Insex was one of the biggest

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

pornographic websites Internet pornography is any pornography that is accessible over the internet, primarily via websites, FTP servers peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. The availability of widespread public access to the World Wide Web in late 1990s ...

on the Internet and arguably the most extreme American pornographic production featuring female submissives. It was also a leading innovator in both live

video streaming Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

, pioneering the concept before

broadband Internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

existed, and in the depiction of BDSM practices on the Internet. It existed from 1997 to 2005 and was run by "Intersec Interactive Inc.",Sanders, Eli
Tortured Logic
. The Stranger. November 2005. a company owned by the website's creator, Brent Scott, former

Carnegie Mellon Carnegie may refer to: People * Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie *Carnegie Building (Troy, New York), on the campus of Rensselaer Polyt ...

professor, known as "pd". Insex developed a cult following among BDSM enthusiasts due to its uncommonly severe and realistic depiction of

sadomasochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

practices. It was also known for its interactive "Live Feeds" which allowed members to make direct suggestions and requests.David
Review of Insex
. Bondage News. February 14, 2005. In late 2006, Insex ended the production of original material, citing increased pressure from conservatives within the

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States ...

.McMillan, Dennis
BD/SM Internet Sites Under Attack
. San Francisco Bay Times. December 22, 2005.

Concept

Insex.com offered primarily two forms of content, "Live Feeds" which could be watched through a live

video stream Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

and actively influenced in a simultaneous

chat Chat or chats may refer to: Communication * Conversation, particularly casual * Online chat, text message communication over the Internet in real-time * Synchronous conferencing, a formal term for online chat * SMS chat, a form of text messagin ...

especially

IRC Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called ''channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat and ...

between viewers and the website operator, and conventionally shot videos that were the basis of regular updates. Most of the live feeds were later edited and presented as downloadable videos. Additionally, Insex offered so-called "Tests", compiled videos of women who had explored BDSM play at the hands of a professional producer and then decided not to return after a first test shoot. The website also provided a

message board An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

for paying members that was frequented by the staff and several of the more prominent models. The videos were presented in

RealVideo RealVideo, or also spelled as Real Video, is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and was at version 10. RealVideo is supported ...

format, in the beginning with

bitrate In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (bitrate or as a variable ''R'') is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time. The bit rate is expressed in the unit bit per second (symbol: bit/s), often in conjunction w ...

s of 225

kbit/s In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols (baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are multi ...

, and later up to 450 kbit/s. Commonly, the updates were between 30 and 90 minutes in length, while the live feeds usually lasted several hours. On some occasions, models were online in BDSM live events for as long as 48 hours continuously. During such long sessions models had rest breaks, in which they could answer questions from viewers that were relayed from the message board or chat room. Starting in 2003, videos were occasionally shot in 16:9

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

aspect ratio with partly more artistic camera work. The material included different aspects of

, e.g.

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

and metal bondage, heavy

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or ha ...

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

and

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

ping, as well as needle play,

intimate examination A well-woman examination is an exam offered to women to review elements of their reproductive health. The exam includes a breast examination, a pelvic examination and a Pap smear but may also include other procedures. Hospitals employ strict polici ...

erotic asphyxiation Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done b ...

, gagging,

humiliation Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just decr ...

, electric stimulation/torture,

interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...

human animal roleplay Animal roleplay is a form of roleplay where at least one participant plays the part of a non-human animal. As with most forms of roleplay, its uses include play and psychodrama. Animal roleplay may also be found in BDSM contexts, where an indiv ...

enemas An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...

, and

urolagnia Urolagnia (also urophilia, and, more colloquially, a golden shower or watersports) associates sexual excitement with the sight or thought of urine or urination, and may also refer to such behaviours or acts. It is a paraphilia. The term has o ...

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

and

water torture Water torture encompasses a variety of techniques using water to inflict physical or psychological harm on a victim as a form of torture or execution. Forced ingestion In this form of water torture, water is forced down the throat and into the sto ...

were also explored, and would later inspire pay sites dedicated solely to those forms of BDSM. Videos often showed penetration with

dildos A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Dildos can be made from a number of materials and shaped like an erect human penis ...

and the use of

vibrators Vibrator may refer to: Technology * Vibrator (sex toy), a device for massage or sexual pleasure used by both men and women * Vibrator (mechanical), a class of devices which create mechanical vibrations for uses such as signaling annunciators, d ...

