ring gag

A gag in the shape of a ring, used in BDSM activities. A ring gag prevents speech, because it forces the mouth open, but it does not prevent the wearer from making GAAARGH - AWG sounds.

The point of the ring gag is that the submissive wearer's mouth and tongue are, to a certain extent, available for whatever activities the dominant may think fit.

Ring gags are, like nose hooks, quite frequent in Japanese porn.

Apart from the obvious distinction of a ring gag as the only kind of gag that leaves the wearer's mouth somewhat accessible and even allows the submissive to use his/her tongue to some extent, it makes kinky sex safer in several ways:

• If a long, cylindrical object were to be inserted into the mouth through the ring, the sub could not bite it, voluntarily or otherwise;
• The sub is less likely to bite his/her tongue;
• The sub is left with the ability to "say" a safeword (if that word consists chiefly of vowels); and
• Most importantly, there is far less risk of suffocation for the wearer than with any other gag.

Many Dominants are not so much interested in muffling any sound that the sub may make as in rendering the sub incapable of speech. Speech is an important part of what makes humans distinct from animals, and removing this distinction can have profound psychological effects. In a BDSM scene, it can help push a sub into subspace. If this is the intended purpose of the gag, then a ring gag should definitely be considered.