When many inexperienced people think of doing erotic bondage, they commonly think of tying someone stretched out “spread-eagle” – which is to say, lying face-up with their arms and legs stretched out and bound to the four corners of the bed. This can be a perfectly wonderful bondage position but, because of its unique aspects, it deserves special consideration.
I always turn a little pale when I hear someone propose something along the lines of: “Let’s try a little bondage. Nothing heavy. I’ll just tie your wrists and ankles to the corners of the bed.” My reasons for feeling that way are as follows:
The spread-eagle position, because it involves single-limb bondage techniques, can be very secure. As a general rule, it is much easier to apply bondage that is essentially inescapable if you bind only a single limb out by itself than if you bind two limbs together. This is especially true of wrists. Thus, even an inexperienced bondage top may find it relatively easy to bind someone (such as you) in this way so as to make getting free essentially impossible.
The spread-eagle position involves a very high degree of immobility. If you are tied to a fixed object, especially something as heavy as a bed, your degree of immobility is very high. If things start to get crazy or abusive, your ability to do anything effective to protect yourself is basically nonexistent. Obviously, you want to think twice, and then think again, before you make yourself this vulnerable to someone.
My personal general rule is that on a first bondage date with someone I’m just getting to know, I will let them tie my hands behind my back, but that’s it. I won’t let them tie my legs in any way, I won’t let them blindfold or gag me, and I won’t let them tie me to any heavy object such as a chair, post, or, of course, a bed. I will also, of course, have a silent alarm in place and will diplomatically let my partner know that it’s in place before I arrive at their house (and I will suggest that they have one set up as well).
OK, so let’s assume that you are a top, that you have done at least two previous bondage sessions with someone, and that those sessions went well. You and your bottom have now decided to do a spread-eagle bondage session and have negotiated it adequately. How might you proceed?
Well, first you have to answer a few questions. Actually, you have to answer three: (1) Do you want the bottom to lie face-up or face-down? (2) Do you want the bottom’s wrists tied spread apart or tied together? (3) Do you want the bottom’s ankles tied spread apart or tied together? In the classic spread-eagle position the bottom is tied face-up with both their wrists and their ankles tied apart. However, those of you who are mathematically inclined may have realized that these possibilities present the top with four basic face-up positions and four basic face-down positions — and that’s not even counting the deviations!
“Want to see how you look in bondage?”
Each spread-eagle position has its advantages and its drawbacks. Let’s look at each one in turn.
Spread-eagle position #1: Bottom tied face-up with both wrists and ankle tied apart (the classic spread-eagle tie). As I’ve mentioned, this is the classic spread-eagle tie. It offers excellent access to the bottom’s genitals, inner thighs, and perineum. Regarding their upper body, it offers excellent access to the front and sides of their chest, and to their breasts, nipples, and armpits. Thus, this position often lends itself very well to “tie and prolonged tease” types of bondage scenes.
A woman who is tied into this position is often capable of missionary position intercourse, and indeed her vulnerability to this very act is a large part of this position’s appeal to many people. (Note: she may need a bit of slack in the ropes attached to her ankles. Experiment and adjust as necessary.)
A man who is tied into this position may or may not be able to perform penetrative vaginal or anal intercourse, depending on a number of factors including the bodies of the people involved, the softness or firmness of the surface he is lying on, and so forth.
A bottom who is tied face-up (in virtually any of the spread-eagle positions) is generally not capable of too much receptive anal play. However, there is a variant that is described later in this chapter that can lend itself very well to anal play.
A bottom who is tied into this position can often perform cunnilingus or analingus, and can frequently do so for a very long time, if the top kneels astride their head. (This kneeling can be done with the top either facing towards the bottom’s feet or facing away from them.) Fellatio, however, is often relatively difficult for them to perform, except perhaps in the “69” position.
A bottom tied in this way is, of course, very available for having either cunnilingus or fellatio performed upon them, and/or for being masturbated. Indeed, prolonged masturbation scenes are very commonly done when the bottom is tied this way. Note: many men find it difficult to reach orgasm, no matter how skillfully they are stimulated, if their legs are tied apart. This fact is sometimes used with mischievously delightful results by some tops.
Note: Because the general advantages and limitations of the face-up spread-eagle tie have been mentioned in describing this spread-eagle position, I will henceforth mostly only describe how those vary for the following face-up spread-eagle bondage positions
Spread-eagle position #2: Bottom tied face-up with wrists tied apart and ankles tied together. This position often does not work all that well if the bottom is female, because it substantially limits access to her genitals. (A variant in which the bottom’s knees are tied apart but their ankles are tied together can solve this problem.) If the bottom is male, this position can be a very good one.
