The Essential Guide to Dating Contexts Sexual Craftsmanship Welcome, Traveler!

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Essential Guide to Dating Contexts Sexual Craftsmanship Welcome, Traveler! THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DATING CONTEXTS SEXUAL CRAFTSMANSHIP WELCOME, TRAVELER! One of the most important ways you can increase your odds of experiencing what you want in sex and relationships is to pay attention to context. With awareness and discernment, you can leverage context to your advantage. Context will make you more or less likely to find people who are looking for the same things. It's like the difference between looking for a hammer at a grocery store versus looking for a hammer at a hardware store - which gives you the best chance of success? Let this workbook help you navigate some common dating contexts. To Your Pleasure, Sarah Martin CEO Sexual Craftsmanship JOIN US IN THE COMMUNITY! Come be a part of the JOIN NOW r/SexualCraftsmanship, the home of the Sexual Craftsmanship community online. Copyright © Sexual Craftsmanship, 2020 All Rights Reserved Sexual Craftsmanship cannot guarantee the outcome of this dating contexts guide and comments about the outcomes experienced by others are expressions of opinion only. Sexual Craftsmanship cannot guarantee any specific results as such outcomes are based on subjective factors that cannot be controlled by us. You are responsible for your actions. The information in this guide does not constitute legal or medical advice. CONTENTS DATING CONTEXT PRE-WORK 2 Before you can select the best dating context, you need to connect with your desires ONLINE DATING 8 The online dating context is excellent for its versatility and specificity MEETUPS & MUNCHES 15 If you want to relax and have more fun already, meetups & munches may be for you YOUR NETWORK 17 You may already know some wonderful people who would be a great fit WORKSHEET 20 Bring your knowledge together and define actions you will take ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 21 Take what you've learned further and expand your knowledge AVOID THE FRIENDZONE 22 A free course that will show you how to avoid the friendzone for good DATING CONTEXT PRE-WORK A REMINDER OF YOUR DESIRES WHAT YOU DESIRE WHERE YOU ARE NOW 01. These are the types of relationships I am available for right now (hookups, FWBs, short term dating, long term dating, other): 02. These are some activities I would love to share with a partner: 03. This is what I am looking forward to experiencing with a partner: I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want. - MARK TWAIN DATING CONTEXTS Context is key for living your sex-forward life. When you leverage context, it becomes far easier to find partners who are looking for the same things you are. There’s a world of difference between looking for a kinky partner at a random bar on a Thursday night versus at a BDSM munch or on FetLife. Choose the context that matches what you desire for your sex and relationship life. Here, we’ll explore 3 contexts in depth available to almost everyone to cover a wide range of desires. We’ll also take a brief look at a number of other contexts and the search terms to help you learn more. ONLINE DATING BEST FOR Hookups Friends with Benefits Sex Friends GREAT FOR Kinky Relationships Short Term Dating Long Term Dating ONLINE DATING GENERAL POINTERS One huge advantage to online Build rapport before making dating is it provides the perfect the ask. In these initial context for expressing any interactions, ask yourself: how number of desires. From do I feel communicating with massive dating sites to sites this person? Apart from how catering to extremely specific they look, am I interested in niches, there’s a lot to choose meeting them? from. Building rapport generally Here, we’ll take a look at 3 sites: takes 3-5 messages back and Tinder (the most popular and forth, they don’t need to be widely used online dating site long and should signal that in the world), OK Cupid (best for you’ve taken a look at their diverse sexualities), and FetLife profile. Move to another (best for forming kinky communication channel - SMS, relationships). WhatsApp, Voxer, Messenger, Signal, etc. Your goal with online dating is to move interactions off of the platform to either an in-person TOP TIP meeting or (2020 update) a Get in touch with yourself to craft video date. a dating profile that accurately reflects your wants, needs, and Plan the first in-person desires. Be direct! Your clarity meetings for public locations. will be appreciated. Time limit all of your first meetings - 2 hours is a good for assessing if you’re interested in seeing someone again. THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DATING CONTEXTS PAGE 9 ONLINE DATING TINDER