Bondage 101 - Newsgroup Weekend Edition 2003/10/24
| A bondage workshop offering instruction on the finer points of "using ropes in a sexual context" went ahead as planned Wednesday at the University of Victoria, despite concerns that the event is not appropriate for an academic setting | |
| Brennan
Clarke Weekend Edition staff Friday, October 24, 2003 |
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| A
bondage workshop offering instruction on the finer points of
"using ropes in a sexual context" went ahead as planned
Wednesday at the University of Victoria, despite concerns that the
event is not appropriate for an academic setting. Sponsored by the UVic Pride Collective, an organization representing gay, lesbian and transsexual people, the "hands-on, interactive" workshop was organized in response to requests for information on bondage safety. |
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| "After
looking around the Victoria area community, we decided that this would
be the best way for people to get the information that they
wanted," said Pride Society director Michael Joyce. "People who attend this workshop will be better able to decide if they wish to engage in bondage," he said. Participants were advised to bring their own rope, some padding for the floor and a kneeling pillow or cushion. The event has received international attention, which Joyce blamed on inaccurate information being posted on the Internet and picked up by "conservative" Web sites. Several Internet stories falsely claimed that the workshop was sponsored by UVic and funded by tax dollars, said Joyce. David Clode, the school's executive director of student services, said that the UVic Students Society, through UVic Pride, is behind the workshop. "It's an event hosted by a recognized group on campus," Clode said. "We're confident with the UVic Students Society and we're confident... that the Pride collective is exercising good judgment in holding this event." The workshop has left at least one critic fit to be tied. Victoria resident Blake MacKenzie told the Weekend Edition that UVic president David Turpin "should be fired for allowing UVic's reputation as a top-level post-secondary institution to come down to the same level as a porn shop". Joyce accused MacKenzie of posting a memo intended for Pride members on the Internet and said MacKenzie clearly doesn't understand" the difference between UVic Pride and the school itself. "The UVSS is a legally separate entity. The Student Union Building is owned by the UVSS, and paid for by student fees," he said. "Our funding comes from the UVSS, not UVic." Joyce also dismissed concerns that bondage promotes violence against women. "Bondage is really something for consenting adults to do in private, and has a lot to do with trust," he said. |
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