Regarding a male bottom, access to his inner thighs and perineum is limited, but access to his genitals remains good. A male bottom is often much more capable of participating in penetrative vaginal or anal intercourse if he is tied with his legs together. (This bondage can often be nicely supplemented by tying his knees together as well.) Furthermore, his genitals are usually still more than adequately accessible for any pleasures or torments that the top might care to administer.
Two cautions: His testicles may be subjected to increased risk of not-fun injury if he’s tied into this position. Therefore:
Make sure that you draw his testicles forward, clear of his inner thighs. This can be especially important if you tie his knees together. Otherwise, his testicles may be dangerously pinched between his thighs.
If you decide to have the bottom penetrate your vagina or anus with his penis while he is tied into this position, be mindful of where his testicles are. Carelessness here could result in his testicles being dangerously pinched in between your two bodies. This is usually not a problem, but take a moment to make sure that you, as the top, know where his testicles are before you get too carried away with any rocking or thrusting motions. The bottom will usually be more than happy to help keep you adequately informed on this point. (Trust me on this one!)
“Man, I can’t move at all.”
Spread-eagle position #3: Bottom tied face-up with wrists tied together and ankles tied apart. This position usually contains no particular advantages over the classic spread-eagle. Furthermore, because it typically draws the bottom’s upper arms close to the sides of their head, it can limit access to the bottom’s face — thus hindering their ability to perform cunnilingus or analingus. However, it does have some major fans. Tying the wrists close together like this can lead to an even greater sense of being exposed and vulnerable. One delightful female bottom of my acquaintance absolutely loves to be tied into this position. It’s her favorite.
Spread-eagle position #4: Bottom tied face-up with wrists tied together and ankles tied together. This position shares many of the disadvantages of the legs-tied-together and wrists-tied-together spread-eagle ties, but it has one major advantage: When a bottom is tied into this position, it is often relatively easy for them to move from lying face-up to lying face-down — and back again. (Just be sure that when they go to move back into the position which they came from that they turn back in the same direction. Otherwise, their bondage can become “wound up” in an awkward and potentially dangerous matter.) This allows the top access to almost all of the bottom’s skin, both front and back. The potential here is delightfully obvious.
A few general comments about face-down spread-eagle bondage positions:
All variants of face-down spread-eagle positions are generally good if the top wants to do things to the bottom, but are often relatively poor positions regarding having the bottom do things to the top.
Caution: In all face-down spread-eagle positions, the bottom will often have difficulty keeping their head in a face-forward position and will thus have to turn their head to one side or the other. How well the bottom will be able to tolerate this position depends on a number of factors, including the bottom’s overall health, any history of neck problems, the softness of surface that the bottom in lying on, and so forth. If the bottom is lying on a very soft surface, there is a chance that they might sink into this surface far enough to make it difficult for them to breathe. This is usually almost immediately obvious.
The various difficulties associated with face-down bondage can often be substantially lessened by placing something such as a pillow or towel under the bottom’s chest and/or under their forehead. A little experimentation here is usually very revealing. Just remember the difference between “good pain” and “bad pain.” If you as a bottom are holding your neck in a position that is causing “bad pain,” let your top know about this sooner rather than later. I know some bottoms that didn’t, and they ended up with long-term neck problems as a result.
Spread-eagle position # 5: Bottom tied face-down with wrists tied apart and ankles tied apart. This is another classic spread-eagle bondage position, often associated with the bottom being whipped. This position exposes almost all of the bottom’s backside and a fair portion of the sides of their trunk and legs as well.
In this position, the bottom’s body is very well exposed for various types of whipping and spanking. Access to their back, buttocks, and upper thighs is usually quite good. Their inner thighs can often be reached adequately as well. Access to their genitals is often only fair, and vaginal intercourse is often so difficult as to not be worth attempting. (Putting a thick pillow under a female bottom’s pelvis may help.) The male genitals can often be drawn back so that they are at least somewhat accessible.
As I mentioned, the ability of the bottom to do things to the top is typically very limited in all forms of face-down spread-eagle ties. If the top were to sit or lie at the bottom’s head, it might be possible for the bottom to perform oral sex on the top, but this is often a somewhat cramped, uncomfortable position for both partners (experiment with adjusting the wrist bondage; more length may help here). Because they must use their neck muscles to hold their head up while performing oral sex, many bottoms find that they cannot do so for long periods — at least not without risking a serious neck strain.
On the other hand, anal play is often very possible in this position, and many bottoms love to be tied into this position and then get anally penetrated by a top’s penis or strap-on dildo.
“This would work better if you would loop it under that bar.”
Spread-eagle position #6: Bottom tied face-down with wrists tied apart and ankles tied together. This position greatly reduces access to the genitals, and significantly reduces access to the inner thighs. Vaginal intercourse becomes essentially impossible, and anal intercourse may become significantly more cumbersome due to the decreased ability of the bottom to move their body in order to assist the process.