Tinder has distinct advantages in terms of hookups and Sex Friends. It is known as REMEMBER the hookup app, after all. Tinder boasts Respectful unparalleled volume pretty much directness will everywhere, making it an excellent choice set you apart for travellers. from the majority of Tinder’s volume also presents challenges. people using When you’ve got a room that has Tinder. absolutely everyone in it, you’ll have a Keep messages harder time finding your people. Be short, use prepared to do more sifting. emojis. The number #1 way most users fail to have a good Tinder experience is by forgetting NOTES the cardinal rule of Tinder: no one reads. While there is a bio space on Tinder, and you absolutely should use it, any critical information needs to be communicated visually, in your 6 images. You can also connect your Instagram account. If you have one, do so. Your images need to do the talking for you. There’s a few ways you can approach this - I recommend 5 pictures and one text graphic with any critical information or hard boundaries. THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DATING CONTEXTS PAGE 10 ONLINE DATING OKCUPID OK Cupid is a fantastic choice for finding FWBs, short term dating partners, and long term dating partners. It is also the largest umbrella app in terms of users for folks with diverse sexualities. OK Cupid is gender-inclusive, LGBTQIA+ friendly, kink friendly, and polyamory friendly. OK Cupid has nerdy origins - it was started by four mathematicians from Harvard. While the early data days of OK Cupid have waned, the platform still attracts many people with nerdy interests. Outside of English-speaking countries, OK Cupid tends to have a lower number of active users. One benefit is the presence of a high percentage of travelers who have updated their profile location. By indicating their temporary location, travelers signal some openness to shorter-term connections. OKCupid users read. You still need to tell a compelling visual story with your images, and you need a profile with much more detail than a Tinder bio. As OKCupid users read, you can REMEMBER add a little more text to your 3- Your goal is still to move off 5 message exchange to build platform as soon as you’ve rapport decided you’re interested in going on a date THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DATING CONTEXTS PAGE 11 ONLINE DATING FETLIFE FetLife is the social network for The best approach to FetLife is kinky people. While it’s not an one of curiosity and genuine out and out dating site per se, it relationship building. You can is one of the best places to meet mention on your profile the other kinksters that share your kinds of activities you are interests. interested in and the play that excites you, but it’s poor FetLife You create a profile in much the etiquette to spam messages to same way you would do on any lots of people asking for other social networking site, hookups. though the questions you’re asked about yourself include In BDSM communities, the interests you have in BDSM, reputation matters. Interact Kink, and Fetish. with others and in discussion groups where you have a Go through the site onboarding genuine interest. Become and look for discussion groups known. Share about yourself. on topics of interest to you, as You may find people begin well as local discussion boards reaching out to you. for your area. Spend some time getting TAKE NOTE! familiar with the site - there are On FetLife, you are also still able discussion boards for a wide to use a pseudonym, rather than range of topics. If you see your real name. someone who shares similar interests, or is interesting to you in general, feel free to send friend requests. THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DATING CONTEXTS PAGE 12 You can also strike up conversations around areas of interest and, if your REMEMBER conversation partner expresses an Reputation interest, you can ask if they would like to matters in meet up. It’s helpful if you explicitly make BDSM space for no, i.e. “If no, no worries!” communities. FetLife is only The best approach to the FetLife context is worth it if you to treat it like you’re in a big room face to have an face with everyone. It’s much more about interest in community than individual 1:1 participating interactions. in the community With that said - FetLife still is an online space. NOTES Exercise the same caution in meeting someone from FetLife as you would with meeting anyone you first connected with online, for example, having a first meeting in a public place. THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DATING CONTEXTS PAGE 13 A DECADE'S WORTH OF DATES IN 1 WEEK MEET MATTHEW*, 27 When I started working with Sarah, I hadn't been on a single date in my life and had no idea how would I even get one.
