Fiddle Faddle #1
A new anarchist zine for deviants and sexual libertines

Would you like to contribute to Fiddle Faddle?

Email: sodomliberationarmy(at)gmail.com

Fiddle Faddle 2009. Absolutely no copyright whatsoever. But please cite anything you decide to use elsewhere.

Free Sodom

Platform of the Sodom Liberation Army

Amongst all of life’s little pleasures, there is but one thing that almost all of us can enjoy regardless of our income, our race, our gender or our nationality — SEX. Our bodies are gifted with the ability to release multiple pleasures through touch, taste, smell, sight, even just the emotional connection you can feel towards another human being. We can enjoy it alone, in a couple or even amongst numerous partners. We can even take great pleasure from what we are supposed to dislike... we can be spanked, bound, pinched, blind-folded and burned. We can smash gender boundaries, or just bend them at the edges. Boys can fuck girls who can fuck boys who can fuck boys who can fuck girls who fuck girls who can fuck anything and everything outside and in between. We can be dominant and submissive, or both, or neither. We can fantasise and role-play. We can share and experience — consent to any and every pleasure, find others who are willing to play and maybe even share and learn.

And all the while THEY — the church, the state, our parents, our teachers, our husbands, our wives and even our friends have repeated, “you’re sick”, “you’re dirty”, “you’re evil” and “you should be ashamed”. They’ve locked us in prisons, beaten us, cursed at us, spat at us and even killed us for sharing our joy and love. We have all been subjected daily to the brutality of that which is permitted. Sex has even been used against us, like a carrot on a stick, dangled before us to earn our compliance. It has chained women to the household, individuals to each other. Religion’s total grasp over our personality has only been subsumed by the total regulation of the state over our behaviour. We are commodities, and like lumber, cheap shoes and plastic toys they demand the most scrupulous accounting of us. Best not to risk the faulty toy, the bent piece of wood or the broken shoes for fear that it may clog up the assembly line.

In those dark cracks where we’ve slipped through, capitalism has still stolen our dreams. Our sexual liberation has a pricetag. Gay men are sissies, Gay women are butch, trans people don’t exist and the pink pound is law. They have only offered us new cages. Even our private pleasures have been twisted by the interests of the boss. Sex is a commodity and porn is big business. As workers in this industry we have little or no control over our labour, over working conditions, or even over our future. It’s all too familiar and not very sexy. They’ve turned our playground into a factory floor. And as everyone knows, in a ton of work, there’s not an ounce of love.

It’s time to free Sodom.

Let a Sodom Liberation Army sweep across the globe. We will refuse their spite, their ignorance and their conviction. God may have burned our city, but he cannot quell our desires.

Let the people be armed! We must immediately circulate strap- ons, sex manuals, butt plugs, dildos, lubrication and bondage gear amongst the masses. Let the people fornicate freely and openly. There will be teabagging on the doorsteps of the homophobes, pegging in the houses of the priests, orgies in the gardens of reactionaries and cum in the face of the boss.

The only authority we recognise is in the whip, the rope and the cuffs.

The only labour that is necessary is that which fulfils our collective desires. We will show up late for work because we were rimming our partner and we will sneak off early for a hand-job.

We will punish you for selling our pleasure. For every short skirt you force us to wear, for every unwanted advance you try, for every sleazy remark you make, for every ounce of sex you try to sell, you will be made to pay. We will banish you from our city. Deviancy is not an excuse for dominance. All you leering, stunted perverts will have to learn. We will not tolerate assholes (although we may want to fuck them).

We do not recognise gender, we only recognise pleasure. What dangles (or doesn’t dangle) between your legs does not define you nor does it define your sexual practice. Sex knows no physical bounds (although it may like to be bound).

Our city has no borders, no boundaries by race or nationality. Our sex is colour blind.

We do not recognise rules, we only recognise consent. You are the arbiter of your own sexual life. Enjoy missionary sex, two times a month with the same partner for life if that is what stimulates you and makes you happy. Smash your comfort zones, or live in them. The choice is yours.

Our power is collective. We are not just a middle-finger, we are a clenched fist.

We are proud to be Sodomites!

Pegging: A user’s guide

Pegging is a sexual practice in which a woman penetrates her partners anus with a strap-on dildo. The act of pegging can be enjoyable for both partners: the reciever may find stimulation of the anus, rectum, and adjacent organs (and for men the prostate) enjoyable and women may get direct stimulation from the dildo, from its base, from vaginal or an anal butt plug, or in the case of a form of double-ended dildo, from vaginal penetration on the other end.

Writer Dan Savage says the term came from a prizewinning entry to his “Savage Love” column in 2001. However, Mack Friedman’s “Strapped for Cash” (A history of American Hustler culture) suggests the term may have deeper historical roots,

...(F)rontier America’s male brothels, or “peg houses”, which took their name from the Mediterranean brothel tradition of displaying available boys on a long rack. The boys were anally impaled on pegs of various sizes abutting the rack, to help customers choose an appropriately capacious catamite.

