Non-Consensual Figging Scene
Wikipedia, that repository of all human trivia, gives a reference from the The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose where it is spelt “feauging” or “to feague.”
So the first thing is that it has nothing to do with figs, those widely worshipped fruits of the ficus tree that we of the first world know only as that kind of strange and disturbing sweet brownish stuff in Nabisco Fig Newtons. Despite the obvious symbolic relationship between the filling of a fig newton and the contents of the anus, figging has nothing to do with the fruit of the ficus. I except of course the Australians who use a fig paste made by Kraft Foods as an after shave.
Figging comes from the German word “fegen” which means “to polish.” I am lying about the after shave, but you thought for a moment it might be true, didn’t you. I’m not sure how closely fegen relates to ficken, but the folk etymologist in me wants badly for there to be a relationship.
Figgging is the practice of sticking a bit of peeled ginger up the ass which produces a fairly strong burning sensation, but unlike say Tabasco sauce or a heated object, does not do any lasting harm.
This practice was not originally, as surprising as this may be, applied to humans. It was originally applied to horses. I originally heard this from S. who knew about it from before the proliferation of BDSM and well before Wikipedia. S. told me that it was applied to horses to make them run faster in races, but apparently this is not precisely the case. It was applied to horses because it makes them move around a lot and hold their heads and tails high. This is a trait that is associated with young and energetic horses. Since in the time before mortgage scams and used cars the only really good fraud in the human race was selling decrepit horses for too much money, every little trick counted and this is a good one. The practice is used in competition where it makes horses show better, but every civilized club or league outlaws it, and there are even tests for it.
Apparently veterinarians say that the actual trick is to put it in the vagina of a mare. It will stay there longer, and the behaviors are actually better. They also say it’s cruel and a bad practice. But, you know, if you’re going to anyway, you might as well get the most bang for your buck, right?
Figging is supposed to have been a popular BDSM practice in the Victorian era…circa “The Pearl.” If you don’t know what I mean by “The Pearl,” I’ll comment that a lot of places will sell it to you for five dollars as an ebook, but you can read it free here: http://www.folklore.ms/html/books_and_MSS/1870s/1879-1880_the_pearl_journal/issue_01_-_july_1879/index.htm
Soo….
I use toy cleaner or the dishwasher fairly regularly, but don’t always have them with me. If a toy is (and most are) relegated to use on one girl, if we’re at a hotel or on the road and I don’t have a good cleaner, I’ll wash it off with warm soapy water. I realize that’s not medically hygienic, but I’m doing roughly the same thing with my hand and it’s going in the same place. We’re not looking at any huge contamination issues here. It’s not the best way to clean a toy but beats leaving it dirty on the bedside table.
So a given girl uses a given toy. And being the nice fellow I am, while she’s recovering I clean up the scene. And this includes rinsing the toy, washing it with just a little lather of soap, rinsing it off carefully and setting it on a clean hotel washcloth to dry.
So the same toy gets put to use the following morning. After the toy has been used, I end up applying some manual stimulation. I notice that said girl’s vagina is very tight and slightly puffy. This mystifies me. Don’t get me wrong here. I like to think of myself as a great stud as much as everyone else. But you have to have a little realism. I think to myself. “Nothing I did with personal equipment or toys last night should have resulted in chafing to the point of swelling.” I resolve to ask about this.
A little while later the event, which was not a big centerpiece fuck-fest to begin with, sort of peters out. There is discomfort. Discomfort leads to fear. There is *burning* in there. Have we done something bad? Now of course I am concerned. Lurid thoughts leap to mind. Battery leakage on one of the toys! What the hell would make for swelling and burning.
I have done a lot of things to torture girls. But when one of them is hurting, and it is obviously something real, and there is no clear cause and it cannot be put down to aches and pains…then I begin to worry, and I want to know precisely what is wrong and why.
I know my hands are clean…and…
It hits me…
I walk into the bathroom. And pick up the soap of this above average nice hotel. I tend not to be a big spender on personal travel so I’m used to places where the soap is, basically, Ivory. This is something very nice. Ginger and Orange…
Ginger and Orange…
There is relief that there is not something untoward wrong. There is also rinsing, sans soap.
And I check another list on my lifetime kink list. I have never actually done figging before. Just not one of those things that held massive appeal and most people I’ve played with put “burning” very low on their list of sexy desirable sensations.