Recommended publications
  • Consent Violations Survey
    Consent Violations Survey Tech Report Prepared by: Susan Wright, M.A. Co-Principal Investigator National Coalition for Sexual Freedom Russell J. Stambaugh, Ph.D. Co-Principal Investigator Derrell Cox, M.A. Department of Anthropology Center for Applied Social Research University of Oklahoma 1 August 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I: Introduction Background Project Aims Section II: Method Procedure Sample Section III: Results Touching at BDSM Events Consent Violations during BDSM Activities Who is being violated? Who is violating consent? Frequency of Violations When was consent violated the first time? How was consent violated? References Reporting Consensual Nonconsent Relationships Repercussions Consent Violators False Accusations 2 SECTION I: INTRODUCTION Background The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom gathered data through its first Consent Survey in 2012 in order to gauge attitudes about consent and consent violations within a power exchange context. Of those responding, 33% indicated that their pre-negotiated limit had been violated and/or their safeword was ignored during a BDSM encounter. This Consent Violations Survey was launched in 2014 to gather additional details about consent violations in a BDSM context including: the severity of the violations, who is being violated, where they were violated, the relationship and intent of those involved, the power dynamic at the time of the violation, as well as information about false accusations and from people who have committed consent violations. SECTION II: METHODS Procedure The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) undertook an Internet survey on Consent Violations in a BDSM context and recruited participants through various electronic means, such as distribution through website posts and email list-serves belonging to the NCSF Coalition Partners and members.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J. Adams
    THE SEXUAL POLITICS OF MEAT A FEMINISTVEGETARIAN CRITICAL THEORY Praise for The Sexual Politics of Meat and Carol J. Adams “A clearheaded scholar joins the ideas of two movements—vegetari- anism and feminism—and turns them into a single coherent and moral theory. Her argument is rational and persuasive. New ground—whole acres of it—is broken by Adams.” —Colman McCarthy, Washington Post Book World “Th e Sexual Politics of Meat examines the historical, gender, race, and class implications of meat culture, and makes the links between the prac tice of butchering/eating animals and the maintenance of male domi nance. Read this powerful new book and you may well become a vegetarian.” —Ms. “Adams’s work will almost surely become a ‘bible’ for feminist and pro gressive animal rights activists. Depiction of animal exploita- tion as one manifestation of a brutal patriarchal culture has been explored in two [of her] books, Th e Sexual Politics of Meat and Neither Man nor Beast: Feminism and the Defense of Animals. Adams argues that factory farming is part of a whole culture of oppression and insti- tutionalized violence. Th e treatment of animals as objects is parallel to and associated with patriarchal society’s objectifi cation of women, blacks, and other minorities in order to routinely exploit them. Adams excels in constructing unexpected juxtapositions by using the language of one kind of relationship to illuminate another. Employing poetic rather than rhetorical techniques, Adams makes powerful connec- tions that encourage readers to draw their own conclusions.” —Choice “A dynamic contribution toward creating a feminist/animal rights theory.” —Animals’ Agenda “A cohesive, passionate case linking meat-eating to the oppression of animals and women .
    [Show full text]
  • Common BDSM Terminology
    Common BDSM Terminology Common Terminology: • BDSM – Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism and Masochism. • SSC – Safe, Sane, Consensual • RACK – Risk Aware Consensual Kink • PRICK – Personal Responsibility Informed Consensual Kink • Scene – Both the BDSM Community as a whole and a play interaction. • “Thud” – Sensation produced when struck with broad/heavy/soft toys – e.g .floggers, big paddles. • “Sting” – Sensation produced when struck with thin/light/hard toys – e.g. cane or single tail. • Dungeon – a (public or private) play space. • DM (Dungeon Monitor) – Public playspace lifeguard. • Squick – Something that viscerally turns you off. The sound of your parents fucking on the kitchen table. • BBW – Big Beautiful Woman • Sub Frenzy – The desire to try everything when one is new to the scene. • Subspace – An altered state often resulting from endorphins released through sensation/impact play. • Sub Drop/Top Drop – Temporary depression sometimes experienced (hours or days) after intense play. Safeword – a word or phrase used to pause or stop play. • Stop!/No! - If you’re a beginner (or playing with a beginner), keep it simple, no means no, stop means stop. • Safeword!/Red! – Stop now! Something is seriously wrong. DMs/bystanders requested to help. • Yellow/Mercy – I can’t take much more, need a break, please check in. • Green – I’m having a good time, please continue! • Beige – I’m so bored I’m thinking about what color to paint the ceiling. Roles: • Top/Bottom – Enjoy physical play (bondage, flogging, whipping, etc.) • Sadist/Masochist – Enjoy inflicting/receiving pain (intense physical sensation). • Dom/Sub – Enjoy mental power exchange (following orders, serving, etc.) • Master/Slave – Enjoy long term owner/property relationship.
