There’s no more powerful image of bondage play than a red ball gag in the mouth, but there are so many more bondage gag options out there worth considering! For a complete guide to nearly all the types of gags on the market today, for beginners and pros alike, look no further.
Before incorporating a gag into your play, it’s important to discuss the risks and boundaries with your partner, establish a safeword or signal, and ensure that both parties feel comfortable and safe with the activity.
Why Use a Gag?
While most couples are comfortable with a bit of light spanking and fluffy handcuffs, pulling out a gag is stepping the game up a bit, so as with any new toy in the bedroom, make sure you’ve discussed it beforehand. But if you’re looking for a good reason to add one to your BDSM play, there’s a lot to choose from:
- Humiliation. It’s a fact of life that having a ball stuffed in your mouth is going to make you drool a bit. For the dom, that can be an incredible turn-on. For the sub, it’s a humiliating loss of bodily control.
- Silence. If your partner just can’t help themselves from screaming, a gag will help to quiet them down a bit, though it won’t silence them completely. The muffled sounds can be quite erotic.
- Submission. Being unable to complain, utter a safeword, or give any sort of verbal feedback is both dangerous, and an incredible act of submission. It requires the utmost of trust between play partners.
- Aesthetics. It’s a classic BDSM look, and it just feels naughty.
- Something to suck on. I’m of the firm belief that a sub’s mouth should always be in use, whether that’s licking, sucking, or anything else you’ve asked of them. But when not in use, they should have use of the mouth restricted with your choice of gag.
- Roleplay. With such a variety of gags on offer, you’re sure to find one to suit your fantasy roleplay scene—whether that’s the deviant doctor, naughty nurse, or a bit of pony play.
11 Types of Gag to Choose From
So, you want to introduce a gag, but not sure which type to get? Let us show you the most common, and some more esoteric ones.
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Ball Gag
Beginners should start here. The traditional ball gag is the most recognizable type of gag, but they come in a variety of sizes and materials, and in-fills. A solid silicone ball will muffle your sub completely, but may also prevent drool from escaping.
If you’d like them to suffer the humiliation of drooling, consider a ball gag with holes–this obviously also helps with breathing too, if that’s something they’re afraid of. Pictured: Our beginner ball gag pick, the pink silicone ball gag with breathing holes – around $6 on AliExpress, with three sizes to choose from in pink or black.
If the ballgag isn’t explicitly made of silicone, be wary, as it may be a brittle plastic instead. The holes on these can dig into your lips after a while, and the brittle plastic can shatter if your bite is particularly strong.
Ball gags start at around 1.5″/38mm in diameter, but can go as large as 2″. You may have trouble inserting the largest, and they will cause jaw ache after a few minutes. Start small!
Bit Gag
The bit gag is usually a long rubber piece that protrudes out either side of your mouth, such that your cheeks are pulled back and you can bite down on it. They’re not quite as silencing as other kinds of gags, but might be more comfortable if your sub has issues with fitting in a ball. You’ll also find specialist bit gags, such as bone shapes for pet play.
Pictured: basic red silicone bit gag, $6 on AliExpress.
O-Ring Gag
O-rings are tricky to get in, but depending on the size chosen, should allow complete access to your sub’s mouth and throat. Not only do you get access to do as you wish, but they’ll be helpless to stop any drooling, and still be able to breathe correctly. The best strongest O-ring gags will be made of metal, and coated with rubber or silicone so as not to chip your sub’s teeth.
Pictured: Black open mouth gag, $3
A variation on the O-ring gag is the spider gag, which has hooks that extend outwards and stop the ring portion from being flipped around. I’d recommend avoiding these, as the bare metal can really damage your teeth.
Inflatable Gag
Inflatable gags can be quite intense since they fill a larger portion of your mouth. Overinflated, the sub could choke; inflated just right, and they’ll teeter on the sensation of complete fullness and utter helplessness, unable to make a sound.
Personally, I love inflatable gags because they add another point of interaction for the dom to exert control: slowly inflating it more and more as the session goes on, or inflating too much, leaving you choking for a few seconds, before releasing just enough air that you can breathe again. Inflatable gags will almost always be made of latex rubber, so extra care should be taken when washing and storing them (they’ll discolor if touching something plastic, for instance).
Two types of inflatable gags seem to be common: penis-shaped, and simple balloon types.
Pictured: inflatable silicone penis gag, $15.
Jennings / Medical Gag
Originally used in dentistry, Jennings (and similar, Whitehead) gags use a ratcheting metal system to slowly pry open the patient’s mouth, then lock in place. They look quite intimidating but offer ultimate access levels for sadistic mouth and throat play. As with O-ring gags, you’ll find some bare metal and rubber-coated varieties. If you find O-rings are too small to fit your penis through for forced oral, a dental gag might be the answer.