One advantage of this position is that a male bottom’s genitals, particularly his testicles, are almost invariably entirely covered by the upper thighs as they are held together. This covering allows the top to spank/whip/etc. the bottom’s buttocks with the chances of an accidental blow to the bottom’s testicles being essentially eliminated.
Note: As with the face-up version of this bondage position, this position can be enhanced nicely by tying the bottom’s knees together.
Spread-eagle position #7: Bottom tied face-down with wrists tied together and ankles tied apart. This position generally allows the same excellent access to the bottom’s buttocks and inner thighs as the classic face-down spread-eagle position. Furthermore, tying the bottom’s wrists together can increase their feeling of exposure and vulnerability. Binding the bottom’s wrists together may limit their ability to turn their head from side to side, but this is usually not a problem. (If it becomes a problem, the bottom should advise the top.)
Spread-eagle position #8: Bottom tied face-down with both wrists and ankles tied together. This position limits access to the bottom’s genitals and inner thighs, but it can be a very good position for spanking, whipping, and so forth. As mentioned earlier, it is often possible for the bottom to move from the face-down position to the face-up position when tied in this way.
FIVE MODIFICATIONS
There are a number of variations to spread-eagle bondage. Five in particular come to mind.
Variant # 1: Bottom tied face-down with hands tied behind their back and ankles tied apart. This position can be a good one for spanking and whipping the bottom’s buttocks, but care must be taken so that their hands don’t reflexively move down in an attempt to cover their buttocks. Using one of the arm harnesses described in the “Harnesses” chapter can be useful in preventing this problem.
When a bottom is tied into this position, it may be possible for them to perform oral sex for at least a moderate period of time before their neck starts to experience “bad pain.” Furthermore, anal play, including anal intercourse, may be possible. Just watch out for the bottom’s hands. You don’t want to injure those hands by lying on them too heavily, and occasionally a bottom will try to use their hands in a mischievous manner.
Variant #2: Bottom tied face-down with their hands tied behind their back and their ankles tied together. This can be something of an intense position, and can lend itself to having the bottom experience a real “I’m being held captive” feeling. As with variant #1, oral sex and anal play may be possible. It is also often possible to turn the bottom over to a face-up position without too much difficulty.
Caution: A bottom tied into this position could conceivably wiggle themselves over toward the side of the bed and potentially even partially fall off. Doing so would put them into a painful, awkward, and even dangerous posi-tion. (It could become difficult for the bottom to breathe if they were kept in this position too long.) That being the case, the top should use this bondage position only in a closely monitored situation. Alternatively, the top could run a rope from under the bottom’s armpits to the head of the bed so that the bottom’s lateral movement is restricted.
Variant #3: Bottom tied face-up with their hands tied behind their back and their legs tied apart. This can be a very good bondage position. It combines excellent access to the bottom’s genitals, inner thighs, and so forth along with fairly good access to their chest, breasts, and nipples.
This position can also often lend itself well to missionary position intercourse, and the experience can be a very powerful one for both parties.
When a bottom is tied into this position, their head is very accessible for sitting astride. Therefore, cunnilingus and analingus are often possible, and because the bottom is not using their muscles to hold their head in position, can often last for a very long time.
(I know one lady top who ties her bottom into this position, or into a similar position, and then sits astride the bottom’s face, facing away from them. She then bends forward so that she can rest her torso on a large pillow that she has positioned for this purpose. Thusly positioned, she can relax and enjoy herself for a very long time.)
Caution: In all cases in which a bottom has had their hands tied behind their back and are then made to lie face-up, their hands, wrists, and forearms will invariably be compressed to at least some degree in between their torso and the surface that they are lying on. Depending on a number of factors, including the size of the bottom and the softness or hardness of the surface they are lying on, sometimes this is not a problem, but sometimes it is. The top needs to monitor this aspect of the bondage closely. The problem can often be lessened to an acceptable degree by placing a pillow or something similar under the bottom’s hips, thus elevating their hips slightly and taking much of the weight of their torso off their hands, wrists, and forearms.
Variant #4: Bottom tied face-up with their hands tied behind their back and their ankles tied together. As with the spread-eagle version of this tie, a male bottom is often capable of participating in penetrative vaginal or anal intercourse when tied this way. This ability, when combined with the superior accessibility to his head for cunnilingus or analingus, and the fact that he can often be turned face-down and returned to a face-up position with relatively little difficulty, can make this a genuinely excellent position to bind a male bottom into.
Caution: As with variant #2, a bottom tied into this position could conceivably have their head and torso fall off the side of the bed while their feet are still tied to the footboard. Thus, monitor them closely and/or tie a rope from the torso to the head of the bed to prevent this.