The practice itself probably dates from the invention and use of the strap-on dildo. However, due to the often taboo nature of strap-on activities, information on their history is difficult to find. An 1899 report by Haberlandt documented current and historical use of double-ended dildos in Zanzibar, and is one of the few historical documents of this kind. Femalefemale dildo usage in ancient China has been documented, but it is not clear if this was double-dildos, strap-on dildos, or just a simple dildo being used by one woman on another. In ancient Greece, dildos were made of stone or padded leather, and some evidence shows aforementioned leather was used to make a harness as well, with olive OH used for anal penetration. A 19^th century Chinese painting shows a woman using a dildo strapped to her shoe, showing that creative use of strap-ons was already well under way. Many artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic have been found that appear to be dildos, including a double “baton” with a hole in the middle, theorized to be for a strap to hold it to a wearer.

Before you get started

Communication: It’s important that you feel comfortable and relaxed when you are trying something for the f irst time. The best way to do this is to talk about it. It’s good to experiment and push your comfort zones, but not so that it makes you feel unhappy. Share your needs, your worries and your expectations. Trust always makes better sex.

Hygiene: It’s a good idea to have a bowel movement several hours before anal sex (if possible). This will vastly decrease the liklihood of running into something unpleasant and will clean out most of the residual matter in the anus. At the very least, make sure to clean the anus thoroughly with hot, soapy water before any anal activities. You can even use a f inger to massage soapy water slightly inside the rim of the anus. This will also help to relax the outer muscles of the sphincter.

Wearing your strap-on:

There’s a right way to wear a strap-on and a wrong way. In order to use a strap-on dildo effectively and comfortably, you need to have it secured in the correct position.

Hot Too Low: While the straps of your dildo harness need to be loose enough to allow you freedom of movement, they shouldn’t be so loose that the dildo droops between your legs. A dildo should not be pointing downward from your body; it should be pointing straight out or slightly up. When your dildo is hanging slack between your legs, it’s harder to control, like a limp noodle.

Hot Too High: You don’t want a dangling dildo, but you also don’t want one cinched up too high. Having your dildo riding up around your waist is also wrong. It may cause the straps to cut into your crotch, and the dildo is not positioned naturally. To get the optimal experience for you and your partner, the dildo should be situated directly over your pubic bone.

Or Get a Feeldoe!

A standard strap on dildo can be positioned so that upon thrusting it will also rub the wearer, and although this can work quite well, it can also be intermittent. A “Feeldoe” dildo is shaped so that the wearer, inserts it into their vagina, or even anus. It has the added benefit of not needing a harness, but can also be used with one for extra security. In the base of the dildo is a vibrator which provides stimulation to the clitoris. It transfers the thrusting action directly into the wearer, and the pressure on the clitoris varies as you penetrate your lover.

Doing the deed

Once you have your strap-on f irmly in place, it’s time to start the fun. The best position for the beginner is with your partner bent over something that is less than waist height — a table, a chair, the bed, etc. This will put their ass in the air where you can get to it, allowing for the most comfortable entry.

Next, take some water-based lube and apply a generous amount to the head and shaft of the strap-on and to their asshole. You may even want to massage the lube into the hole with a f inger or two to help relax the sphincter. If you or your partner are really concerned about pain or discomfort during penetration, there are desensitizing lubes, such as Anal Eze, specif ically for anal sex.

Now that youire all lubed up, steady the dildo with one hand and place the head squarely against their pucker. Keeping a grip on the shaft of your rod, guide the head of the dildo directly into the asshole and gently push it inside. Instruct them to bear down as if going to the bathroom while you do this, to open up the sphincter muscles. Once the head of the dildo disappears (or the dildo enters about an inch or two), pause and let them get used to the feeling of having something up there.

Place your hands on your partners hips and begin pushing forward steadily until the dildo is all the way in their butt. Take a couple of breaths and let their asshole adjust and relax. Pull part way out slowly and push back in. Pull out, push in. Continue doing this, increasing your speed and force as you go. Keep a steady rhythm. You may be afraid of hurting your partner, but if they’re breathlessly begging you to pound them and pushing back onto your dick, it’s time to let yourself go. Communication is important, so be sure you partner lets you know what they wants and tells you if they feel any discomfort.

After you have gotten the hang of the basics, you can explore with different positions. Try having them lay on their back with legs in the air or over your shoulders. Put a pillow under their butt to lift it off the bed a bit. In this position, you can kiss your partner, squeeze their nipples or stroke his dick. Or lay back yourself and have them get on top and ride your dick like the Pony Express.

Whatever you decide to do, remember to have fun!

