"Philogyny and Vulva Casting"
The Slave Auction Society had been in existence for over ten years and had a strict numerus clausus of fifty Members. When an old Member retired, a new Member was co-opted by a secret process, exclusively among the membership of the private club. Each Member was sworn to secrecy. Never in all those years had there been an indiscretion, a breach of confidentially or a whiff of scandal. Nor had there ever been an injury to the body or the reputation of a Slave. It was a Society of honorable gentlemen.
There was an initiation fee. The amount was held in strict confidence but rumored to be equal to the initiation fee at the most exclusive golf clubs in the northern and eastern suburbs of Gotham.
Members characterized themselves as "philogynists." Without exception, they uniformly admired and respected women and desired to promote their sexual satisfaction and empowerment. Any conduct or role playing that degraded a Slave or compromised her pleasure was frowned upon. No Slave would be subjected to treatment to which she did not consent.
During the course of the Auction, each Member committed to the principle of putting the Slave's pleasure before his own. He was expected to strictly control his desire and defer his pleasure. The Members mastered the art of edging - bringing themselves to the brink of orgasm but holding back before ejaculation.
This was not just a form of chivalry. It also preserved the communal aspect of the Auction and the solidarity ("all for one and one for all") of the "Grand Finale."
As we all know, a man's sexual interest abruptly declines after orgasm (contrary to that of a woman). Members who orgasmed early in the evening were more likely to lose interest in the proceedings and "check out" prior to the Grand Finale. That would be "bad form" and "unsportsmanlike," in the quaint, antiquated prep school terminology of the Members.
The Auction proceedings, and their culmination with the Grand Finale, will be described in more detail in a subsequent episode.
Perhaps the most "philogynistic" of all the Members - exemplified by his single-minded dedication to the study of female genitalia - was Carter W-T. (Like many Members, he had a hyphenated surname).
Carter was in his early forties. He had inherited a colossal fortune that insulated him - and presumably any of his prospective children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren - from the need to hold gainful employment. He was a handsome, well-bred, athletic WASP. His exquisite manners obscured the fact that he was of only middling intelligence and had no notable talents whatsoever.
He fancied himself an artist and took up sculpture, principally of female nudes, which provided a pretext for bringing attractive young models into his studio. This professional vocation supplemented his avocation of womanizing and promiscuous liaisons with assorted Instagram influencers and high end escorts.
Carter's progression as a sculptor, both creatively and technically, had stalled. His self-sponsored exhibitions and "vernissages" were the subject of derision in the hip Gotham artist circles. Nevertheless, since he was handsome, socially connected and fabulously wealthy, no-one would dare ridicule him to his face.
But then he hit upon a concept that would radically re-direct his artistic focus and energy and make him the talk of the town.
Phrenology and craniology were discredited 19th century pseudo-sciences that purported to derive anthropological insights from the shape of the human skull. In the same vein, an obscure 19th century German scientist had undertaken a detailed study of women's vulva, perhaps likewise hoping to find some overarching guiding anatomical principle (which apparently never emerged). His plaster vulva casts were stored in the basement of a Natural History museum in a provincial city in Bavaria. Carter made a special trip to Germany for the sole purpose of visiting the museum. The plaster vulvas - several dozen in total - were in a crate, covered in gray dust, looking sad and forlorn. Carter became obsessed with the idea of reviving and modernizing this practice.
While he was pondering his approach, some contemporary artists picked up on the idea of vulva casting. Rather than proclaiming a pseudo-scientific motivation, as did their 19th century forebears, these artists parroted the woke cant of "diversity" and "body positivism."
Carter first feared that his idea had been pre-empted, but then he came upon a novel and unique angle. The vulva casts failed to capture the perineal area and the anus. Perhaps a more comprehensive casting, including the vulva, the perineum and the anus, might reveal something important and establish statistically significant anatomical correlations (although, with his characteristically fuzzy thinking and lackadaisical follow-through, it was not clear what insights he might be searching for or how any statistical correlations would be calculated).
Using the highest grade silicone, and the most advanced molding techniques, he would seek to achieve a resolution and granularity that would distinguish his work from that of all others. (For example, the urethra was typically too fine a detail to be picked up by coarse plaster casting).
