Archive for November 17th, 2007

Ball Sh#@ … or “Why would anyone do that to their testicles?!”

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Q: A man’s balls are very sensative to any pushing or pulling so what’s the purpose of ball dividers, stretchers etc.?

ball stretchers
First things first (for those readers not “in the know” about such toys): Ball stretchers are devices designed to fasten around the scrotum, above the testicles, forcing the testicles further away from the body. They range from relatively small leather cuffs to elaborate contraptions with weights hanging off them, padlocks, spikes and all sorts of other elaborations. Ball dividers are similar devices with a strap or other “divider” at the bottom end, which fastens between the testicles and separates them.

Now, “why in the hell would anyone want to do that to their poor balls” is probably the most common reaction upon a man’s first sighting of either device. And it’s a valid question, for the reasons you mention. Why would you want to, seemingly painfully, distort such a sensitive part of your body?

For starters, different people have different tolerance levels for physical sensation. One man might be reduced to fits of giggles by his partner attempting to stroke his testicles during oral sex … another man buys ball stretchers with lead weights hanging off them.

For people with a high tolerance for sensation, a “mild” ball stretcher likely won’t even register as painful. During arousal, most folks become somewhat less sensitive to pain. If you’ve ever enjoyed having a partner dig their nails into your back during sex, and only the next day realized they’d left painful welts behind, you know exactly what I mean. At the time, it probably felt great!

The same effect, to a more extreme degree, is part of what lies behind all S/M play. During sexual arousal, many sensations that might otherwise register as pain just feel “really intense” (and often very good) instead. And some people actually do enjoy erotically inflicted pain as well.

For people who enjoy that sort of thing, ball stretchers and other such devices exist to cause extreme sensation in an already sensitive part of the body.