My Religion - Perverted Othodox

There is an old adage that says sex and politics don't mix. And yes, I want politicians and the clergy out of my life, which includes bedrooms, playrooms, dungeons and fetish clubs. Additionally, this column is about bdsm life, and is not a Guardian article! The Marquise on the women's page, now that would be a little different! BDSM isn't about party politics, although I once knew a Trotskyist submissive who liked to be tortured until he admitted he was a Stalinist!

However, there is a fundamental connection between Politics and BDSM since there are still laws that make various forms of sexual expression illegal. Likewise, many religions find what we do completely unacceptable. And yet life and the ability to experience it is a precious and wonderful privilege that nobody has the right to deny anybody else. Sexual expression is an important part of what makes life so special for many of us.

As part of humanity we all have the potential and the duty to be responsible for ourselves and in a community like ours that is still under threat and not understood by the majority it is even more necessary. The brotherhood of man is vital. Hang together, be hung alone, divided we fall, united we stand; these are all slogans that contain a lot of truth in them. As social animals we need the support of others at some time in our life. To weaken any human is to potentially endanger one's self. I disagree with any belief in supremacy granted by accident of birth, be that of gender or of a role in bdsm and rather lend my support to those who have forged their strength through a hard life and strived to live as honourably as possible. They are the ones who have my respect, whether female or male, top or bottom, on the basis of the only equality that can interest me, our equal recognition of what is wonderful in the singularity of each one of us. Only in this way can we experience and create the marvelous world of bdsm in all of its beauty and wonder.

The problems that we as BDSMers have with finding spaces to enact our fantasies, being open about our sexual practices, and being honest about who we are, are largely based on the imposition of religious belief into our countries legal code. Fortunately the past fifty years has seen an extensive lowering of those barriers. Still unless we pay freedom's price of "eternal vigilance" our freedom rests on rather shaky ground.

Using religious assumptions, premises, beliefs and logic to define sexual conduct is acceptable in the realm of religion to those who subscribe to any particular faith. That same line of thinking has no place in the realm of the political and for those who do not practice a religion. Despite BDSM now being more mainstream, many people still have misconceptions about what we do and where our interests lie. This will not change unless some of us are prepared to take a stand.

The truth is, society has no need of protection from sadomasochists unless of course they were to abuse children or others unable to give their consent freely. What they do is their business, and it is their business alone, until their actions cause violence to other members of society. There are clear lines that separate abuse and violence from consent and pleasure. The law has a place in protecting the vulnerable against those who would abuse or exploit them. For consenting adults, acting in a safe and sane way the law has no business to interfere in our activities and lifestyles since we are committing no crime. We cannot afford to allow those lines to be blurred by those whose belief or ignorance overrides tolerance, mutual respect, and human freedom.

The only effective answer to the likes of those who are against what we do is to assert our freedom to believe differently, to act according to our consciences not theirs, and to hold tolerance and respect for all as of the utmost importance. We are forcing no one to buy this magazine or to enter into any of the activities we discuss here. If our ways are strange to those of a vanilla orientation they have only to ignore us and allow practice of our desires to take place behind closed doors where it should not in anyway interfere with their piece of mind or sense of propriety.

Being apathetic about the political and religious realities in which we live is a dangerous position for pervy people to take. If those whose views oppose ours seem to speak more loudly and are heard more often, it is only because of our own silence. If the many thousands of us, the supposed minority, would only speak up about own rights and the preservation of them, reports of us in the mainstream media would read differently then they do currently. If all those of our persuasion complained of our misrepresentation, we would be a force to be reckoned with.

Leaving the defence of our freedom to be kinky to a few rather small organisations is to count the value of our way of life for little. It is we thousands that must act with our donations, signatures, letter writing campaigns, our personal lobbying, and our one-on-one persuasion.

We can learn much from the example of the gay movement, which in the seventies was very active in admitting and espousing their sexuality. Gay rights assumed a sense of momentum from this, as well as there being strength in numbers. They were visible, vocal and united.

Even if you can't come out of the kinky closet, and this must be a very personal decision depending on your circumstances and domestic arrangements, you can add political and financial support to those organizations that preach and practice tolerance. By this means we will find our clubs freer and our bedrooms more sacred, further exempt from the prying eyes of those who would deny us our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of getting our kinky rocks off!

Marquise

top of Page