Medical play without the white coat: the exam is the scene
The most-played form of medical play uses no instrument at all. What happens instead, why lying still works, and where the law begins.
Glossary
Duckbill speculum
The only piece of BDSM gear almost every woman already knows, just from another room.
What is a duckbill speculum?
A duckbill speculum (Dutch: eendenbek) is a type of speculum, a spreading instrument that is inserted into the vagina or the anus and holds the opening open. The two halves sit on a hinge and are set open after insertion, where a screw mechanism holds them in place. Outside the doctor’s office, the duckbill speculum is the best-known object from medical play.
| Dutch term | eendenbek, from the duck-bill shape; in the professional literature the design is Graves’ duckbilled speculum, after the one most used today |
| Also known as | speculum and spreader; according to Thuisarts.nl those are three names for the same thing |
| Material | stainless steel that is sterilized between uses, or plastic for single use |
| How it works | closed on the way in, then open, and set in position with a screw |
| Part of | medical play, within the broader umbrella of BDSM |
| Key condition | it should not hurt; if it does, it comes out |
Where the name comes from
From the shape. The encyclopedia writes that Edward Gabriel Cusco devised the two-lipped model in 1870, and that T.W. Graves combined his design with the duck-bill shape from Sims. That combined model, Graves’ duckbilled speculum, is still the most common. The Dutch nickname, eendenbek, is thus a translation of a professional term and not a scene joke. The instrument itself is old, too: vaginal and anal specula have been found in Pompeii.
What a duckbill speculum does in practice
A duckbill speculum does one thing: hold open something that closes on its own. That makes it interesting in medical play for two reasons that have nothing to do with stimulation. The first is visibility, and the second is that you cannot close anything yourself.
There is one hard rule that goes with it, and it comes not from the scene but from the family doctor’s office. Thuisarts.nl writes about the smear test: a smear test should not hurt, and if it does hurt, say so right away. Uncomfortable is normal, pain is a signal. In a scene exactly the same holds, with this difference: there is no assistant asking you. So you have to agree on that beforehand.
Sources
- Ik laat een uitstrijkje maken voor het bevolkingsonderzoek baarmoederhalskanker. Thuisarts.nl (Dutch College of General Practitioners). Provides that a spreader is also called an eendenbek or speculum, that it is inserted carefully to see the entrance of the uterus, and that a smear test should not hurt: if it does hurt, say so right away.
- Speculum (medical). Wikipedia. Provides the description as an instrument for examining body openings, the material (sterilized stainless steel or plastic for single use), the two-lipped model by Edward Gabriel Cusco from 1870, Graves’ duckbilled speculum as the most used design, the hinge with screw mechanism, and the finding of specula in Pompeii.
Related terms
- BDSM. The umbrella that medical play falls under, with the other branches alongside. The duckbill speculum is gear within that corner and not a practice on its own.
- Dilator. The other medical object that stretches open instead of holding open.
- Enema. The best-known other practice from the same doctor’s-office corner.
- Butt plug. The object that stays in place where a duckbill speculum comes back out.
- Medical play. The play the duckbill speculum is the best-known object of, with the legal limits alongside.
- Nursing. The care side of the same role play, where no instrument is involved at all.
- Speculum. The professional term for the same instrument, with the word origin and the Roman examples that are still around.
Frequently asked questions
What people still ask about the duckbill speculum.
What is a duckbill speculum?
A duckbill speculum is a spreading instrument that is inserted into the vagina or the anus and holds the opening open. The two halves sit on a hinge and are set open after insertion, where a screw holds them in place. Thuisarts.nl calls spreader, eendenbek and speculum three names for the same thing.
Why is a speculum called a duckbill speculum?
Because of the shape of the most common model. T.W. Graves combined the two-lipped design by Edward Gabriel Cusco from 1870 with the duck-bill shape from Sims, and in the professional literature that model is called Graves’ duckbilled speculum. The Dutch nickname eendenbek is thus a translation of a professional term.
Should a duckbill speculum hurt?
No. Thuisarts.nl writes about the smear test that it should not hurt, and that you should say so right away if it does hurt. Uncomfortable it can be; pain is a signal. In a scene there is no one asking you, so agree beforehand on how you signal it.
Who can you turn to with questions about a duckbill speculum?
Victor, a gigolo with twenty-five years of experience in BDSM and a background as a psychotherapist. Medical play is not on his list of what he offers, but the conversation about it is: you can ask him a question with no obligation through the contact form or first chat for free.
Blog
Articles about being held open
The duckbill speculum is the first instrument people reach for. This article describes what changes then, and what the scene already did before it without one.
Learn more
Still have questions about the duckbill speculum?
I am Victor. Medical play is not part of what I offer, but if you want to know what this kind of play asks or what to watch for, send me a message. No obligation, and I will say honestly when something is not my field.