For over 30 years Manuela has worked as a dominatrix in Hamburg’s red light district. She tells what men expect from her – and how her son thinks about it …

Profession: Domina – that’s how it really is

For over 30 years Manuela has been working as a dominatrix in Hamburg’s red light district. She tells what men expect from her.
The way to Manuela leads to Hamburg’s Herbertstraße in the red light district of St. Pauli. More precisely, to the backyard, number 7a. Her workplace is just a few square meters in size, dimly lit in red like a small shop window. Here Manuela sits enthroned in her domina air on a high leather stool, always 2 a.m. until the next day, and waits. If she catches the glance of a man, then the Kobern begins …

What “Kobern” really means

“Kobern means to lure a guest to the window and then to the room – and to squeeze as much money as possible out of his ribs for a session,” Manuela explains. And she’s good at kobern – the Bremen native has been working as a dominatrix for over 30 years, and no one can fool her in a hurry. Most of the time it goes like this: Manuela watches the passing men on the street with concentration. If one of them looks over at her, she pulls open the small hatch in her window: “Hello! You over there, yes you! Will you come here? Just a minute …” If Manuela is lucky, he responds and bites. “But many also run on first, turn around cautiously, are undecided,” she says. If the man is at the window, Manuela must manage to lure him to the upper floor.

Domina Manuela: Every guest is different

“My studio consists of three rooms that merge into one another,” she says. The walls are black and dark blue, there is a gynecologist’s chair, cage, bed and whips, chains, straps, belts and dildos hanging on the walls. “The inventory leaves no SM wishes unfulfilled,” says Manuela. Whoever arrives here wants to have exactly these fantasies fulfilled by her. Like a regular customer, whom Manuela calls only “Cane Fred.” “He only comes to me because I have exactly the kind of caning he likes. He’s into the cane treatment on the butt.” 300, 400 strokes without breaking the skin, always with breaks. Exactly 60 minutes, then the customer politely says goodbye.

But there are also men who demand “only” verbal humiliation or nipple clamps. Others are fetishists and love role-playing, some just want to feel pain or test their limits.

“Every guest is different and has their own special preferences. One is into grunting like a pig,” Manuela says. Some is funny and whimsical, some is hard and scary. Nothing is predictable.”

“A perfect dominatrix is untouchable”.

There are also wishes that Manuela does not fulfill: She never has sexual intercourse with a guest, even though she has been asked many times. Not even touching is allowed! “If I am gracious, he may stroke my pants or touch my breast, as a stimulus factor.” Or lick the heels of her patent boots if she commands it. She stays dressed at all times. She says, “A perfect dominatrix is untouchable.”

Sessions go an hour, two, three, some stay until the next day, always paid in advance. There are no exceptions, no matter who stands in front of Manuela: young or old men, managers and lawyers or workers, husbands or singles, normal people or celebrities. The latter are also among those who use Manuela’s services: “TV presenters and celebrity chefs have also been my guests,” she says, not wanting to reveal names.

But she makes no secret about everything else. Not even when, after her work is done, she has taken off her black leather outfit, left Herbert Street and is once again Mrs. Manuela Freitag, no longer the dominatrix.

When she is asked about her profession…

If she is then asked by strangers about her profession, “then I deal with it openly. I don’t want to lie, I don’t want to hide. I’m not ashamed of being a dominatrix,” says Manuela.

When she was twelve, she told her son, now 28, what Mom did for a living. He had somehow guessed by then that Manuela was doing something “in the red light” – before that, she had only ever spoken vaguely of working in the catering trade to explain her unusual working hours. “It’s not criminal what you do,” he had then said to her, not really understanding why she had made such a big secret of it. What a relief for her as a mother.

Breaking down social taboos and prejudices in society is also what the book Manuela has now written is about. “I also tell my story on behalf of the many women from this milieu who are not heard. I am committed to de-tabooing our profession, because we are still not accepted by society. And that can only be done with honesty.”