Dwangbuis

What is a dwangbuis?

A dwangbuis (English: straitjacket) is a jacket with extra-long sleeves that fastens at the back, after which the sleeves are tied around the body. The arms end up crossed over the torso and can no longer reach the fastening. It is originally psychiatric restraint gear, devised in France around 1770.

Where the dwangbuis comes from

From the asylum, not the playroom. The encyclopedia dates the invention to around 1770 in France and describes the early models as jackets that closed with buttons and cords at the back, with long sleeves tied behind the back. The idea was more humane than chains: more freedom of movement, and no one harming themselves or others. In overcrowded institutions it was then used to keep order.

In bondage that is a reversal. The encyclopedia on bondage names institutional restraints like the straitjacket explicitly as something used in role play, alongside purpose-made gear such as monogloves and bodybags.

Why people use it

The image and the ease. A dwangbuis goes on with buckles rather than learned knots, and the result is more absolute than most rope ties: no hands, no escape, and a silhouette everyone recognizes.

What it is not: safe because no rope is involved. Fabric can sit too tight just as easily.

What to watch for

Stay in the room. The encyclopedia on bondage puts two rules at the top: never leave someone who is restrained alone, and change their position at least every hour to prevent circulation problems. Keep a pair of EMT scissors within reach as well.

Watch the position too. Kersting, Hirsch and Steinert found in their review of 67 studies in Frontiers in Psychiatry that restraint in the prone position carries by far the highest risk; guidelines therefore advise against that position. They also establish that some of the most dangerous outcomes can be prevented outright with one-on-one supervision. That is about coerced care and not about a scene, but the lesson is the same: not on the stomach, and not out of sight. If you want to experience something like this safely, I stay with you and keep an eye on your position; that is how I build it up on a BDSM date.

Sources

• Physical Harm and Death in the Context of Coercive Measures in Psychiatric Patients: A Systematic Review. Kersting, Hirsch & Steinert, Frontiers in Psychiatry 10, 400, 2019. Systematic review of 67 studies; provides the finding that restraint in the prone position carries the highest risk and that guidelines therefore advise against it, and that some of the most dangerous outcomes can be prevented outright with one-on-one supervision.
• Straitjacket. Wikipedia. Provides the dating to around 1770 in France, the description of the early models with buttons and cords at the back and sleeves tied behind the back, and the intent as a more humane alternative to chains.
• Bondage (BDSM). Wikipedia. Provides the mention of the straitjacket as an institutional restraint used in role play, and the rules to never leave a restrained person alone, to change position at least every hour, and to keep EMT scissors at hand.

Related terms

• Straitjacket. The same jacket under its English name, with what strait actually means.
• Bodybag. The purpose-made counterpart, where the legs disappear too.
• Armbinder. The same principle for the arms alone, with a sharper risk profile.
• Cocooning. The wrapping-up that a dwangbuis is the clothing version of.
• Thumbcuffs. The other piece of gear that comes out of the restraint world.
• Mummification. The broader practice a dwangbuis is the arms-only part of.
• Bondage. The practice this jacket is a tool for.