Elise Logan dishes about Tentacle Fetishes

This entry is part 7 of 39 in the series Kinky Girl Take Over

Welcome Elise Logan

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Fisherman's wifeKink isn’t some new phenomenon. Okay, maybe some kinks are products of a digital age, but most of them are as old as humanity. As long as people have been getting it on, there have been those willing to experiment and push the boundaries.

One of my favorite kinks, tentacles, is a much older kink than most people believe, and it isn’t all rape-tastic in the style of Urotsukidoji (info) (vid– NSFW)or La Blue Girl (info). The history stretches back, most notably in Japan, into cultural memory, with legends including that of the Akkorokamui (a giant octopus-like sea monster with the reputed ability to heal by touch).

Japanese shunga (erotic art) contains examples of tentacle erotica from the early 1800s, including the infamous The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife by Katsushika Hokusai.

From this type of erotic art, the creation of tentacle “monsters” in erotica took off. These monsters allowed for the versatility and intriguing possibilities of tentacles, but blended in a more humanistic element. The new monsters were more humanoid, and in most cases, could masquerade as human. From these shunga arose a huge body of manga featuring tentacle monsters. (A note on terminology. Anime refers to animated art – TV shows, movies, etc. Manga refers to illustrated stories – comic books and graphic novels. The Western term hentai refers to any illustrated work, either anime or manga, which includes adult content. So hentai can be either manga or anime. As an interesting side note, hentai translates roughly as ‘pervert.’)

ghastlyThe biggest misconception about hentai, particularly tentacle hentai, is that it’s all tentacle monsters bent on rape and destruction. That is, of course, part of the genre (as noted above – though it’s worth noting that the anime version of Urotsukidoji by Hideki Takayama mixed in horror and violence not in the original manga versions – inclusive of tentacle rape not in the original source material, which had no tentacle rape). But that isn’t everything, and there’s a large (and growing) body of consensual tentacle hentai. Some examples include (this is a mix of anime and manga) Lunatic Night (Episode 1), Sacrilege (though that also includes tentacle rape, as well), Sex Demon Queen, Ma ga Ochiru Yoru, and Tentacle Lovers (NSFW).

MoreThanaMan_300dpiWhen Emily Ryan-Davis and I set out to write something a little different, we decided to mix a little futuristic, a little holiday, and a heavy dash of tentacles. We were told no one would read it. We were told it wouldn’t sell. We had any number of people give us horrified gasps and absolute ick-factor at the idea of a hero with tentacles (licorice flavored ones, even!). But we aren’t the only ones with a kink for consensual tentacles – and people did read it. More than a Man has good reviews, and a number of them talk about how they were surprisingly intrigued by the tentacles. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could admit to being surprisingly intrigued by all kinds of kinks?

Yeah, I think so, too.

What kinks do you think get a bad rap? Leave a comment below letting me know what you think. One randomly selected commenter will get their choice of any of my backlist. Winner will be drawn randomly and announced Tuesday, June 10th.

Finally, I’ll leave you with one of the early favorites from Ghastly’s Ghastly Comics. The site has a whole mess of comics lampooning tentacle hentai, and they can be insanely funny.

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13 thoughts on “Elise Logan dishes about Tentacle Fetishes

  1. JB Brooks says:

    Great blog, Elise!

    I agree, most kinks have been around for a long time – as long as sex itself, I’d dare say. Archaeologists have unearthed ancient sex toys in the ruins of many great civilizations. As a fan of pervertables, I find the tentacle concept intriguing, and I’ll definitely be checking out your book.

    • Elise Logan says:

      I hope you enjoy the book. Some other authors and I have had extensive discussions about pervertables. My faves for sensation play are binder clips (heavy sensation only, please) and the thin/flexible metal rulers. Oh, my….

  2. Pansy Petal says:

    What a fascinating article! I can’t say I have ever really given much thought to tentacle kink – as a kink. The few times I have read it was not exactly planned. It just showed up. I was surprised that I liked it. It was different and interesting and added to the stories I was reading. As for other kinks that may get a bad rap – any of them really. Narrow minded people who are quick to judge will always contribute to giving anything different or “not their way” a bad rap. It is sad. There is so much fun to be had with an open mind and a willingness to explore. Loved the cartoon! Thank you

    • Elise Logan says:

      I think you’re probably right. People don’t see the power/security dynamics of it at all. I’ll admit it isn’t my thing, but I live by the rule of safe/sane/consensual – and if it floats your boat and meets those requirements, then go for it.

  3. Sally W says:

    I think any in my world.. None of my friends even know what BDSM is and literally gasp or give me a shocked look!

  4. Beth says:

    Any of the kinks can get bad rap just because there are those that don’t agree or don’t understand. And because so many different things fall under the BDSM label. Some people hear about a few of the more extreme fetishes and assume that everyone in the BDSM world are just like that.
    Heck, I just reposted(on FB) this morning about some changes that Amazon is making in the policies about what they will and won’t accept on book covers. The cover model WEARING handcuffs was one of the now taboo things, in fact was the first on the list I saw. Oh, they can still be holding them or have in the picture but actually having them on the wrists…Nope! Although blindfolds will still be allowed.
    Oh, and no positions/poses that even so much as imply sexual penetration. Or her kneeling at his feet. Or him touching her breasts with any part of him(they specifically mentioned hands and face).
    And how many covers in the romance genre in general, much less in the erotica and bdsm genres are going to get hit by this? Way too many. Even a lot of older sci-fi and fantasy covers will not be forbidden by those rules(which included no big cleavage and no ‘upper butt’).

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