Bent Bars

A new solidarity scheme for LGBTQ people

The Bent Bars Project is a new letter-writing project for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, gender-variant, intersex, and queer prisoners in Britain. The project aims to develop stronger connections and build solidarity between LGBTQ communities outside and inside prison walls.

Although many overtly homophobic and transphobic laws have been recently overturned in Britain, the criminal (in) justice system continues to target and criminalize queer, trans and gender non-conforming people. We don’t know exactly how many LGBTQ people are currently behind bars, but we do know queer, trans and gender non-conforming people, particularly those from poor backgrounds and communities of colour, are disproportionately funneled into the prison system as a result of systemic discrimination, inequality and social exclusion. We also know that queer, trans and gender non-conforming people are subject to increased isolation, harassment, violence and assault when in prison.

Bent Bars aims to work in solidarity with prisoners by sharing resources, providing mutual support and drawing public attention to the struggles of queer and trans people behind bars.

The project is still in the early stages of formation, but we also hope to collect and distribute information for LGBT/ queer/trans prisoners on harm reduction practices (safer sex, safer drug-use), HIV and HepC prevention, homophobia, transphobia, coming out in prison, etc.

Penpals greatly needed!

We are looking for non-imprisoned and formerly imprisoned LGBTQ people who are interested in becoming penpals. In the first month since we initiated the project, we received more than 100 requests from LGBTQ prisoners for penpals, and the requests keep coming. So we are urgently looking for non-im- prisoned folks to write to prisoners. We are especially looking for gay/bi men and transwoman to be penpals.

Becoming a penpal can give a person in prison vital emotional support, help prisoners be less vulnerable to violence and assist in building networks and resources for release. Time commitment is whatever you want it to be writing one letter a month, which can take as little as half and hour, would be great.

We are also looking for folks who want to get involved in the Bent Bars Collective, which coordinates the letter writing program, collects resources for queer/trans prisoners and does public education work on queer/trans prison issues.

Interested in becoming a penpal or becoming part of the Bent Bars Collective?

Contact: bent.bars.project(at)gmail.com or go to:
www.co-re.org

DIY Shibari

As deviant sexual fetishes go bondage is pretty well known. Whether its bondage tape or handcuffs people have found ways of trussing each other up for pleasure. One technique that is starting to gain ground outside of its native Japan is Shibari, or rope bondage, which involves tying up a person, or being tied up yourself, with a series of pieces of thin rope which put pressure on different parts of the body leading to pleasure, as well as the feeling of being bound that appeals to bondage fetishists. Part of the fun of Shibari is making the patterns themselves, and some of the more advanced techniques are amazing to look at, a bit like the picture on the right.

But we’ve all got to start somewhere and something like the work on the right is way out of my league. So we’re going back to basics with some techniques to get you started so you can have some Shibari fun of your own.

Right, so to begin you’re going to need some rope, stuff that isn’t too thick or too rough works best, as it is easier to work with and wont end up giving you rope burn. Hemp rope is good I’ve been told, but if you can’t get hold of that synthetic rope (not to abrasive mind!) works just f ine. You’ll need at least a couple of seperate ones for most techniques, and its useful to get it in long stretches, of about 10 meteres per rope, as there is a lot of wrapping and doubling over in most techniques.

BASIC WRIST TIE:

The simplest of the simple and a great way to start off, as well as a good way of binding your partners hands (either in front of or behind them).

First off, double the rope, forming a loop at the very centre. (1) Have your partner place their hands together, put the looped end over the top of the wrists with a little rope to spare. (2) Wrap them with the unlooped part of the rope (tight enough to bind, but not so their hands go numb!). (3) Wrap it around two or three times, and then on the f inal wrap put it through the loop (or just beside it, catching it slightly, whatever you prefer). (4) Take the looped end of the rope and put it under the wrapped rope (going towards your partners body). (5) Then all you need is to tie a simple knot in the rope to hold the bind in place. You should have a bit of excess rope (if you used 10 metre), but it won’t get in the way, so that isn’t a problem.

SIMPLE BREAST TIE (works on any gender):

A slightly more complex more technique as it techinically two seperate parts (which means two ropes), but one that is great fun. Combined with the wrist tie it makes a good start into Shibari. Have fun!

Rope number one: Start by doubling your rope, and wrapping it once around the breast of your partner. (1) Put the unlooped end through the looped end of the rope at the back making a knot. Wrap it around the front again, make sure the ropes line up evenly and don’t twist. (2) Run the rope under the knot. Do another wrap in the opposite direction from the way you went originally, underneath your partners breast. (3) Bring the end of the rope through the knot again. Tie off the remianing rope in whatever way you fancy, maybe a nice pretty bow, awwwww.

