An Interview With Mercury, Lord of The Mark

(Editor's Note:

about The Mark in this week's Scene, then delve into this Q&A with Mercury, The Mark's executive director. To help replicate the full experience, I suggest you keep this track playing as you read.)

Mercury: Many EMTs and emergency room techs already understand. If they see symmetry, or matching bruises on both sides, that is not domestic abuse. That was from an S&M top who was very proud of what they do.

Country Life: So what would the bruises come from, typically?

Hands, paddles, canes, any sort of impact. And what you’ll find is that our crowd is technically more interested in symmetry. We are educated in the physiology of safe play. So we’re not going to strike joints — the knees, the ankles, the wrists, the elbows, even the spine, because it’s just a long set of joints. That’s where you cause harm. In S&M play, we don’t mind hurting, but we don’t like to harm. There’s a huge difference.