Panel Gag
Panel gags don’t require inserting anything into a sub’s mouth, and instead, just cover it, like a mask. They’re effective at silencing a sub, but don’t allow for other interaction with their mouth and don’t give the sub any feeling of fullness. You may find some dual-purpose panel gags that include a ball or penis on the inside too, but the only reason to opt for a panel gag is that you like the aesthetics.
Penis/Dildo Gag
“Forniphilic” gags, to give them their scientific name (wait, really, I could have been a bondage scientist?!), are any type of gag designed to objectify or humiliate the wearer. Usually, this is a dildo, but gags with interchangeable attachments, like a feather duster, can also be found.
Dildo gags come in all shapes and sizes, with the dildo on the inside, outside, or both. Our favourite is this model, which is double-sided, made of silicone, and has a hollow tube through the centre. It’s usually the short end that goes into your sub’s mouth, but if they’re feeling particularly brave, the long end would be good for deep-throat practice.
Airway / Tube / Funnel Gags
I’ve grouped these into the same category since they can all essentially be the same thing. The gag includes a hollow center, with a tube coming out. You can leave the end of the tube can as is, or attach to a funnel for feeding all manner of juices to your sub. These are different from O-ring gags in that they typically don’t open wide enough to fit a penis through.
For those into piss play, a urinal gag contains a funnel component to catch all the juices and direct them into the sub’s mouth, where they’re left with no option but to drink it all down. Click here to read our full review of the Oxballs Watersports gag.
Pacifier Gag
The ultimate humiliation is a baby pacifier—an essential for ABDL enthusiasts—and easily adapted to be an item for bondage play by attaching it to a locking strap.
Although pacifiers rank high on the humiliation scale, they’re probably the safest sort of gag you can buy, and won’t muffle the voice too much if they really need to speak.
You’ll find some cheap clear plastic locking pacifier gags on AliExpress (all with a silicone teat), though we fell in love with this pacifier harness gag from PaddedPawz.
Stuffing / Tape Gag
If you like the idea of gagging your partner but don’t necessarily want to buy a gag, you could try just stuffing their mouth with a suitable item of clothing—such as your panties. Extra humiliation points if they’re used! Make it secure with a little tape.
However, be careful not to push the stuffing in too far, as this one could go wrong quickly. It’s a good idea to leave some of it hanging out for quick removal if needed.
Alternatively, just use a bit of tape without any stuffing.
Level Up: Harness Gags
You can whack up nearly any type of gag by adding a harness to it. Harnesses will usually add straps under the chin, over and around the head; they may have a collar, too, and may include some kind of blindfold element. Some will even provide a D-ring connector on the top. You should never suspend someone using a head harness, but you can certainly use it to restrict movement or attach hands to.
The harness allows you to lock the gag in place more tightly, providing a restrictive feeling on their whole head rather than just around the mouth.
You’ll find harnesses in leather, imitation leather, and PVC (even clear PVC, which makes for a fascinating aesthetic).
What’s the Best Bondage Gag for Beginners?
I’d recommend a simple bit gag or ball gag for beginners. The bit gag is easier for those who can’t their jaw wide enough for a ball gag, but still looks the part. If you opt for a ball gag, make sure it has holes – both to allow for drool to escape and for easier breathing. In either case, only buy silicone, as it can be cleaned properly and won’t harbor bacteria.
Safety First!
Ok, you’ve decided, you’re going to try a gag. Very few activities associated with bondage are ever truly 100% safe, but gagging someone requires a whole other level of trust. Gags will muffle your sub’s voice, so the ability to intelligibly pronounce a safeword is drastically reduced, if not downright impossible. Ideally, you should establish a non-verbal safeword, like ringing a bell, dropping something held in your hand (like a scarf, or some panties), or perhaps tapping your foot three times.
Never leave someone unattended while gagged. Unlike other bondage activities, gags have the potential to escalate a situation quickly to something lethal.
There’s also the matter of material safety. Most gags are made of rubber or plasticized PVC (jelly), and less often, silicone. Always buy silicone if you have the choice, as it’s long-lasting, easy to clean, and won’t harbor bacteria in micropores. I’ve found some PVC gags that leak nasty chemicals and leave a burning sensation in my mouth; others have been completely fine. Like most sex toys, this is an unregulated industry. Generally, you’re less likely to harbor harmful bacteria on a gag than you are on say, a dildo that’s been used anally. So the material safety isn’t as much of a worry—but it’s still worth getting silicon where you can.
What’s Your Favourite Gag?
Do you love gagging your sub, or being subbed? Which gags are your favorite? Maybe there’s a special type of gag you’ve been trying to find? Tell us about it in the comments!