    [Show full text]
  • BDSM Coercive Control Checklist
    Samantha Manewitz RSW CST Not for mass distribution! BDSM Non-Consensual Coercive Behaviour Checklist Please note, this checklist does not apply to BDSM in the context of sex work. If you are in sex work, answer only in regards to your BDSM involvement outside of a client/provider relationship. 1. Age: 2. Ethnicity 3. Where do you currently reside? ❏ Canada ❏ United States ❏ State or Province: 4. Gender: 5. Sexual orientation: 6. What role best describes you? (Check all that apply) ❏ Top Roles: ❏ Dominant ❏ Top ❏ Master/Mistress/Non-binary equivalent ❏ Service top ❏ Caregiver ❏ Pet owner ❏ Rigger ❏ Leather top ❏ Sadist ❏ Other (please specify) ❏ Bottom Roles ❏ Submissive ❏ Slave ❏ Bottom ❏ Masochist ❏ Pet ❏ Little ❏ Service submissive ❏ Rope bottom ❏ Other (please specify) ❏ Switch 1 Samantha Manewitz RSW CST Not for mass distribution! ❏ Fluid ❏ Fetishist ❏ Unsure ❏ Prefer not to say ❏ Other (please specify) 7. What best describes your engagement with kink/BDSM communities (when not social distancing)? Check all that apply ❏ Only in the bedroom ❏ I’m not involved in the scene, but I’d like to be ❏ I think I went to a munch once? ❏ I occasionally engage with online and/or in person groups ❏ I only engage with the community online (even when not social distancing) ❏ Specify frequency of engagement online: Rarely, Occasionally, Sometimes, Often, Very often ❏ I sometimes go to events or meetups ❏ I would be more involved, but I don’t have access to community ❏ I’m deeply invested in my local community ❏ I often travel to kink conferences, camping events, and/or workshops ❏ I live the lifestyle when I can ❏ I’m in a 24/7 dynamic ❏ I’m part of a leather family/household ❏ I’m a community organizer ❏ I’m a community educator ❏ I’m a title holder/compete in title pageants ❏ Unsure ❏ Still figuring out my level of involvement ❏ I used to be involved in my community, but I’ve since stepped away ❏ Prefer not to say ❏ Other (please specify) 8.
    [Show full text]
  • Slosh and Munch Events in the BDSM Community: Findings from a Survey of Fetlife Users
    Summary Report Slosh and Munch Events in the BDSM Community: Findings from a Survey of FetLife Users Prepared by Dr. Craig Webster Department of Management Ball State University and Molly Klaserner Ball State University February 14, 2019 Acknowledgements There are many people who helped to make this survey happen and we would like to thank them. The most critical people that we would like to thank are the Caretakers of FetLife. Without their permission and assistance, we would not have had easy access to so many people in the BDSM community. In addition, there were many people on FetLife who assisted us in many different ways. Some suggested improvements to the survey so that future research would be done better. Others on FetLife were helpful in terms of allowing us to post a link to our survey in their groups. Most importantly, we are grateful for all the respondents to the survey, as without them, there would be no data to analyze. We are also very grateful to the many people in the community who educated us about the lifestyle so that we could ask more intelligent questions than we otherwise would have. There are a number of colleagues who were helpful and supportive through the process, even when the topic seemed a bit far removed from what people expected research on Event Management to be. As a result of all the support from colleagues here at Ball State University, FetLife, and those in the BDSM lifestyle/community, we were able to gather data in this first international survey of the munch as a social institution.
    [Show full text]
  • Playing with Identity: a Study on the Budapest Bdsm Community
    PLAYING WITH IDENTITY: A STUDY ON THE BUDAPEST BDSM COMMUNITY By Santiago Leyva del Río Submitted to Central European University Department of Gender Studies In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Gender Studies Supervisor: Hadley Z. Renkin Budapest, Hungary 2016 CEU eTD Collection Abstract This thesis examines the unexpected outcomes arising from the intersection of sexuality, identity and game in BDSM. In so doing, it explores the performative nature of BDSM by analysing BDSM practitioners’ narratives in the city of Budapest. I examine the friction produced by the fact that BDSM is simultaneously deemed as a game and as a foundational element of my respondents’ identity. I argue that rendering BDSM as a game is a strategy which enables practitioners to produce a seemingly bounded context, detaching BDSM practice from their problematic referents in “reality.” The bounded space of the game allows practitioners to play with sexuality, that is, with parts of themselves perceived to be natural. Modern technologies of power have conducted us to find our subjectivity in sexuality, which has become the expression of our inner truth. Hence playing with sexuality/identity calls into question ontological notions of the self, destabilising naturalised gendered dynamics of power attached to sexuality. Examining the role of “play” in BDSM is critical when it comes to understanding why, in BDSM, gendered roles seem to be more fluid than in other forms of sex. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Hadley Z. Renkin.
