1. Media Update Update!
2. Vuitton Whips S&M Knock-offs
3. Alternative-lifestyle event seeks alternative location
4. Judge Limits Annual Bondage Fest
5. German Xploration, Part 1
1. Media Update Update!
2. Vuitton Whips S&M Knock-offs
3. Alternative-lifestyle event seeks alternative location
4. Judge Limits Annual Bondage Fest
5. German Xploration, Part 1
Media Update Update!
In the July 29th edition of the NCSF Media Update, an article from the Boston Globe was included concerning the growing popularity of whip-cracking. The emphasis of the story was on non-SM whip-cracking activities, and included the following paragraph:
"Don't cringe or laugh cynically. There's a new generation of whip-crackers who want to lift the instrument out of the gutter of S&M to the lofty heights of a sport that might reach Olympic status. They use whips to grab items, to heal bodily injuries or for the sheer joy of making the thing go "pop." They jokingly call themselves "crack addicts", and swear their whips never touch human flesh."
Several individuals copied us on letters that were sent to the Boston Globe objecting to the use of the word "gutter" in reference to those who do use whips in sadomasochistic activities.
The following is a link to a newspaper that is carrying the wire-service version of the story… among other editorial changes note that the offending word "gutter" has been changed to "lore".
As we often see… your letters do effect change!
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/people/9368968.htm
Vuitton Whips S&M Knock-offs
by Carl Campanile
New York Post
August 12, 2004
Louis Vuitton's colorful new handbags are so popular that even makers of bondage and sadomasochism accessories have ripped off the design, miffed company officials said.
The details of the startling S&M case emerged yesterday after a federal judge heard closing arguments in Vuitton's suit against rival Dooney & Bourke for allegedly copying the trademark pattern of its multicolor Murikami handbags.
Putting Vuitton's logo on goods "related to bondage and sadomasochism," Vuitton lawyers said, "tarnished the reputation" of the company's trademark and name.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/18540.htm
To respond, write to: [email protected]
Alternative-lifestyle event seeks alternative location
by Barton Deiters
The Grand Rapid Press
August 11, 2004
Despite a judge's order, the organizer of "Whipstock" promises the alternative lifestyle event will go on.
Just not in Oakfield Township.
The three-day event — catering to people into dominance and submission, bondage and discipline — will be held at a new but undetermined location Aug. 20-22, organizers said.
Friday, Rockford District Judge Steven Servaas severely limited the number of cars and people that could be at the property of Jewell and Rex Cowan on 11 Mile Road NE, where Whipstock has been held for the last three years, drawing more than 250 people.
Servaas cited zoning restrictions on the property. The issue was brought to the court by Oakfield Township officials after they received complaints from neighbors.
Rex Cowan claims the township's action is selectively punitive and unconstitutional, but said there will be no appeal — at least not until after Whipstock.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1092237352322460.xml
To respond, go to:
http://www.mlive.com/contactus/
Judge Limits Annual Bondage Fest
by staff writer
WXMI TV (Grand Rapids)
August 9, 2004
KENT COUNTY — It's called Whipstock, an annual event for the "S&M" crowd and other alternative lifestyles. But after a judge's ruling, the event has been virtually shutdown.
The all-weekend event was supposed to start August 20th, at a home in Oakfield Township in northern Kent County. It's an annual fundraiser, touted as Michigan's largest Alternative Lifestyle picnic. An Oakfield Township couple started the event four years ago; they say they never had any trouble until now.
Whipstock lays out plenty of ground rules, according to it's website: no one under 18 allowed, no sex on the premises. Organizer Rex Cowan tells FOX 17, "It's a picnic for people of alternative lifestyle, gay, lesbian, transgender, people who believe in submission, dominance."
Rex and Jewel Cowan say the event is a fundraiser for Immediate Family, a safehouse to protect those abused in alternative relationships, who couldn't find help through traditional agencies.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://fox17.trb.com/news/080904-wxmi-bondage,0,1974926.story
To respond, go to:
http://fox17.trb.com/about/site/feedback/
German Xploration, Part 1:
In which Tristan journeys to Berlin to present at a sex-positive weekend
by Tristan Taormino
The Villiage Voice
August 09, 2004
… When well-known German choreographer Felix Ruckert invited me to Berlin, I was ready to pack my fishnets based solely on the city's allure; when he asked me to teach at a new event he had conceived, I was on the plane. Xplore 04: Extreme Sensuality, Sensual Extremes (xplore04.de) was a weekend of classes on creative sexuality, spirituality, and BDSM. It's a combination rarely seen in the United States, where being into tantra and bondage tends to leave one with split loyalties: Community events are increasingly less inclusive and more niche-oriented. I wanted to see how they mixed things up in a city known for being artist-friendly, queer, and very progressive.
Felix arrived at the airport to greet me, my boy, and the obscene amount of luggage we brought, which included a record 48 sex toys. He escorted us to the East Berlin apartment where we'd be staying, a cute one-bedroom in a very bohemian, East Village-y neighborhood called Prenzlauer Berg. We headed to the performance space where the event was scheduled to take place, to check it out and mingle with our fellow presenters. We chatted with co-producer Caprice Dilba, who told us she met her partner and fellow presenter Delta RA'i at one of Felix's performances, Secret Service, which he described as challenging the boundaries between dancer and viewer. Audience members were blindfolded and brought into a room in small groups. During the first section, the performers touched and moved them, grabbed and lifted them. Caprice met Delta during the second portion of the evening (which participants could opt out of), where the intimate interactions took on a more sadomasochistic flavor. He flogged her while she was blindfolded, and they've been together ever since. If that's not a story to tell the grandkids, I don't know what is.
[cont.]
To read this article, go to:
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0432/taormino.php
To respond, go to:
http://www.villagevoice.com/aboutus/contact.php
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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