Sling

What is a sling?

Sling is a swing of leather or synthetic material that hangs on chains from the ceiling or from a frame, in which the passive partner lies with their legs in stirrups. The position gives the other unobstructed access and costs the one lying in it no muscle effort at all.

Where the sling comes from

From the gay scene, and it never quite left it.

The German-language encyclopedia describes the sling as a swing of leather or synthetic material, usually on chains, that serves as a resting place for the passive partner and is used above all for anal sex and fisting. Constructions like this were originally used mostly in a gay context and only later turned up at BDSM events and in dungeons. Some models have loops to fix the wrists and ankles too; that is not standard.

The English-language encyclopedia counts the sling among the sex swings and sets it apart precisely by that large support: a panel that carries the whole body, with one to five anchor points and four as the most common number. An ordinary sex swing is made of two straps and stirrups and can handle more positions; a sling has fewer, but lies better. That classification is on the encyclopedia itself as an unsourced paragraph, so take it as description and not as standard.

What to watch for

The ceiling, and beyond that really nowhere.

The leather carries your weight easily; the hook above it is the question. That same encyclopedia writes that a sound fixing is necessary to keep the hanging partner from falling, and that hollow-wall plugs as a rule do not suffice for it. What sits between the chain and that point should be a rated carabiner with the kilonewtons marked on it; what hangs in a hardware store promises nothing. If a spring comes with it, fit that too: it takes up the shock when you swing back.

In practice you come across a sling more often than you would think. In my overview of BDSM rooms to rent there is one in eleven of the fifty-six rooms, sometimes two, which makes it the most common heavy piece of furniture after the St Andrew’s cross. Anyone who wants one of their own rents one first.

Where this fits on this site

I have no sling hanging at home; what I do with a room depends on what is in it. If you want an evening in a space where things like this are present, the page on the BDSM date explains how we arrange that together and what we agree beforehand.

Sources

• Sling (BDSM). German-language Wikipedia. Gives the description as a swing of leather or synthetic material that as a rule hangs on chains from the ceiling or a support structure, the use as a resting place for the passive partner in anal sex and fisting, the point that the position gives unobstructed access and lies very relaxed, the option of fixing the bottom additionally at hands and feet with loops that only some models have, and the origin: originally mostly in a gay context, later also at BDSM events and in dungeons. The German nickname Liebesschaukel comes from here too.
• Sex swing. English-language Wikipedia. Gives the classification in which the sex sling is the category with a large panel that carries the whole body, with one to five anchor points and four as the most common number, against the ordinary swing with two straps and stirrups and more positional options; the back, seat and leg supports that are adjustable while hanging; and from the safety paragraph that a sound fixing is necessary to prevent a fall, that hollow-wall plugs usually do not suffice for it, and that included springs should be fitted to take up the shock of swinging back. Note: the paragraph with that classification carries, on the encyclopedia itself, the note that it is unsourced, and the safety paragraph leans on a commercial source that is flagged there as weak.

Related terms

A sling is furniture within bondage, like the cross and the bench, and it shares with those two that the body is held without effort.

• Bondage. The frame this piece of furniture sits in.
• St Andrew’s cross. The other piece of furniture found in almost every play space, but standing.
• Bench. The bench that does the same as a sling without anything having to go on the ceiling.
• Carabiner. The metal between the chain and the ceiling, with the numbers that should be marked on it.
• Cage. The third heavy piece from the same rooms, with an opposite purpose.
• Fisting. What the sling was built for in the gay scene.