The “50 Shades of Kink and Consent” event will teach attendees about trying BDSM safely and debunking the Fifty Shades of Grey stereotypes.
One of the most prominent and most critiqued scenes in Fifty Shades of Grey is when the title character, Christian, uses a belt to spank Anastasia and her facial expressions and body language indicate that she’s not enjoying it.
“This situation most likely would not have happened in a BDSM relationship,” Phoenix Crane, a member of POWER / GAMMA, said. “Especially since consent is so highly valued in the BDSM community.”
Fifty Shades of Grey has brought BDSM into the mainstream media. While it has made many individuals aware of their own kinks and pleasures, the number of injuries involving sex toys has doubled since 2007 — most of the increase occurring in 2012 and 2013 — following the release of the series, according to The Washington Post.
According to Ben Braddock, a graduate student in the College Student Personnel program, kink can be defined as anything that falls outside the mainstream sex education or the mainstream depiction of sex, which is a man and a woman rotating between three positions — cowgirl, doggy and missionary — on the bed.
BDSM, on the other hand, is a six-part acronym, representing bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism, Crane said.
“(BDSM) focuses around two aspects: receiving and inflicting pleasurable pain,” Crane, a junior studying psychology, said.
In hopes of spreading awareness and education about the ways to safely try out BDSM, the LGBT Center is teaming up with POWER / GAMMA for a “Dine-n-Discuss: 50 Shades of Kink and Consent” on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Maggie Davis Room on the first floor of Baker Center.
“The idea behind (the event) is to play off the Fifty Shades of Grey but also from that to talk about how Fifty Shades has a lot that’s wrong with it on multiple levels,” Sarah Jenkins, the program coordinator for the Women’s Center, said. “There’s been a lot of concern about (Fifty Shades) promoting inaccurate and unsafe activities and the event is a response to that.”
Along with hosting the event, POWER / GAMMA has a separate program titled “Fifty Shades of What?!” in which students can find resources about various BDSM related topics, from what consent in BDSM looks like to ways to communicate with a partner about incorporating BDSM in the relationship.
“We realize sexuality is a very taboo topic,” Braddock said. “But many of us are sexual people, and it’s an important part of our lives that can cause great happiness and profound sadness.”
The media’s negative perception of BDSM can often make people who are kinky embarrassed about their preferences, Crane said.
“I think (the event) creates a safe space for people who want to learn more (about BDSM) or just create a community where people who are kinky can interact with other kinky people,” she said.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="9d5e7b6c-c939-11e5-ae09-8707061926a8"}}
Jane Balbo, assistant professor of family medicine, will also be at the event to answer any medical related questions about BDSM, Crane said.
“It’s not supposed to be scary,” Braddock said. “People hear ‘BDSM’ or ‘sex toys’ and they automatically think that it’s terrifying or painful, but these things exist for no other reason than to help people achieve pleasure and to be happy.”
@summerinmae
my389715@ohio.edu