So endeth my first…nonconsensual…figging scene.
Just a meaningless aside, but I believe the horse/ginger practice you mentioned is the source of the (primarily British) term “full of ginger” to describe a very energetic person.
Just came across your blog doing a search on figging, read the last few posts.
Nice come back Gordon, if there’s one thing that gets under my skin about the “Net” in general is it’s use to be brave and behave in a manner outside what’s normal,I’d be a 100% sure that if Anonymous saw you across a room, in a bus station etc they wouldn’t approach you speak their mind.
Any pain-pleasure practice is based on the interpretation of stimuly by the conscious mind.
It’s a matter of taste.
Do you remember when you are trying to focus on something and you keep getting distracted, so you need to use some sort of support to suppress the unwanted distractions ?
That’s what figging is about.
It provides a constant stimulus that the mind can adapt to, wich helps you focus on erotic play.
The intensity is savoury too.
I’m not really a big fan of dragging women into sin, but I enjoy ginger on myself from time to time.
Constant, non-fluctuating pain is much more effective than mindtricks at keeping the focus on the important experiences, such as the psycho-emotional scene itself.
The surprising thing is that, while appearing… unnatural, it is actually less animalic than plain humping.
And just like capsaicin, the oils in ginger are nerve receptor iritants, providing impulse, but not damage.
As with any natural plant, there is a balance of good and bad substances that compensate each other, therefore raw ginger over short periods is safe, while ginger extracts can be missing the right substances to counterbalance the irritants.
If a piece of root up the anus offends social taboos, a similar alternative is an intense, but well controlled bite.
None of these are pleasant however, if the receiving person is not prepared to relaxedly savour the sensation, instead of fighting it.
I’m not really sure what all the fuss is about, the one rule of erotism is:
if it creates pleasure instead of discomfort, it’s good.
I have a big suspicion that it was not only the ginger that made your partner’s vagina puffy.
And I avoid like hell using substances that threaten the natural bacterial balance of the vagina, but I suspect you know that better than me already.
If the toys can take it, i recommend simply using a weak (2% – 6%) sollution of hydrogen peroxide that you can get at any good pharmacy.
In Romania we call it “oxygenated water” and it’s basically H2O2, water with one extra oxygen atom, that escapes under light or heat. The free oxygen atom is one of the most reactive things on the planet, instatly oxidizing anything that does not have strong chemical stability.
The powerful oxygen released burns any would-be pathogens on the toy, including viruses, and the liquid loses it’s properties quite quickly, reverting to plain water, so there is no danger of leaving suspicious chemicals on the toy afterward.
Never use active peroxide on the vagina, since it destroys all good bacteria, hardens the vaginal lining, solidifies the natural lubricant, froths like crazy when reacting and it takes a whole medicated week to recuperate after such accident.
But give it half an hour after using it on a toy and it’s just plain water.
And it is the absolute best disinfectant because the crazed free oxygen will cemically modify the structure of any and all microorganisms it touches.
It’s the chemical equivalent of being burned alive.
Forget alcohol on cuts and such. This one guarantees perfect disinfecting.
Our tissues are capable to manage a little oxygen, so there is no real damage when using it, plus it leaves the wound aerated and dry after cleaning.
It is not to be used internally, however.
Internal tissues, vagina included, are used to a delicate equilibrium and peroxide is simply too brutal for them.
Be careful about the fact that the term “peroxide” is used for quite a few peroxies, so be sure to specify “hydrogen peroxide” or even the chemical formula to be on the safe side.
Pharmacists are quite flattered when they see you know your chems.
They’re quite sick of “gimme sumtin for that” all the time.
Of course, if you start inquiring about the proteic oxydation reaction of the bacterial cell membrane at the specified concentration of peroxide, ye’ll be going a little far with it, but the face the parmacist will make will be amusing nonetheless.
On that note, try asking for “[insert name of stomach medicine/pill] stomachal ointment” with a very serious face one day and watch them trying to compute.
Think of it, how do you apply ointment on the inside of the stomach ??
Well, I divagated quite enough.
Don’t be shy of ginger with the right partner.
You don’t need complicated substances for toys.
I love your literary style.
Be well, don’t forget the nipple and lube.