Blogging by Request: To Air is Human?

I got an e-mail from a “fan” (?) yesterday requesting that I look into her newly uncovered interest in balloons or more importantly her arousal by said rubber inflatables and aid with identifying the sub-culture therein. Inspired to some extent by way of my blog treatment of Furverts and Peddle Pumpers a few weeks back, she wondered if I could… ahem… expand upon the practice and give her my “unique take” (does that mean she thinks I have only one testicle and wants to take the other one away from me?). Maybe it was all a hoax, but far be it from this cannibal to not eat a plate that’s already been peeled, peppered and prepared.

Set aside for the moment that early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, there is a pocket of people who find the sight of an individual fondling, inflating or bursting latex spheres to be the zenith of fetishism. Dubbed “Looners”, for two obvious reasons, balloonists (or Inflatophiliacs) are a detachment of the more flamboyant leather/latex crowd but the balloons themselves are the focus of the fetish more than the person interacting with it (more or less). For some it’s the distinct smell, for others it’s the act of inflation itself and for “Poppers” it’s the bubble burst that puts the air into their proverbial white wall tire. What would a fetish community be without a little controversy? The Looners themselves have a sub-sect that is vehemently against “killing” the balloon by over-inflation or by sitting on it - but for some it’s the anticipation of the imminent pop (or the explosive release as the balloon itself metaphorically reaches its climax) that underlines the experience. Hard to believe that an alternative pod like this would have internal strife, but in a fetish community with so many degrees of balloonacy, nothing surprises me anymore.

In fairness, I was aware that Looners existed to some degree (I thought that maybe they were people who were stimulated by the moon at one point) before looking into them a little further, but I was ignorant as to how widespread or multifaceted they were. There are dozens of websites out there strictly related to the act of balloon interfacing itself and even more in preference specific channels where cross-genres are combined to spawn additional variations (amalgamate a cigarette smoking fixation with using the business end to pop the poor balloon – et voila!). Flexible enough to be manipulated into particular shapes, occasionally a phallus or breast resembling item, sometimes tactile enough to approximate human skin to some degree but always an object of ultimate affection even in it’s destruction - balloons are an unlikely target of anomalous affection. Indeed Looners are a special breed, said to have developed the attraction as children, I’m pretty sure we’ve all stuffed a balloon up our shirt and acted pregnant or full of gas at one point in life, it’s how you felt afterwards which delineates from what side of the Horny Hindenburg you’re coming from.

Message to “BaloonBabe” (no, I didn’t make that up and if your aim is to be a reborn fetishist, you may be required to be able to spell that which you’re obsessed with, just a guess :) - Fetishists don’t generally go door to door seeking new recruits so if your goal is to be drafted as a Looner, you are not alone, but you do have to seek them out. An interactive online community does exist; it’s called BalloonBuddies and it should help you determine how seriously you intend to pursue it all. Good Luck with your quest though, and as for your other request; if you really are a "babe", I just might consider eating you, we’ll celebrate with a nice Chianti and maybe a few balloons.

What kind of sauce goes with Buffet of Burgeoning Balloon Fetishist?

iPod played "Nena - 99 Red Balloons" while posting