    [Show full text]
  • Clinical Considerations in Treating BDSM Practitioners: a Review
    JOURNAL OF SEX & MARITAL THERAPY , VOL. , NO. , – https://doi.org/./X.. Clinical Considerations in Treating BDSM Practitioners: A Review Cara R. Dunkleya andLoriA.Brottob aDepartment of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; bDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ABSTRACT BDSM is an overlapping acronym referring to the practices of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. This arti- cle reviews the psychological literature on BDSM practitioners and discusses issues concerning BDSM that are relevant to clinicians and sexual health-care providers. The literature concerning the psychological health of BDSM prac- titioners and clinical issues in treating BDSM practitioners was exhaustively reviewed. BDSM practitioners differ minimally from the general population in terms of psychopathology. Six clinical considerations emerged: ignoring versus considering BDSM; countertransference; nondisclosure; cultural competence; closer relationship dynamics; BDSM, abuse, and pathology. Sexual sadism and sexual masochism describe behaviors that fall under the paraphilia umbrella and are often accepted as variations of “typical” sexual behaviors. Given the proliferation of sadomasochistic themes in sexually explicit media (Weiss, 2006a), sadomasochism may represent a more common sex- ual expression among individuals than was previously assumed (e.g., Moser & Levitt, 1987; Richters, de Visser, Rissel, Grulich, & Smith, 2008), with an estimated 10% of adults in the general population having engagedinsomeformofBDSMactivity(Moser&Kleinplatz,2006a). Light forms of sadomasochistic sexual activity, such as spanking, biting, and hair pulling, are not uncommon among individuals with more conventional sexual proclivities, with a minority of the population reporting engagement in more intense forms of sadomasochism, such as whipping, paddling, and bondage (Moser & Kleinplatz, 2006b).
    [Show full text]
  • In the Habit of Being Kinky: Practice and Resistance
    IN THE HABIT OF BEING KINKY: PRACTICE AND RESISTANCE IN A BDSM COMMUNITY, TEXAS, USA By MISTY NICOLE LUMINAIS A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Anthropology MAY 2012 © Copyright by MISTY NICOLE LUMINAIS, 2012 All Rights Reserved © Copyright by MISTY NICOLE LUMINAIS, 2012 All rights reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of MISTY NICOLE LUMINAIS find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Nancy P. McKee, Ph.D., Chair ___________________________________ Jeffrey Ehrenreich, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Faith Lutze, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Jeannette Mageo, Ph.D. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could have not completed this work without the support of the Cactus kinky community, my advisors, steadfast friends, generous employers, and my family. Members of the kinky community welcomed me with all my quirks and were patient with my incessant questions. I will always value their strength and kindness. Members of the kinky community dared me to be fully present as a complete person rather than relying on just being a researcher. They stretched my imagination and did not let my theories go uncontested. Lively debates and embodied practices forced me to consider the many paths to truth. As every anthropologist before me, I have learned about both the universality and particularity of human experience. I am amazed. For the sake of confidentiality, I cannot mention specific people or groups, but I hope they know who they are and how much this has meant to me.
    [Show full text]
  • Crowne Plaza - Warwick, RI February 12-14, 2016 Welcome
    Crowne Plaza - Warwick, RI February 12-14, 2016 Welcome Greetings Fellow Kinkfolk, Welcome to New England’s 46th incarnation of the Fetish Fair Fleamarket®. We’d like to welcome you to our home(s), the Crowne Plaza Warwick and Holiday Inn Express Warwick, for our traditional Presidents’ Day Weekend Winter Fleamarket. We hope you have a fun-filled, safe and enriching experience. Please respect the hotel as if it were your home; playing and shopping responsibly goes a long way toward achieving that. Our event has never allowed nudity, and we ask that in public spaces, especially areas outside our checkpoints, you exercise good taste. All of us differ in our abilities and skills, so please be mindful of those who might not be as agile or facile. What we do is based on the cornerstone of consent. Please be sure consent is in everything that you do. If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable at any time, please seek out a NELA Board member or a member of our Safety Staff, or if neither is available, a member of the hotel staff. If you are feeling unwell, we have arranged for the medical services of Operation Hammond to assist you. NELA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to making a safe place in the world for all leather / fetish / BDSM people through education, advocacy, and charitable giving. NELA uses the FFFs to not only provide in-event education and community group involvement, but also as the financial engines to support our work through the whole of the year.