Rope number two: Once again, double the rope. Tie a knot using rope number 2 round the knot on rope number 1 (on your partners back). Wrap the rope once around the breats. (4) Bring the rope up under rope number 1 and over the opposite shoulder. From the front, the rope should go over the rope at the top of the breast, and under the rpe at the bottom, then it should go back over the other shoulder (the one not used before), which should look like this (5). Tie the rest of the rope up around the back of your partner, attach to the other knot, and you’re done!

Practice these ties, and with time, you may be able to move on to some of the more advanced techniques:

Interview

“Anarkink” is a group for anarchists who love BDSM and kinky folk who hate the state.

Interview with Erin of “Subversive Submissive” / Erin, Sabrina, Tom Kat, and Ergoat of Anarkink

1. How and when did the “Subversive Submissive” blog start?

ERIH: I started “Subversive Submissive” in March 2006, as a personal journal. At the time, I was having a really hard time dealing with my submissive and masochistic desires and reconciling them with my anarchist politics; what did it mean that I felt such deep satisfaction from bondage, domination, and sadomasochism in the bedroom, while simultaneously being opposed to all forms of hierarchy and power-based relations outside of it? So the blog was really just an outlet, a way for me to get my thoughts collected. I was so afraid of talking about my desires to other people and being judged. I wrote maybe four or five posts and then stopped for about a year, not really sure why I was writing publicly (though anonymously) about such personal stuff.

Then I discovered a collaborative blog called “Let Them Eat Pro-SM Feminist Safe Spaces” (sm-feminist.blogspot.com). That blog (and a handful of others) was an enormous help to me, and most importantly, it made me feel like I wasn’t alone. I realized that there really is something to be gained from sharing our personal lives and struggles with each other, and that if I wasn’t yet ready to do it in person with my friends, I should at least try to make connections online.

2. What has been the most common reaction to the blog? Common criticisms/praise?

ERIN: Overwhelmingly, the people who have written to me about my blog have either wanted to talk to me about something specific I’d posted, something that really struck a chord with them, that they were themselves struggling with or just wanted to say, “Key, I’m a vegan anarchist into BDSM, too!”. The thing I most often hear from people, in terms of praise, is that they appreciate how open and honest I am in my writing. I think a lot of bloggers get this, actually, and maybe it says something about our culture that being open and honest about our personal lives and problems is unusual enough to warrant such praise. I think the only real critiques I’ve received were from non-anarchist kinky folk who believe that BDSM does constitute a real-life hierarchy, but that this isn’t a bad thing; that BDSM is one of many “positive hierarchies” like democracy and schools. I disagree, and argue that BDSM, even hardcore ”24/7” BDSM, is still a form of play — not that this lessens its importance or power. I think that play is a vital part of life that most of us ignore far too frequently.

3. Do you feel that the anarchist scene is accepting of alternative sexual practices?

SABRINA: I think it depends who you talk to. Some anarchists are kink friendly — more with people who are open to conversations about queering gender and sexual preferences. In queer scenes BDSM is something that is more of a topic open to public conversation.

TOM KAT: It also depends on what sexual practices we are talking about. Anarchists generally talk a good game, but what if we look at, say, certain anarchists that believe that age of consent laws are wrong. They have been threatened even for just challenging the idea that the state should determine when a person is adult enough to consent to sex. Meanwhile, the state charges 12–16 year olds as adults all the time in criminal cases. Things get challenging when we look at issues that are more morally gray.

The thing with acceptance is to look at how peoples’ lives are framed by where they live geographically. In the U.S., we live in a country where there are still states that outlaw sodomy and masturbation. A majority of people in this country identifies as born-again Christians, and the moral code of whole regions is based on the bible. In the San Francisco area, we benefit from a relative degree of humanism. People are used to queers and trans folks, though violence still happens. However, in the rest of amerika gender roles/rules are violently enforced. I have spent time with anarchists in other areas, and for a lot of those folks, being queer or even over 30 is a big shocker. I think if the sex you are having validates the gender norms, people are bound to accept it on some level. As a switch bisexual person, I try to be very aware of what sort of behaviors contribute to maintaining a patriarchal culture. lam provocative, and I hope that makes space for people to express themselves. I was very influenced by the English group Homocult of the 80s. They fused SM iconography, queer politics with class, and a proper fuck you attitude. I think solidarity begins in the kitchen, aka sharing of domestic duties, but needs to extend into all aspects of our lives.

ERIN: I’ve encountered far more hostility toward BDSM from a feminist perspective than an anarchist perspective. There’s just such a long history of anti-BDSM writing and theory coming from feminism and radical feminism in particular, and a lot of second-wave and radical feminism ideas have made their way into some anarchist scenes. Not just the anti-BDSM ideas, but also a very sex-negative attitude, a distrust of men for being men, a rejection of porn and sex work as inherently patriarchal, and so on. On the other hand, I’ve noticed a huge difference when it comes to anarchist queer and trans communities, like Sabrina said; I’ve found a much greater acceptance of BDSM there.

