The Taboo Naughty But Nice Sex Show is a safe environment where you are invited to be educated by our experts, entertained by our performers, intrigued by demonstrations and wowed by our selection of products and services available at the Show. Did you know that “Red” is the universal safeword? Consent is important in our promise of a safe environment. All attendees, exhibitors, performers, staff and special guests are to be treated with respect. If you experience or witness a consent incident, please notify show management immediately. Our complete consent policy can be found on our website tabooshow.com – or ask one of our staff! Today’s more open views on sex and relationships is exactly what The Taboo Show has been striving for, and we will continue to embrace and encourage the ever-changing view on what is Taboo. We thank you for your continued support! tabooshow.com 3 4 tabooshow.com Dr. Jess on Sex: Custom relationships are the future Living apart but together, living together but separate, co-mothering and more trends The times they are a changing and relationships are evolving along with them. Not only are younger folks delaying marriage or rejecting it altogether, but they’re also embracing the reality that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for lasting partnerships. Rewriting the rules of relationships altogether is the trend — regardless of age. “I want love and companionship, but I have no plans to be a mother again,” says Val, who reentered the dating market in her 60s. “All the men I was dating wanted a mother — a cook, a cleaner and a nurse in some cases. They were clear about their expectations and even joked about the ‘good old days.’ When I met Paul three years ago, I was up front about not wanting to move in together and it has worked out well.” Val and Paul both live in High Park, but they’ve maintained separate Divorced and separated parents are also defying convention and opting to live together despite no longer being romantically linked. residences. The living-apart-but-together (LABT) arrangement has become more common as couples acknowledge that relationships need Beach resident Stanley has continued to live with his partner in not be linear. their family home since their divorce. They have two teenage sons Twenty-nine-year-old Veena agrees and insists that she has no plans to and can often be found sharing a laugh and a drink on their terrace cohabit anytime soon. with their new partners — they seem to get along as well as any other group of friends. “I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years, and things are going great. Why move in and disrupt what we’ve created? Neither of us wants kids, Living-together-but-separate (LTBS) is yet another trend that flies so I don’t see why we need to be roommates.” in the face of relationship — and breakup — expectations. Although more intimate partners may be opting into LABT, others And finally — though not a trend per se — non-sexual, affectional relationships are also becoming more commonly acknowledged. are choosing to move in together to reduce expenses and share parenting responsibilities. These relationships might include love, intimacy, cuddling and other Co-mothering arrangements allow mothers to pool time, financial and forms of physical affection but preclude sexual encounters (i.e., no goal of arousal or orgasm). emotional resources — all of which tend to be scarce for single parents. Benefits of this non-sexual relationship include reduced costs — not It makes sense that some folks who identify as asexual may prefer only do you share housing, utility and food expenses, but also incidental affectional relationships (although asexual needs and desires are expenses including toys, sports equipment, kitchen tools and even highly varied of course), but they’re not the only ones. clothing to some degree. A polyamorous friend explains to me that she has multiple The children also benefit from the support of an additional caring adult partners: a parenting partner, two sexual partners, a life partner (who likely has more patience because they are able to actually get and an affectional partner with whom she shares everything some alone time) and the camaraderie of their in-house “siblings.” except sex. Different partners fulfill different needs, and it reduces And of course, the emotional advantages are shared by the kids and the pressure for one person to be your everything. adults alike. As so-called trends become more visible and accessible to more “It’s way easier with my best friend on board. It’s the first time I’ve felt people, it’s important to note that some of us have more privilege someone really has my back. But it’s also empowering,” says Shelby to challenge social conventions and/or be rewarded for doing so — who lives downtown. “Because we’re taking single motherhood back — but relationship norms will continue to evolve. it shouldn’t be stigmatized, and my kids shouldn’t suffer because their father is no longer here.” And as our options for custom designing our relationships to suit our individual needs expand, I see a bright future for love, intimacy, Single parents aren’t the only ones pooling emotional and financial relationships and sex: a future in which variety is celebrated and resources to support themselves and their kids. certain types of love are no longer relegated to the fringes. tabooshow.com 5 main stage schedule FRIDAY SUNDAY 6:00 PM 1:00 PM Welcome to Taboo with Yada Welcome to Taboo with Yada 7:00 PM 2:00 PM The Kings and Queens of Kink Eclipse Pole Dancing Brought to you by Q Nightclub and 3:00 PM the Imperial Court of Regina Carmen Luxx 8:00 PM followed by Games, Prizes, Body Heat All Male Revue and a little Drag 9:00 PM 4:00 PM Eclipse Pole Dancing Body Heat All Male Revue 10:00 PM Miss BumBum North America Contest: Regina Semi-Finals 11:00 PM Body Heat All Male Revue SATURDAY 3:00 PM Welcome to Taboo with Yada 4:00 PM Vertigo Performance 5:00 PM Eclipse Pole Dancing 6:00 PM Games, Prizes, and a little Drag 7:00 PM Body Heat All Male Revue 8:00 PM Carmen Luxx followed by Games, Prizes, and a little Drag 9:00 PM Eclipse Pole Dance 10:00 PM Miss BumBum North America Contest: Regina Finals 11:00 PM Body Heat All Male Revue tabooshow.com 7 More couples are exploring new ways to reconnect. For some, cannabis can help. There are many natural substances said to be aphrodisiacs—oysters, ginseng, and dark chocolate, to name a few. But it’s possible cannabis will soon become synonymous with lifting the libido as well. While studies are scarce due to legal barriers over the past several decades, “We’re in the preliminary Cannabis in the stage of observing the phenomenon. We need to move on to explain why or how this is happening,” says Rany Shamloul, a clinical researcher at The Bedroom Ottawa Hospital to the Globe and Mail. What we do know is that many women can experience anxiety and stress around sex, particularly if they’ve been victims of sexual violence. The ability to relax the body and the mind and be in the moment can make all the difference to someone who feels disconnected in bed. And while a nice glass of wine could loosen you up just as well (and might currently be more socially acceptable), many are beginning to question how “mommy drinking culture” normalizes alcoholism in women when the risks of alcohol consumption are greater for women than for men. Symptoms of sexual anxiety can range from difficulty getting aroused, to a significant decrease in sex drive. “I just couldn’t concentrate when it was happening,” says Katherine, 31. “My mind was always whirring, and I couldn’t relax and get into it. “That inability to find a sense of ease led Katherine to an inability to orgasm during any kind of sexual play. When she and her boyfriend started using cannabis before sex, however, she found she was able to loosen up like never before. “It was a whole new sensation,” she says. “I was feeling things I’d never felt before, probably because I wasn’t distracted by thoughts about my body, or dumb things like my to-do list that is always in the back of my head.” Leaning into those new sensations produced orgasms for Katherine and, she says, brought her and her boyfriend closer together. “We don’t use [cannabis] every time,” she says, “but it is a great way for us to explore new things as a couple.” For Shannon, a woman in her late-50s, that feeling of newness is just what she was searching for. Married for 25 years, she read up on women-focused pleasure and was looking for a way to break out of routine and try something different, despite the stigma she grew up with around sexuality. “This is how we were raised,” she says. “This is the culture we’ve all been brought up in.” To escape those stricter norms, Shannon began vaporizing—her husband doesn’t use cannabis—and found that she relaxed and felt excited about sex again. It wasn’t all easy, though. Shannon had to find the right balance for herself to reap the benefits. “I don’t like being stoned,” she says. Taking too much, or vaporizing at the wrong time, would cause her to feel other effects than those she desired.