    [Show full text]
  • Kinking It Up: an Exploration of the Role of Online Social Networking Site Fetlife in the Stigma Management of Kink Practices
    Papers from the British Criminology Conference © 2019 the author and the British Society of Criminology www.britsoccrim.org ISSN 1759-0043; Vol. 19 Paper Kinking it up: An exploration of the role of online social networking site FetLife in the stigma management of kink practices Rachela Colosi and Billie Lister Abstract This article draws on the narratives of FetLife users, derived from a study funded by the University of Lincoln. The study highlights two important findings: first, that kink practitioners are cognizant of the deviant label associated with their sexuality, and employ several techniques in order to neutralise and manage the stigma; part of this involves their use of alternative SNS such as FetLife, as they are able to express their sexual identity in a space seen as non-judgemental. Second, that FetLife users acknowledge that they are unable to freely express their sexuality on mainstream SNS, such as Facebook, fearing further stigmatisation; here it was felt that normative sexualities are more tolerated. As it will be discussed, these findings raise important questions relating to how sexualities are policed, and the extent to which online spaces may help to further isolate non-normative sexual practices, potentially exacerbating the stigma. Key words: kink, policing, sexuality, FetLife, SNS, stigma Introduction Increasingly, online social networking sites (SNS) play a significant role in identity work, whereby individuals can construct and play-out different identities, as part of their self-exploration (Albury, 2017). In terms of sexual identity work, mainstream SNS may prove difficult for those with sexual interests that are highly stigmatized, such as kink (Brickell, 2000; Sarabia and Estenez, 2016).
    [Show full text]
  • Consent Culture and Community in Feminism and BDSM
    University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM UVM Honors College Senior Theses Undergraduate Theses 2017 Histories of Consent: Consent Culture and Community in Feminism and BDSM Amanda Meltsner University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses Recommended Citation Meltsner, Amanda, "Histories of Consent: Consent Culture and Community in Feminism and BDSM" (2017). UVM Honors College Senior Theses. 203. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/203 This Honors College Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in UVM Honors College Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Histories of Consent: Consent Culture and Community in Feminism and BDSM Amanda Meltsner University of Vermont Honors College 5/1/2017 1 Table of Contents Introduction 2 Methodology 4 Definitions and Descriptions 4 A Brief and Incomplete History of BDSM, With Assorted Add Ons 13 Beginnings 13 Leather: Bars, Clubs, and the Scene 15 Writings and Community 19 The Internet and Kink Community 26 Third Wave Feminism 32 Consent: A History, a Discourse 38 Kink and Consent 40 Origins 42 Academia 50 Feminist Understandings of Consent 53 Comparisons 60 Fifty Shades of Grey: Debates, Connections, and Progress 63 Critiques and Critics 64 Conclusion 78 Acknowledgements 80 References 81 2 Introduction This work aims to explore the conversations and disagreements between pro-kink and anti-kink feminists in the world of feminist writing from the early days of BDSM communities through the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender & Sexual Diversities
    Gender & Sexual Diversities Julia Dando www.safetherapy.co.uk August 2016 When someone is confused or afraid to talk about their gender, ashamed of their sexual orientation, or is afraid of being judged about the way they approach sex or relationships it can be isolating, disenfranchising and may prevent them seeking support. Transgender is still considered to be a mental disorder1 and sexual diversity is often little understood by medical and psychotherapeutic professionals generally, little taught as part of the standard curriculum in those professions and frowned upon as taboo by a significant proportion of society despite feverish excitement around publications such as 50 Shades. Little wonder then that many will shy away from talking about their feelings, thoughts and desires relating to sexuality and/or gender. This presentation will look to provide a basic overview of: ● What gender and sexual diversity is - some of the common classifications, labels and terminology; ● A brief overview of kink and BDSM; ● A brief overview of Power Dynamic Relationships; ● Implications and suggestions for the therapeutic relationship This topic is vast and I couldn’t possibly hope to convey a thorough understanding within the scope of this presentation. All I can hope to do is pass on a little information, encourage you to seek more and signpost you to where that information may reside. 1 http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(16)30165-1/abstract 1 | P a g e What is Gender and Sexual Diversity? Some common terminology Gender
    [Show full text]