There was a zine published this summer by an anti-civ anarchist attacking BDSM; his basic argument was that BDSM is the product of civilization, civilization is bad, and thus BDSM is bad and we shouldn’t engage in it. I also have come across a few message boards online that have criticized BDSM for its capitalist decadence... but that’s a critique I’d make myself -1 would just specify that the problem is with BDSM as a subculture or scene, not with BDSM as a set of practices. Other than that, I haven’t really heard of any specifically anarchist attacks on BDSM.

ERGOAT: In my travels I have found anarchist and radical circles so accepting of alt lifestyles (gay/lesbian/bi/trans/ queer) that being a straight male was seen at times to be an outsider and a threat. For example, if two ”non-hetero-norma- tive” people liked to tie each other up, dress in leather/latex, and beat the shit out each other with all kinds of implements, the majority of responses to hearing about such an incident in radical circles would be ”Awww, how special that they’ve found someone they can deeply trust and share with” (and probably rightly so). Yet I bring up to progressive, liberal and/or radicals (IE same groups as above example) that my kink is spanking consenting females, responses have been, “You misogynist, manipulating, girl-friend beating, dominator hierarchical patriarchy role-enforcing subjugating scumbag!” So I’ve definitely found a double standard that can be quite infuriating, and alienating to potential friends and allies.

4. How would you answer the criticism that BDSM is sexist?

SABRIHA: It is just absurd. BDSM is about people consenting to certain sexual practices. Any person can take a dominant or submissive role. If the roleplaying happens to look like real- life situations... it is exactly that... role playing. And it was consented upon beforehand, as opposed to a sexist practice of making someone feel inferior.

ERGOAT: I think you have to separate BDSM as an act from BDSM as a culture. People can engage in these activities on a personal scale and not have it be inherently sexist, for sure. But when you look at the BDSM culture, or “scene” through a much wider lens you can see the overarching stereotypical images of people dressed in leather/latex, whips and chains, cuffs and collars, masters and slaves, and other cliche’s.

In my explorations of the San Francisco “scene”, the supposed BDSM cultural Mecca, I found things to be very ciassist, sexist, hierarchical, misogynistic. For instance, the larger play parties were designed to be these costume/flesh faires: Not set up where you could talk with someone on a personal level, build some trust and if things clicked you could play and explore; these events are image saturated judgmentally about who was wearing the hottest leather/latex ensemble (usually in the S300 plus range), showing the most skin, and voila, that’s the girl I want to dominate and fuck... if it’s okay with her Master/ Daddy/Mistress etc.

ERIN: I also think we need to acknowledge that there’s a hell of a lot of sexism and gender essentialism in BDSM as a subculture (though not as a set of practices). For one thing, most people in the BDSM subculture are, kinks and fetishes aside, pretty normal people. And that means that their ideas about gender also tend to conform to mainstream opinions and stereotypes. The big problem, as I see it, is when kinky folk start to justify their behaviors and their sexist attitudes by their fetishes. There are certainly male doms who think it’s okay to be condescending, arrogant assholes to every woman they interact with because “being dominant is just who they are” and “all women have a submissive side to their personality waiting to be awakened”. There’s a really excellent essay/zine called “Your Kink Does Not Get You a Free Dass”, and the title pretty much sums up my attitude. I think it surprises a lot of anti- BDSM people to hear that there are a fair number of us who are already addressing this from the inside, as it were — people who both identify with BDSM and are also extremely critical of the classism, racism, sexism, and heterosexism we see there.

It’s also important to note that when most people say ”BDSM is sexist”, they’re thinking in terms of male dominants and female submissives. It’s like this is the only possible pairing that exists within BDSM, or at least, it’s supposedly the most common one — which in reality may or may not be true, it’s really hard to say for sure. This focusing on male dominant-female submissive BDSM is in part the fault of popular culture’s only picking up those images of BDSM that fit in with mainstream, sexist and heteronormative views of sexuality. In part, it’s also the fault of the BDSM scene focusing on those roles and activities as well. That is, BDSM is (or can be) sexist not because it’s about men dominating women but because every other possibility gets ignored.

Still, back in the ”sex wars” of the 1980s, there was a lot of worrying about lesbian SM being patriarchal, even though no men were involved; the claim was that violence is a patriarchal value, and that using any sort of power-play or violent activity for sexual gratification supported that patriarchal power structure. It was really eye-opening for me when I read up on this history — both sides of the argument. There are two anthologies about this that I strongly recommend to anyone interested in this issue: one from an anti-BDSM perspective (Against Sadomasochism) and one written by lesbians practicing BDSM (Coming to Dower). Against Sadomasochism was difficult for me to read (since it’s basically an assault on my sexual identity), but I think it’s really useful to understand where anti-BDSM feminists are coming from. Today, anytime I hear a critique or a debate about BDSM from a feminist perspective, I find that it always comes back to the same issues that were debated by these women decades ago.

