But generally, when I’m looking for submissive men, I’m looking for submissive all-of-them, not just their submissive genitals. I want their submissive expressions, and their submissive chests, and backs, and ass, and legs, and arms. All together. Cock shots make me think of the way mainstream advertising chops women up and plasters sexualized body parts beside their product to sell something.

If people don’t agree with my/Maymay’s opinions on male submission, it doesn’t make sense for them to feel upset by our choices – it makes sense for them to start their own sites! After all, this is the Internet, land of infinite space and pornography. I would love to see tons of galleries spring up everywhere in response to the MSA concept. That’s going to be far more fun, far more sexy, and far more helpful to our community.

That is precisely whywe are encouraging people not only to send us suggestions of what they’d like to see, but also to start re-blogging the content we write for MaleSubmissionArt.com with a link back to it. The point of sexuality—of EVERYTHING—is to do with your own as you will.

This is called freedom and we like it. Monopoly is not freedom. Monotony is not freedom either.

For starters, I’m not the only curator. May and I have already had some split opinions, and I can easily see us diverging in the nature of the content we each choose to post. Following from that, he could post that picture any time, and I wouldn’t object. (I feel a bit bad about making this discussion over a single photo, so I’d like to stress yet again that my questions and responses are general in nature.)

Also, you wrote:

If you don’t think something fits with the concept of the site, or is poor quality, or isn’t as good as similar images you have, don’t post it.

And that, although for many personal reasons, was essentially my point with this entry. I don’t think cock shots fit the concept of the site. One of the reasons I posted this entry was because I wanted to get a wider sampling of what people thought about the topic, rather than going off a single submission. With the responses in hand, I’m definitely going to think a bit more broadly about cock shots in the future, but I’m still not convinced.

But if it’s clearly some people’s idea of male submission, I say put it up.

Here’s the thing – I totally get your argument, but isn’t this a bit of a slippery slope? After all, what do you get right now if you put “male submission” into Google? Mostly a whole lot of crap. But if that’s many people’s idea of male submission, should I be posting it? I think not.

Although this site is conceptually a community effort, it is in reality a show of personal taste. As such, we’re gonna drive it as best we can, but hey. We’re only 2 people. If people don’t agree with my/Maymay’s opinions on male submission, it doesn’t make sense for them to feel upset by our choices – it makes sense for them to start their own sites! After all, this is the Internet, land of infinite space and pornography. I would love to see tons of galleries spring up everywhere in response to the MSA concept. That’s going to be far more fun, far more sexy, and far more helpful to our community.

1. I had sort of intended this as a generic question and conversation. Undoubtedly, there are many, many cock shots in the world, beyond the one I’m referencing here. I get the “I’ll know it when I see it” concept, but I think it’s possible to edge toward something of a general notion on this topic.

2. One of the things I don’t *ever* want MSA participants to worry about is whether their submission will show up somewhere besides MSA. That is simply not the point of the site. I won’t be pulling images to post them here, I won’t be opening them up for commentary in a different forum. It’s just not gonna happen. And I don’t want to put it up on MSA, as that would, at this point, deviate from the style guidelines we have for the site. (Because I am still not convinced that a cock shot can be submissive, your excellent commentary notwithstanding.)

So, that said, any further thoughts?

In a way it is, of course, you run it, you created it, it is based largely on your sexual tastes. But they way you describe it is not, “Please increase our personal porn collection.” It’s, “We showcase beautiful imagery where men and other male-identified people are submissive subjects. We aim to challenge stereotypes of the “pathetic” submissive man.”

Somebody sent it in, it turns their crank, so it obviously fits in with someone’s idea of submissive males. Why not post it? All of the reasons you give for it seem to be about you. Ordinarily, I would think that’s great. I’m a huge fan of the “I” statement. In this context, though, I think it’s limiting. I don’t think the site is about narrowly defining submissive male porn. I think it’s about bringing the full range of male submission into the light. (Ok, maybe not the entire full range. I fully respect the decision to keep pathetic out of it, but the full-range of beautiful imagery.) The full range is messy. What seems to you to be more about masochism than submission, might be smack in the middle of my idea of submission. You might not get off on isolated body parts, but I might find the objectification incredibly hot. Your wariness of the cock could translate into my fetish for binding them up.

This is not to say that you should post everything that gets sent to you. Of course you should have editorial say. If you don’t think something fits with the concept of the site, or is poor quality, or isn’t as good as similar images you have, don’t post it. But if it’s clearly some people’s idea of male submission, I say put it up.

I am not a big fan of the penis, in general. I find the entire contraption a little off-putting, and wont to spit acrid goo at me.

are one reason why I’m so enormously fond of you.

I’d have to actually look at the image in order to personally gague whether or not I thought it was “really” submissive, though I also very much trust *your* – Eileen – judgement about whether a shot of a guy is submissive, because it should stir some sort of dominance in you. But then again, I guess, even if it doesn’t incite that in you, it might incite it in someone else.

You could always try floating a shot or two on the site and see what the response is, and how you feel about seeing it live on the site.