Unlike most of us who spent quarantine indoors pondering life, Pennsylvania-based creator Venus, used her downtime to create Venus Snot: an opulent and hyper-feminine take on BDSMand kink wear.
Pulling inspo from “chandeliers, love, classic kink and fetishwear, and all things shiny,” Venus revealed that her designs “are intended to provoke conversation, promote positive sexuality and add some maximalism to any outfit.” From pearl ball gags to pearl thongs, her pieces exude divine energy while inspiring the raunchiest of sexual energy. A kinky, maximalist dream.
It’s rare to witness sex-positive women of color in BDSM and kink without an undertone of fetishization. Yet Venus’ take on kink wear as a woman of color is soft and enticing. And most importantly — her own.
Keep reading for more on Venus Snot and a word on styling opulent kink wear.
What inspired you to create pearl BDSM gear and accessories?
I think the BDSM and kink scene can be really intimidating for anyone looking to get involved. Partly because a lot of the “traditional” BDSM aesthetic is black leather or latex and chunky silver and presents an overall hard and aggressive visual. My original goal was to soften the look of BDSM without removing any of the core elements that make it what it is. Which is why I started with one of the most universally recognized kink visuals — a ball gag.
I also intend for my pieces to be worn as everyday jewelry. My personal style is really feminine with a bit of an edge and I love when fashion incorporates fetishwear such as harnesses and collars. A lot of the commercially available options do not really fit with my outfits, so I just started making my own.
Your Instagram bio reads: “It’s probably made of pearls right?” Is this alluding to the use of other materials? If so, what materials do you use?
That line is more of a reference to the name than the materials I use. I imagine the goddess Venus having really pretty snot, like it’s probably pearly and iridescent. As for materials though, I use faux pearls for most of the BDSM accessories, simply because they’re lightweight, durable and more affordable — for myself and my customers — than authentic pearls. That being said, all of my non-fetish inspired pieces use authentic freshwater pearls and glass or crystal beads. I try to use all gold-fill, steel or sterling silver for the findings.
What inspired the name Venus Snot?
I wanted a name that referenced the beauty of what I create but that was also a little weird. Venus is the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire and fertility — but imagine her tied up and drooling on a gag. I’ve always been fascinated with blood, spit, scars, and all the “gross” or “not pretty” parts of bodies. But so many of these things come up in sex, whether intentionally or not. Venus Snot is sort of combining these things and finding the beauty in the gross and mundane parts of bodies and sex. Relating back to kinks and fetishes though, messy sex is incredibly sexy and so many kinks involve making a mess. I wanted that to be referenced in the name, as well, sort of creating that mental image of Venus having weird messy sex.
What’s your favorite way to style the pearl ball gag for kink play?
For play sessions, I like to pair it with nipple clamps — coming soon — or an internal vibrator. I’m definitely a multi-stimulatory type of girl. But I love when my customers send me photos of themselves wearing the gag as a necklace! Most of my BDSM pieces are also meant to be worn as regular jewelry. It’s a little cheeky and fun to go about your day with a sex toy around your neck.
As a sex-positive woman and brand, what hopes do you have for your brand’s future?
I’d really love for my brand to open safe conversations about sex and sexuality, specifially about inclusivity within BDSM spaces and about exploring kinks and fetishes. As a kinky queer sex-positive Black woman, it’s hard to find media that is not only inclusive of these identities but that celebrates them and depicts them accurately without harmful stereotypes. Moving forward, I want to expand beyond just accessories and create larger collaborative works with other artists. I’m working on a zine right now about sexuality and body hair — everyone has body hair, so why is it a fetish category on most porn sites? In the future I’d like to expand this project to focus on other aspects of sex that aren’t often discussed, such as sex after assault, queer sex education, sex for people with disabilities and more.
Shop Venus Snot here.
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