History, culture and practice of puppy play

Abstract

In this article we explore the history, culture and practice of the phenomenon known as ‘puppy play’. Puppy play is a practice in which people take on the persona of a dog (or handler), with participants often wearing specialist gear to further enhance the experience of being a puppy. We argue that puppy play is best understood sociologically as a ‘postmodern-subculture’ (Greener and Hollands, 2006). Additionally, we use Irwin's (1973) model of scene evolution to explore the socio-history of the community. Whilst this practice appears to have its historical roots within the highly sexual gay leatherman subculture, there is a division within this community between sexual and social play, with some participants eschewing the sexual entirely. We explore possible reasons for this split through an analysis using recent political theory concerning technologies of the self, sexual citizenship and BDSM. Through this analysis we contribute valuable empirical evidence to debates and discussion about the development of sexual subcultures and tensions therein concerning claims for rights and the ‘politics of respectability’ (Cruz, 2016a, 2016b).

The Psychology of Puppy Play: A Phenomenological Investigation

“…St. Clair’s (2015) book provides a comprehensive introduction to puppy play from within the U.S. community, with information about the origins of this practice, distinction between groupings within the community (e.g., “old guard” and “new guard”), as well as practical information about naming, collars, and play itself. It is not possible to know how well this work represents the broader international pup play community, but it is consistent with extant research (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019; Wignall & McCormack, 2017; Wignall, 2017) and the present study. There is also a more straightforward practical manual called “Woof!” by Daniels (2006) that is also firmly grounded in the older BDSM tradition.…”

“…There is some evidence that there are increasing numbers of participants engaging in this activity (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019; Wignall & McCormack, 2017, and this article), although it is possible that this is as much a result of greater visibility, especially given the role of technology in community formation and development (Wignall, 2017), as substantially increased numbers of participants. Regardless, there has been a notable increase in events and websites dedicated to this activity (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019; Wignall, 2017; Wignall & McCormack, 2017), along with greater media awareness (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019). In spite of this history and growing awareness, to date, there have only been three published academic articles on the topic, two of which are based on one empirical study conducted in the UK (Wignall, 2017; Wignall & McCormack, 2017), with the other a companion piece to the present article that we published on the history and culture of puppy play.…”

“…Puppy (or pup) play is a type of role-play behavior in which adult humans adopt the characteristics of dogs (puppies, in particular) (Wignall & McCormack, 2017). It emerged out of—and is still in large part related to—the broader BDSM/leather community (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019; Wignall & McCormack, 2017), although there is some debate over the exact origins (see, for example, St. Clair, 2015, for a community perspective on the origins of this activity) 1. More specifically, puppy play is an activity which takes place within the broad category of dominant/submissive (D/s) interactions, the defining feature of which is the relationship between one or more “pups,” humans who take on the persona and attributes of dogs for the duration of the scene, and either a “handler,” who remains human but takes on the role of dog owner/dominant, or with other “pups” (St. Clair, 2015).…”

“…In spite of this history and growing awareness, to date, there have only been three published academic articles on the topic, two of which are based on one empirical study conducted in the UK (Wignall, 2017; Wignall & McCormack, 2017), with the other a companion piece to the present article that we published on the history and culture of puppy play. In that article, we describe the growth of—and challenges within—this sexual subculture in the context of sociological theories of community development (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019).…”

“…Beyond this limited material on pup play, there is also an extensive body of work on BDSM, which we draw on to inform and theoretically frame the present study given the origins of—and current location of much—puppy play behavior within the BDSM/leather community (Lawson & Langdridge, 2019; St. Clair, 2015). Of particular relevance to the present study is extant work on the reasons/motivation for people engaging in BDSM (see Khan, 2015).…”