Variant #5: Bottom tied face-up with their wrists tied apart and their knees tied elevated and spread. This position can be a truly excellent position for either vaginal or anal intercourse. Access to the bottom’s genitals, perineum, and anal area can be very good, and access to their buttocks for spanking can be much more than adequate. Access to their chest, breasts, and nipples is usually at least acceptable. However, access to their head for oral sex can be very difficult, and often not worth the bother.
This position is often very secure by itself, but the top may sometimes want to add a bit of security and/or stability by running a rope from around the bottom’s rear waist down to the center of the bed’s foot board or frame.
Caution: Being tied into this position can occasionally cause bottoms to develop some difficulty in breathing. This difficulty may be increased if the top gets on top of the bottom for vaginal or anal intercourse. Fortunately, this problem usually takes time to develop and (unless the bottom is intoxicated or their ability to feel is otherwise impaired) the bottom will be able to notice and report these difficulties long before they become dangerous, and the top will be able to modify the position and/or activity as needed.
Another Caution: Be careful about tying a bottom into this position, especially if you get on top of them for intercourse, if the bottom has a history of back problems. If they report feeling any “bad pain,” modify the bondage position and/or the activities as necessary.
Yet Another Caution: It is possible to tie a bottom so that they are face-up with their hands tied behind their back and their knees are tied to the head of the bed in an elevated and spread position. However, this position often strongly compresses the bottom’s hands, wrists, and forearms between their torso and the surface that they are lying on. This position works for some people, but in general I have found that it creates so many pressures and stresses, in so many places on the bottom’s body (especially on their hands and lower back), that I mention it here mostly for the sake of completeness. Try it (carefully, please!) if you wish, but don’t get your hopes up.
SPREAD-EAGLE VARIANTS
The One-arm-semi-free Variant. This is an interesting variant that can be useful for prolonged bondage scenes and in other types of play.
In this variant, the bottom’s ankles are tied apart in the usual way and one of their wrists – let’s say their left wrist – is also tied to the bedpost in the usual way. Their right wrist is tied on a much longer length of rope.
In one example, their right wrist is tied to the right, lower bedpost (the same bedpost that their right ankle is tied to) by a rope that is long enough that the bottom can reach their genitals. This bondage position still immobilizes the bottom to a very substantial degree, and yet is also allows the bottom to masturbate themselves if that’s what the top wants them to do. (One of my friends who contributed to this book suggests tying the bottom’s dominant hand and thus making them masturbate with the “wrong” hand, evil woman that she is.)
In another example of this variant, the bottom’s right wrist is secured to the right, upper bedpost but, again, with a rope long enough that the bottom can reach their genitals. Interestingly enough, this will also allow the bottom to reach their own mouth and other parts of their face. (This bondage position is similar to the one described in the Poestory “The Pit and the Pendulum.”) Note that because the bottom will be able to reach their mouth with the wrist cuff, it should be of a type that the bottom cannot readily free by using their teeth.
The Double Spread-eagle. This is a very interesting and simple bondage technique that can increase the immobility of the standard Spread-eagle bondage position to a surprising degree. It usually calls for a six-foot length of rope, although in some cases a twelve-foot length will be needed.
To apply the simplest version of this bondage, imagine that the bottom is lying face-up with their ankles spread apart and lashed to the usual corners of the bed. To apply the Double Spread-eagle technique, position the midpoint of the rope at the bottom center of the bed and run each end out towards an ankle cuff. Thread the tail of the rope through the cuff and bring it back towards the bottom center of the bed. Dress this rope snugly, tie the ends together in a finishing knot, and you’re done. When properly applied, this technique significantly increases the immobility of the bondage. (It can often have a strong emotional impact on the bottom.)
Alternately, the rope can be attached to the first cuff by a Beginning Lark’s Head knot and to the second cuff by a Finishing Lark’s Head knot. This can allow a very precise adjustment of the tension.
In some cases, sturdy O-rings or D-rings can be added to the rope cuff as it is first applied. The second rope can be threaded though these rings instead of the cuff.
When running the rope from one of the bottom’s wrists to the other, make sure to position the knots so that the bottom cannot reach them.
While this tie is usually done from ankle to ankle and/or from wrist to wrist, running it from wrist to ankle can be an amusing variant.
The Super-spread-eagle. This technique can create an amazing degree of immobility. To apply it, put the bottom in a spread-eagle tie, possibly using cuffs that have O-rings or D-rings attached or threaded through them. (Attached would probably work better.) Next, apply ankle-to-ankle and wrist-to-wrist ropes to create the double-spread-eagle effect. Finally, run ropes from wrist-to-ankle on both sides of the bottom’s body. Applied properly, this technique pins the bottom’s wrists and ankles very firmly in very particular spots, thus making it very hard for them to move.