engaging with the pup headspace is what is known as moshing. He enjoyed the playful aspects of behaving like puppy and getting into what he called the 'pup headspace,' acting in an instinctual way, getting on all fours, nuzzling, and not talking but rather whimpering or growling.
'There was sort of this subculture starting to develop and take hold of being a pup or puppy and it appealed to me because it seemed like a more nurturing sort of approach to engaging in some kink play or kink activity,' he recalled. Hammack, the professor and Fog City Pack founder, said he started engaging in pup play in 2014 because of a relationship he was in, and, at that time, he was relatively new to 'being out as kinky.' a much more easy and playful door for younger guys who are curious about the scene to get into it. 'San Francisco historically has been sort of one of the centers for the leather scene in the gay and queer community and puppy play has been. He said he was first interested in leather culture, and then started exploring kink and pup play the year before his move to the West Coast. Joe, who asked that his last name not be used, has lived in San Francisco since 2013. 'It's definitely the largest and most social of the scenes I've seen around. Joe, 29, whose pup name is Jumper, told that the scene has blown up in the last several years. I mean if they do see us in gear, I think San Francisco is just a place where people are accustomed to seeing diverse subcultures, to seeing interesting outfits and looks.' 'I will say in San Francisco, I just feel like people barely bat an eye. Hammack, who has lived in San Francisco for about 12 years, said that the mainstream visibility of the puppy play community has dramatically increased in the city since around 2014. 'Some pups are "locked," meaning that they have a kind of owner or - we tend not to use the word master - an owner or a handler or an alpha whose collared them, we'd say.' 'The collar is really important symbolically and that is something that most of us tend to wear almost all the time, at least when we're in non-work settings,' Hammack, 43, told.
Some also choose a pup identity, complete with names like Threat, Rotten Dog, Dirty, Deuce and Binky.īut almost all pups wear a collar, explained Dr Phillip Hammack, one of the founders of the Fog City Pack in San Francisco and who goes by the pup name Turbo. It can be sexual or nonsexual, one can sport the gear or not, and a pup may or may not have a handler, someone who can gave commands, such as speak and rollover, or sexual orders. Unlike, perhaps, other relationships of dominance and submission, there is no one way to engage in pup play. Welcome to the kinky world of 'pup play': A subculture of BDSM in which mostly men act like young dogs decked out in gear that includes a colorful array of masks, hoods, muzzles, collars, leashes, mitts and tails, and sometimes coupled with brightly-hued knee socks stamped with paw prints. Other moments, they are flat on their backs, cuddling.
Sometimes on all fours, tongue out or playing with toys such as balls and Frisbees. They romp, growl, nuzzle, whimper, bark and wag their tails.