Cuir Underground

From Issue 2.3 - December 1995/January 1996

Kinky Web Crawl

By Drew Campbell

If you've read cyberpunk novels like William Gibson's Neuromancer, you might expect the Internet to be a whole lot more than just a bunch of computer nerds exchanging e-mail. Sure, you may not be able to "jack in" through your brain's neuro-webs yet, but you can definitely get off on net.sex.

The World Wide Web (WWW for short) is closer to Gibson's fantasy than any other part of the Internet. The web is literally that: a series of linked documents and images that allow you to browse with just the click of a mouse.

Like most of the Internet, the WWW is filled with all manner of fun, and some of it is kinky. Unlike newsgroups or mailing lists or chat rooms, web browsing is an individual activity, not a group endeavor, so you control what you see and when you see it. And like a good scene, the WWW lends itself to outrageous visuals and mind-bending twists and turns.

Browsing the web involves little more than the right software: a good web browser like Netscape or Mosaic. Type in the URL (webspeak for address) and you're off. Creating your own web page requires a knowledge of HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language) which formats plain text and graphics so a browser can read it. Many resources for developing web pages are available in print or on the web itself. Professional web developers are also popping up all over, so if you don't have the technical knowledge or time, you can hire a pro to cook up your web pages for you.

The WWW functions according to the principle that like attracts like. In other words, if you find one site you love, chances are, it will contain links to other sites you'll enjoy. Warning: web browsing is a highly addictive activity. There should be a 12-step group for this!

The best way to get started is to jump in. The following hot list includes many of the best kinky web sites. You can reach several of these sites directly via the Cuir Underground website. More sites are appearing every day. Jack in and jack off!

Kink on the World Wide Web: A Hotlist

http://www.black-rose.com/cuiru.html -- CU's own website features selections from our latest issue, contents of past issues, a calendar of Bay Area events, and links to other kinky publishers and BDSM websites. You can find most of the websites listed here -- and more! -- links in our Other leather/SM/fetish/kink and radical sexuality web sites

BDSM/Kink/Fetish Sites

http://203.61.10.6/ -- LeatherWeb, an extensive listing of BDSM websites, including a library. An excellent place to start.
http://www.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Sexuality/BDSM -- Yahoo maintains links to hot websites, so having your pages linked from Yahoo is a mark of distinction on the web. Another excellent starting point.
http://www.fifth-mountain.com/radical_sex -- The home page of Charles Haynes. Includes great links to other BDSM sites and an extensive book and periodical listing.
http://www.blackiris.com/ -- Home page of San Francisco's Black Iris Gallery. Information on local groups, motorcycle clubs, and more, including a calendar of events.
www.mcsp.com/tes/welcome.html -- Home page of The Eulenspiegel Society, a New York based BDSM social and educational group. Publishers of Prometheus magazine.
http://www.halcyon.com/elf/hankies.html -- An online version of the hanky code.

Products and Services

http://www.sfdungeon.com -- A new commercial site, featuring products by a number of Bay Area leather businesses and craftspeople. A must-view!
http://www.romantasy.com/cyboutique -- Romantasy's online boutique. Great info on corsetry.

Queer Sites with Kink Content

http://www.teleport.com/~dorsieh -- Includes information on the kinky-girls and boychicks mailing lists.
http://www.qrd.org/QRD -- The Queer Resources Directory is the largest single listing of information for queers on the net.
http://www.skepsis.com/.gblo/bears -- Resources for bears.

Gender Sites

http://www.cdspub.com -- An extensive information and resource list for transgendered people. Many good links.
http://soong.club.cc.cmu.edu/~julie/gender.html -- Excellent resources for transgendered people. Highly recommended.
http://www.ftm-intl.org -- Home page of FTM International, the only web site devoted to the needs of female-to-male transsexuals and transvestites.

Kinky Publications

http://www.sirius.com/~bearpaws/sixofthebest.html -- Home page of Six of the Best, which publishes "The Servants' Quarters" (a pansexual zine for submissives) and the forthcoming "Pussywhipped" (a leatherdyke zine).
http://catalog.com/utopian/www/guardian.html -- Home page of the Sandmutopia Guardian. Also contains a link to Adam and Gillian's online toy catalog.
http://www.circlet.com/circlet/home.html -- Home page of Cecilia Tan's Circlet Press, publishers of erotic science fiction and fantasy.
http://www.bookfair.com/publishers/daedalus -- Home page for Daedalus, which publishes BDSM non-fiction and biography.
http://www.the-wire.com/boudoir.noir -- Home page of Boudoir Noir, a Canadian BDSM publication.
http://www.dungeon.com/~SkinTwo -- Home page of the well-known British fetish magazine.
http://www.fatgirl.com -- Home page of FaT GiRL, a zine for fat dykes and the women who want them. Significant BDSM content.

You can reach Drew Campbell, a co-editor of CU, at bearpaws@sirius.com or http://www.sirius.com/~bearpaws. Thanks to Max Airborne, webmaster extraordinaire, for tips on many of the URLs.