Submission Possible is a 10-episode docu-series written, directed, and hosted by feminist porn author and erotic performer, Madison Young. It explores the queer sexual underground scenes of kink, fetish, and BDSM around the world and is presented by queer streaming channel Revry.
In the pilot episode, New Orleans: Sex Magic, Seances, and Cemeteries, Young visits practitioners of sex magic rituals, purveyors of herbal aphrodisiacs, cemeteries, sexy seances, and a woman who experiences spectrophilia (sex with ghosts). She features sex magician Sura Hertzberg, herbal alchemist Gypsi Sandiego, kinky witch and tarot reader Ashton Young, and queer leather title-holder Elyse the Beast. Each guest shares a different aspect of their journey as Young explores layers of her own experience and interests.
New Orleans has always been steeped in the lore of the supernatural. Voodoo, ghosts, and haunted houses and buildings abound here. It’s a natural nexus for those interested in thinning the veil between our world and any possible realms beyond.
“…Young visits practitioners of sex magic rituals, purveyors of herbal aphrodisiacs, cemeteries, sexy seances…”
Sometimes it’s best not to look too closely at the content of a piece and just go with the ambiance and emotional flow. Such is the case with Submission Possible. Whether there is any basis in reality for these metaphysical pursuits is never questioned or even discussed. In fact, it’s unclear whether the people involved believe or care about objective truth. They are more about vibe and atmosphere, and that’s not a criticism. There are worse ways one could spend an afternoon than being pleasantly buzzed, surrounded by attractive, gentle people burning sweet-smelling herbs while getting undressed.
Young does pull a little sleight of hand in her segment on visiting the grave of Voodoo queen Marie Laveau. Her rituals and dances are at a grave, but not Marie Laveau’s, who is buried in New Orleans famous city cemetery St Louis #1 in a crypt owned by the Glapion family. Young, however, appears in a graveyard near a traditional headstone that she describes as Marie Laveau’s. Given that the only way to visit St. Louis #1 these days is on a guided tour, one could speculate that she was unable to film there and so opted to move the segment to a graveyard.
Submission Possible documents erotica, without becoming actual porn itself, as there are no sex scenes or nudity. Let’s walk that back a step: it’s hard to say what everyone considers erotica, but by the typical internet porn definition, this isn’t it. The internet is helpful here too, as a quick search for Young’s erotic scenes turns up many examples, in case the series whets an appetite for more. She makes a compelling guide into this offbeat world of specific practices, and the series works well as an introduction to people and ideas you may not be aware of.
For those involved in the various kinks depicted, Submission Possible is a travelogue of places you may wish to go someday. Spending time with Young is pleasant and peaceful, and sex magic as meditation may bring you a moment of tranquility in troubled times.
"…documents erotica, without becoming actual porn itself..."