5. Do you think there’s a place for pornography/erotica in an anarchist society?

ERIN: Sure. I don’t think there’s anything about the documentation of sexual fantasy for others’ enjoyment that is problematic for anarchism.

TOM KAT: Well of course, but not in how we perceive it today pornography is incredibly commodifying. Hopefully, people who are economically forced to participate in the sex industry will be given opportunities to be more than just sweaty organs of desire. John Waters says “watching porn is like taking a tour of a meat packing plant”, which I think is a pretty keen assertion or insertion.

I think one of the more interesting subjects around pornography is again about age of consent laws. American porn is obsessed with finding the youngest looking 18 year olds and having adult men have sex with them. Youth is constantly being exploited and subjugated, and that is the norm. Is this human nature or nurture? Will people’s desires change in an anarchist society? I hope that in an anarchist society, people will be too busy living to live vicariously through pornography. Maybe we will all be too tired from the endless meetings or the toil of food production to give a toss. Hopefully not though.

ERGOAT: I’m working on a project that fuses erotic art, BDSM, activism, and anarchy right now. Very ambitious, but also, a lot of fun.

6. Could you outline a brief history of the Anarkink group and its aims?

ERIN: Anarkink came out of a panel discussion on BDSM and anarchism held at the 2008 BASTARD anarchist conference in Berkeley, California. I got together with Sabrina, who organized that panel, as well as one other woman who’d participated in the discussion, to talk about how awesome it would be if we were able to have talks like that on a more regular basis.

SABRINA: Anarkink was originally created to make a space for people who don’t feel comfortable in mainstream BDSM scenes and want to talk about being anarchists with kink identities. The aim...I’m not sure yet, but we’re making the space and creating dialogue.

ERGOAT: [In the first meeting] a diverse group of people (pros, intermediates, and kink-curious) came together and began bitching about how unsatisfied they were with the “mainstream” BDSM scene in the Bay Area, combined with anarchists who had their own closets to come out of to their radical friends, with themes such as ”I’m still a feminist, but I like power exchange/being dominated by my lover, yet I feel stigmatized due to others’ judgments”.

And the first couple of meetings were very cathartic, to get these critiques off our collective chests, as I’ve been to mainstream BDSM meetings/munches where constructive criticism was the best way to be shunned as a negative person (if you don’t have anything nice to say...) ...the power structure, who owned the play-spaces and therefore got to be the dictator of parties and scenes, how many in the scene could be very right wing, the class-ism, dogma, the list goes on.

So our aims were to create a group and a space where people could be open with their feelings, didn’t have to have a $300 dress code, or have to pay $25 per meeting plus membership fees, etc.

It’s a group with broad aims to try and bring kink and BDSM back to the people, not just the perverted pastimes of the idle rich and their lackeys.

ERIN: The first few meetings really were just about getting like-minded folks together, reassuring ourselves that we weren’t alone, and for some of us, talking in public for the first time about sex and kink. That was huge, for me.

For a long time, a lot of us were thinking of Anarkink as ”BDSM by and for anarchists”. But one of the problems with that, as someone recently pointed out, is that not everyone who might be interested in what Anarkink offers has their identity wrapped up in being An Anarchist, and so bringing BDSM to the anarchist scene or getting together a group of anarchists who are interested in the BDSM scene is always going to be somewhat exclusive. So now, we’ve been talking more about what Ergoat mentioned above, taking knowledge about BDSM practices out of the hands of the wealthy, creating workshops and play parties in an anarchist manner rather than creating workshops and parties for anarchists. As one person in the group said recently, we’re interested in having anarchism be the analytical lens rather than the target population.

Additionally, we’ve been having a lot of interesting conversations about separating the idea of “kink” from ”BDSM” in particular, not all kinks and fetishes are related to BDSM, of course, and we’ve just been focusing a lot on BDSM because that’s what the current core group of people happens to be into. But really, the group is for anyone who has what they consider to be a non-normative or alternative sexuality, and that doesn’t necessarily mean bondage, pain, or power exchange.

The actual activities of the group depend on the interest of those people who are active at any given time. Personally, I’m a lot more interested in having theoretical discussions of kink and sexuality in general, especially discussions about particular essays or books — but there aren’t that many others who are interested in that right now, so we ve been focusing more on workshops and organizing a few parties.

7. Has the group been well received?

ERGOAT: We are a subset of subset cultures... when mentioning this group to your average, middle of the road person, it’s a double polemic; Anarchy is bad enough, but anarchy and BDSM?! The horror! The emotion translates in our polite don’t say what you really think/feel culture as “let’s change the subject as quickly as possible”.

As to the BDSM mainstream, when mentioned, it is usually ill received, because as I’ve mentioned, a lot people really get off on the capitalism image fetish and hierarchies in that scene, and the efforts involved in getting one more step up that pyramid; they see the non-hierarchical style as an affront to the dues they’ve paid to get their harem of submissives.