, while sexual intercourse and oral sex were briefly shown on a small number of occasions. One of the recurring themes of the videos was that models had to ask for permission before they had an orgasm during a scene. Models had a

safeword In BDSM, a safeword is a code word, series of code words or other signal used by a person to communicate their physical or emotional state, typically when approaching, or crossing, a physical, emotional, or moral boundary. Some safewords are used ...

that they occasionally used if their

pain tolerance Pain tolerance is the maximum level of pain that a person is able to tolerate. Pain tolerance is distinct from pain threshold (the point at which pain begins to be felt).pornographic actresses normally did not work for the website due to the recovery time each shoot would require afterward. The majority of models were local women who answered an anonymous ad in a newspaper, although a small percentage of women had previous modeling or BDSM experience. Some women stated that they were not interested in BDSM sexually, but rather saw it as a physical and mental challenge that allowed them to test their abilities. Models normally did not use ordinary stage names, but they were given numbers ("101", "912"), although some models were referred to by unusual verbal names ("Spacegirl", "Az", "Piglet"). The numeric names were usually based on the date that the model made her first test video shoot, "101" being October 1, "912" referring to September 12. Among the more popular models who worked for Insex were Sarah Jane Ceylon ("625"),

Lorelei Lee Amy Janas (born June 22, 1982), better known by her ring name Lorelei Lee, is an American former professional wrestler. She is best known by her appearances in SHIMMER Women Athletes. Professional wrestling career Mason-Dixon Wrestling (2006� ...

("Lorelei"), Adrianna Nicole ("Seven"), Liz Tyler 205 ("Cowgirl"), Gina Rae Michaels ("1020") Sharon Engert ("1016") and Wenona. Many prominent names in fetish modeling either started at Insex or passed through it at one point in their career, as did

bondage rigger A bondage rigger is a person who practices the art of applying bondage, using any of a variety of materials such as rope, leather straps, or metal restraints. Bondage riggers may participate in bondage for many reasons. These may include: as ...

s including such figures as

Claire Adams Claire Adams (; 24 September 1898 – 25 September 1978) was a silent film actress and benefactor. She was born in Canada, studied there and in England, and developed a movie career in Hollywood. She spent the second half of her life in Austra ...

, Cyd Black,

Princess Donna Princess Donna is the stage name of the American pornographic actress and director also known as Donna Dolore. She was director of ''Wired Pussy'' and founder of ''Public Disgrace'' and ''Bound Gang Bang'', all ''Kink.com'' brands. She majored i ...

, Matt Williams, and Damon Pierce, who all went on to work for the internet pornography company

Kink.com Kink.com is a San Francisco-based bondage internet pornography company that runs a group of websites devoted to BDSM and related fetishes. Kink.com, along with Kink Studios, LLC, Hogtied.com and Behindkink.com are DBAs for Cybernet Entertainme ...

. Because of this, Insex's artistic principles would influence the design and staging of many BDSM pay sites after its demise. Before Black's departure, Brent Scott asked him to create two new BDSM themed web sites, named Hardtied and Infernal Restraints, so Scott would have an avenue to continue to produce and sell content for the web without fearing interference from the government or the loss of credit card processing. Some mainstream pornographic models, such as Wenona, continue to perform for InfernalRestraints.com. Intersec Interactive also created a website, InsexM, where female dominants dominated male submissives; it was shut down after a lack of interest among subscribers.

Shutdown

In the fall of 2005, Insex announced it was looking for a buyer, because "continuing to produce Insex.com from the U.S. would be too great a potential liability." This came as a result of attempts by the

U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

to censor internet pornography, specifically by implementing an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

anti-obscenity initiative in August 2005; an FBI memorandum stated that productions where the content includes "urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior" would "most likely" be legally targeted.Paul, Ryan
FBI agents paid to surf for deviant Internet porn
. Ars Technica. September 9, 2005. At that time the site revenue was about $50,000 per week but the FBI was putting pressure on the credit card company to dropping their business with Scott until eventually they couldn't process credit card and get payment from viewers.Graphic Sexual Horror A statement on the Insex website explained, "while Intersex is certain that a potential prosecution would have no chance of success... the staff is unwilling to fight a lengthy and expensive court battle only to emerge victorious but bankrupt." The website's entire content, over 500 movies, was offered for sale for US$4 million and reportedly bought for an undisclosed amount by a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

company. Parts of the Insex material are now offered as ''Insex Archives''. The Insex videos are also traded on

peer-to-peer network Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer n ...

s and are also becoming increasingly available in low-quality bootlegged DVD form in sex shops scattered around Europe.

References

{{reflist BDSM organizations Bondage pornography American erotica and pornography websites Internet properties established in 1997 Internet properties disestablished in 2005

Concept

Shutdown

See also

References