A body belt is any waist

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...

which has

D-ring A D-ring is a D-shaped metal ring used primarily as a lashing point in a tie-down system. Depending on their function D-rings may vary in composition, geometry, weight, finish, and load capacity. They may be screwed or welded in place, or attach ...

s or other attachment points. The belts can be used as medical restraints in institutions for bed and wheelchair restraints, and for safety in activities such as abseiling or construction work. When they are used in

sexual bondage Bondage in the BDSM subculture, is the practice of consensually tying, binding, or restraining a partner for erotic, aesthetic, or somatosensory stimulation. A partner may be physically restrained in a variety of ways, including the use o ...

plays they are commonly referred to as bondage belts, and also worn in

fetish clothing Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative in a fetishistic manner. These styles are by definition not worn by the majority of people; if everyone wears an it ...

. The belts are usually fastened with buckles and some by a locking mechanism, which enables quick release.

Use in fall arrest

Historically body belts were used as a personal

fall arrest Fall arrest is the form of fall protection which involves the safe stopping of a person already falling. It is one of several forms of fall protection, forms which also include fall guarding (general protection that prevents persons from enter ...

system but OSHA rule changes meant they ceased to be acceptable for such use from 1 January 1998.

Prisoner transport

When transporting prisoners, leather or nylon belts are often used instead of belly chains to secure the prisoner's arms at waist level. These restraint belts have a metal ring on the front, through which the

handcuffs Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...

are plugged and then put on the detainee's wrists. The belt is then placed around the detainee's waist and secured with a buckle; some models can also be locked with a padlock. For further control, a

stun belt A stun belt is a belt fastened around the subject's waist, leg, or arm that carries a battery and control pack, and contains features to stop the subject from unfastening or removing it. A remote-control signal is sent to tell the control pack to g ...

may be fastened around the prisoner's waist. In the case of misbehaviour, the device may give the subject an electric shock.

Use in sexual bondage

For sexual bondage plays a body belt is usually called a bondage belt. Though it is not a physical restraint by itself, it can be used to provide an anchoring point for other restraints, such as

bondage cuffs Bondage cuffs are restraints designed for use in sexual bondage situations. Compared to conventional handcuffs, they are wide wrist and ankle restraints generally made of leather, often padded with soft leather or fake fur. Bondage cuffs may be f ...

, rope, etc. Lengths of simple leather strapping with buckles are sometimes also referred to as bondage belts, because they can be used quickly to bind limbs. Most bondage belts are made of fabric or

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

as these materials tend to be more comfortable and better distribute pressure over the skin.

Use in fashion

Leather bondage belts have been worn as a fashion accessory by subcultures such as

punks Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

. Sid Vicious has been cited for popularising the item in

alternative fashion Alternative fashion or Alt fashion is fashion that stands apart from mainstream commercial fashion. Alternative fashion includes the fashions of specific subcultures such as emo, scene, goth subculture, hip hop, cyberpunk, kawaii, cottagecore, ...

References

{{reflist BDSM equipment Physical restraint Fetish clothing