I have a bit of a story regarding how other anarchists have received the group. Erin and I set up early on a cold grey day at the yearly Anarchist Bookfair in San Francisco. Hot only were we advertising the existence of Anarkink, but also an event that the group was holding later that day post-fair, a party with rope bondage demonstrations and spanking booths, set up as a fundraiser so Anarkink could have a consistent place to meet monthly. So surrounded by hardcore anarchists from around the country and world, people with their literature, rhetoric in activism, against war, against social injustices, and here we were, with a few flyers and zines, talking about kinky anarchists who liked to spank each other. It felt kind of silly in context... and in some peoples’ views, inappropriate: in light of US policy of torture and detention, we were advertising bondage and pain in a playful light. A dichotomy some could not get over.

There were a lot of dirty looks, a lot of distasteful glances like I farted in the elevator towards our “booth”. Some were politely interested, not many seemed very interested.

So we dutifully finished out the day, before heading off to another part of the city to start setting up for our party, wondering if 20 people would show up. Things got set up, the time came, music started, people trickled in, the first rope suspension performance began. Then more people came, then more, then a flood. What was going to be a dance party with demonstrations organically evolved into a packed free-flowing play party, as new and curious anarchists lined up to be apart of the wild sex/kink positive energy that was electrically charging the evening, and take their turns at the spanking booth (wo)manned by pro dommes who nearly flogged their arms off; smiles all around. I worked the last shift at the door, so I saw people glowing on their way out of a very fun night. The sentiment that was shared by most and vocalized so aptly by one young punk: ”1 came here not knowing what to expect, and not sure I would like the scene, but after I checked it out, I was like, ’I want to be whipped!’”

ERIN: I didn’t encounter any of the stuff Ergoat experienced at the Anarchist Bookfair, actually ...strange that our experiences were so different! Perhaps some of it was gender-based. I was expecting dirty looks and possibly some confrontation, but mostly I saw people look around and pass on, sometimes smiling, sometimes asking a question or two, but for the most part just not very interested. And like Ergoat said, the party we threw afterward was pretty well received, most people seemed to have a really good time, but it didn’t lead to a whole lot of people starting to show up at Anar kink meetings.

Right now, I’m just not sure how much the group is offering to most folks who inhabit these two worlds... I feel like there are a lot of kinky anarchists who have problems with the BDSM scene but also don’t feel the need to go to a group to talk about sex and make f loggers together, they have their own social circles that fill that need. There are also folks who are interested in kink but not in BDSM, and we’ve thus far been talking really specifically about BDSM instead of fetish/ kink/alternative sexual practices in general. We’re addressing that right now, and hopefully can make it into something interesting for a wider range of people. A few months ago, there were a grand total of three people at our monthly meeting: two regulars and one person from out of town. I was extremely disappointed, and thought about giving up on the group right then. But that one person from out of town was so excited to be there, to simply talk to us and to know that something like this existed — that he wasn’t alone — that he didn’t care that we were just sitting around chatting with no real plan or agenda. His enthusiasm and gratitude made me realize that nights like that are what make a group like Anarkink totally worth continuing.

8. How does the anarchism of the group influence its attitudes towards sexual behaviour?

ERGOAT: It brings more consciousness to class and consumerism in sexual behavior. In the example of the mainstream BDSM play party: capitalist consumers’ viewpoints dictates that the girl you want to fuck is the “hottest”: best dressed, made up, most likely to put out, so you have a visual strategy of approach ... counter point being in the same culture the females have a success-ist view in determining who she gives it up to; who has the nicest clothes, the flash car, etc. It’s really too bad that sex gets reduced to crass consumerism all too often in our culture, instead of personalities exploring intimacies and bonding. Experience of character should have greater sexual prowess and determination than materialistic thing fetish, but such is the state of things... so we form groups that try to spread awareness and humanities, and create new cultures... even if we have kinky methods.

9. What are the group’s plans for the future?

ERGOAT: To keep spreading awareness and have a more consistent turnout to our group along with bring new members in. Although we had many dozens (hundreds?) attending our play party, most were from out of town so it didn’t translate into larger retention for further meetings and workshops and play parties, all of which are happening in coming months.

ERIN: I’m less focused on membership or turnout, myself, than I am with simply making better connections with people and helping each other. I’ve been talking to a few people online about starting up a collaborative website where folks could post workshop notes, theoretical essays and texts on sexuality and fetish, zines, event notices, and so on. I’m also working on another issue of my own zine and have been talking to a few people about starting up a small distro for sex and kink- related zines. Neither of these are “Anarkink” projects, but both of them are definitely things I would never have thought about pursuing had it not been for Anarkink.

anarchistbdsm.wordpress.com

subversivesub.wordpress.com

When do we find time to fuck?

