Wait a few years and you’ll have FetLife!” I was sitting there, shaking my head, and thinking, “Poor guys. There was even a section telling you how to form your own BDSM community.

There’s advice on what types of women you’re likely to find by placing print ads in sex magazines. There’re tips about what kind of bookshops to visit in order to find noticeboard advertisements for kink-oriented social events. Woo boy! There’re tips on setting up a PO Box for letters from prospective Doms to be sent to. The other thing I found fascinating was how bloody hard it was to find likeminded people back before the internet had taken over the world – especially for male Doms. (That he mentions it as the one he likes best shows he is either a clever guy, or could see the future.) Wiseman mentions the acronym at one point, in amongst a bunch of others that had “recently” been suggested as terms that could be used for the lifestyle. To think it was that recently that the term BDSM wasn’t even used. Truly, what I loved best about SM 101 was the fact it was a little dated. I never bother with sections like that anyway, as it’s always US-specific, and I live on the other side of world.

I saw one review complaining the information about some products (like lube) was now incorrect. And there’re some weird typos, but anybody with a decent grasp of English will be able to translate! What I imagine are funny anecdotes that dot the pages of the paper book, have become bizarre out of place sentences that occasionally turn up in the middle of a chapter. ■ I bought the Kindle version, and the transition from paper to digital hasn’t exactly gone smoothly. “A third benefit is the ability to put up what’s called a “web page” that describes yourself, your interests, your company or other matters.” ■ …My absolute favourite quote of the whole book (from the 1997 Internet Update section at the back): ■ …Because of one major thing: The Internet… The first edition was released in 1992, and “the scene” has changed hugely since then… It goes over a lot of information BDSMers already know, (hence the 101), but I found it was written in a way that I enjoyed revisiting the basics.

I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but for some reason I loved this book.

Sm 101 by jay wiseman