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BDSM Dictionary : Gimp mask: history
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This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
A gimp mask or slave hood is an icon of BDSM imagery. Usually made from black leather, it is close-fitting amd completely covers the head. The primary purpose of the hood is to objectify the wearer, to reduce them to the status of a sexual object rather than a person. Gimp masks share many qualities of bondage hoods and isolation hoods but tend to be simpler in construction and made from thinner leather as they do not need to deaden sound or provide secure anchorage points for bondage. Many designs of slave hood will have detachable blindfolds and mouth coverings; some will have zip openings for the mouth and eyes.
As well as leather, slave hoods are available in spandex, darlex and latex.
The term gimp was brought into the mainstream by the film Pulp Fiction which featured a scene where a man wearing a gimp mask was kept in the basement of two homosexual rapists. A track on the film soundtrack has one of the rapists saying "Bring out the gimp". See also
(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the Gimp mask article in Wipipedia.)
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