How did you become a sexual activist?
I came into the community by answering an ad in a swingers' magazine. I then began working with Kinky Couples, a group holding BDSM events at a local swingers' club. A few years later, a friend and I opened Beyond the Edge Cafe, and it became a hub for the kink community. BTE held BDSM workshops, erotic art shows, and play parties in its basement.
After selling the cafe, I was hired to be the executive director of a club called the Wet Spot. It isn't a BDSM club or a swingers' club, although it has aspects of both. It's a place for all sex-positive people to gather for social and education events.
How would you describe yourself sexually?
[A] bisexual, polyamorous, masochistic switch who is only submissive to her "Daddy." I'm currently with out a primary partner. But I have two secondary partners, my Daddy and my boi, and several other wonderful people I play with, so I keep quite busy! Recently I've become a bondage aficionado, and have spent a lot of time all tied up.
How does the BDSM scene in Seattle compare to other cities?
Seattle is very cohesive. My experience with other large cities (and some small ones) is that they are more fractured. We also are a bit bloodier than most, and seem to be edgier and more into SM than DS--but that could just be the folks I hang around with.
Overall, I adore the leather community. The only thing that annoys me are the One True Wayers. If you don't agree with them you are branded as Bad, or Unsafe, or "just a newbie." I find that those folks are usually Internet players and have little real-life experience. (The Internet is great, but it is no substitute for real-life play.) They have gotten wrapped up in the fantasy world they created online--they've limited themselves by their One True Wayism.
For more information, visit www.wetspot.org or call 206-270-9746.
