Dominatrix hosts ‘BDSM 101’ for Valentine’s Day at UCLA
UCLA dispensed with chocolates, cards, and flowers for Valentine’s Day this year, opting instead to bring a local sex worker to campus to teach the basics of “bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, masochism,” otherwise known as BDSM.
“We loved learning more about how to be queer, kinky, and consensual at our BDSM 101 workshop! Thanks to @justineplays for teaching us the importance of safe and sexy encounters this Valentine's season!” gushed a Valentine’s Day tweet from the LGBT Campus Resource Center (CRC) at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Accompanying the tweet’s caption is a picture of Justine Cross, a Los Angeles dominatrix, who is shown holding whips. Behind Cross is a PowerPoint slide showing lashes, handcuffs, and the words, “Whips and chains excite me…too.”
“Yesterday, I gave a talk about BDSM 101: Sexy, Safe and Consensual for Queers! @uclalgbt hosted and made me this amazing poster that hung all over @ucla. Happy #FemdomFriday!” Cross later tweeted, along with a picture of a poster gifted to her by the UCLA CRC.
According to the UCLA CRC’s Facebook page, the event was titled, “BDSM 101: Sexy, Safe and Consensual.”
“Because we know chocolate and flowers are nice, but...Happy Valentine's Gay. Join the UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center and Bruin Consent Coalition for a Valentine's extravaganza! Mistress Justine Cross, BDSM consultant, will provide a workshop on BDSM and stigmas around the BDSM community,” the event’s description reads.
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Cross’ own website offers a closer look at the topics the event addressed.
“From claims about the ease with which you can grab women ‘by the pussy,’ to the shockingly lax sentencing of Brock Turner, the perpetrator of the ‘Stanford rape case,’ it is clear that rape culture is endemic to our culture and political climate,” the website states.
Moreover, Cross’ website proclaims that teaching BDSM is a “tactic of resistance.”
“As tactic of resistance, Mistress Justine will teach attendees how to use BDSM as a way of understanding the importance of negotiation and consent,” the website continues, adding, “she will provide an all-skill-level introduction to BDSM that focuses on safe, sane, consensual play and sexual exploration.”
“This presentation will help us all find ways to explore and discuss desire, fetish, and sexual interests in an open manner, and to find partners who are down to play,” the description adds, promising that “there will also be a Q & A, during which attendees can pose kinky questions for the Mistress, learning about BDSM, sex, and sex work in general.”
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Aside from BDSM 101, UCLA offers “Leather and Kink Community Resources” on its official website. Some resources include “BDSM Communities and the Intersection of Queerness,” “Being Kinky Doesn’t Make You Queer,” and both “submissive” and “dominant” guides.
Campus Reform reached out to Kevin Medina, the designated point of contact for the event, but was referred to Tod Tamberg Senior Executive Director of Media Relations and Public Outreach, who did not provide a response in time for publication.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @rMitchellGunter