Being an anarchist can be very hectic. Finding the time to relax and “get your end away” can be a little frustrating when you’re busy travelling up and down the country for protests/ actions, especially when they can end in scuffles with the cops and may even lead to a lonely night in a dank, cold cell. There are also all the regular national meetings, conferences and book fairs that occur throughout the year, which usually means you have to crash on a comrade’s floor, often with another 5+ people in the same cramped room. For some of us these events are also crammed around long working hours, studying or both. Basically getting the time to be alone to fuck can sometimes prove to be a little difficult (unless, of course, you like to screw in front of others and they, equally, don’t mind watching you).

There have been times when myself and my partner have had to be a little experimental in getting some “alone time”; after a long day of meetings at a national conference, held in the middle of nowhere, we crept off into a nearby field and fucked in the rain, while other comrades sat drinking around a campfire. The sleeping arrangements that weekend meant we would have had to otherwise indulge in our passions in front of another 18–20 people in a barn hall. We didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in a tent, like some of our other lucky comrades, and being quite loud I probably would have scarred a few of my friends. I suppose we could have asked one of our comrades if they didn’t mind us using their tent but it was a spur of the moment thing, plus it was quite exciting rolling around in the mud knowing there was a small possibility that someone could have wondered by.

At climate camp this year we had quite an amusing moment. After a long week of sitting in a field, surrounded by hippies, we desperately need to deal with our burning sexual frustrations. This was in spite of the fact that our other comrades weren’t getting the hint as to why we wanted to go back to our tent early. Or even the fact that one of our comrades was also apparently asleep in the tent already and we needed to climb over him. But we persevered and finally alone in our tent, horny as fuck, we begin to rip each others clothes off and get down to the nasty, however our once thought to be sleeping comrade, decided to spark up a conversation out of nowhere, which was a little bit awkward to respond to when I was busy with my mouth full... if you catch my drift. And then if you thought that wasn’t awkward enough, another comrade decides to call for us loudly from outside, asking if he could have his toothpaste back, at which point we just had to burst out laughing, stop, give him his toothpaste, respond to our comrade in the tent, wait until he was happily asleep, before we could finally continue our much needed fuck frenzy on a very deflated blow up mattress.

I’ve been told stories by other comrades about how they have made time for sex in their hectic activist schedules, such as sharing a shower in the university changing rooms during the Gaza solidarity occupations. Sometimes it just means going to the furthest part of a lecture theatre away from everyone else below, nestle behind the rows of seats, wait for people to fall asleep, (or in some cases don’t) and enjoy each other’s bodies while you can, before another busy day of meetings, protests and travel starts up again.

What is Anarchism?

A Short Introduction to Anarchist-Communism

Anarchist communism is a form of anarchism that advocates the abolition of the State and capitalism in favour of a horizontal network of voluntary associations through which everyone will be free to satisfy his or her needs.

Anarchist communism is also known as anarcho-communism, communist anarchism, or, sometimes, libertarian communism. However, while all anarchist communists are libertarian communists, some libertarian communists, such as council communists, are not anarchists. What distinguishes anarchist communism from other variants of libertarian communism is the formers opposition to all forms of political power, hierarchy and domination.

Anarchist communism stresses egalitarianism and the abolition of social hierarchy and class distinctions that arise from unequal wealth distribution, the abolition of capitalism and money, and the collective production and distribution of wealth by means of voluntary associations. In anarchist communism, the state and property no longer exist. Each individual and group is free to contribute to production and to satisfy their needs based on their own choice. Systems of production and distribution are managed by their participants.

The abolition of wage labour is central to anarchist communism. With distribution of wealth being based on self- determined needs, people will be free to engage in whatever activities they find most fulfilling and will no longer have to engage in work for which they have neither the temperament nor the aptitude. Anarchist communists argue that there is no valid way of measuring the value of any one person’s economic contributions because all wealth is a collective product of current and preceding generations. Anarchist communists argue that any economic system based on wage labour and private property will require a coercive state apparatus to enforce property rights and to maintain the unequal economic relationships that will inevitably arise.

Well known anarchist communists include Peter, or Piotr, Kropotkin (Russia), Errico Malatesta (Italy) and Nestor Makhno (Ukraine). Kropotkin (pictured above) is often seen as the most important theorist of anarchist communism, outlining his economic ideas in books The Conquest of Bread and Fields, Factories and Workshops. Kropotkin felt co-operation to be more beneficial than competition, arguing in “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution” that this was illustrated in nature.

Modern day anarchist communists are represented in several organisations within the International of Anarchist Federations, including the Anarchist Federation (Britain). Platformist anarchist communists include the Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland) and the North-Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists (USA). Many nascent Eastern European, Russian and Caucasian anarchist groups identify with anarchist communism and there is a strong anarchist communist current amongst contemporary Latin American and Caribbean anarchist organisations.