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Peter Masters |
Peter Masters |
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Community
Caravan of Dominance - bringing bondage to isolated communities
Community is the collected set of social activities in which BDSM practitioners engage which they feel they have in common with other BDSM practitioners.
In the world of BDSM communities may form or come into existence to provide:
- Support
- Emotional
- Technical or practical advice
- Social opportunities
- Sharing news
- Meeting new people and potential partners
- Education
- Workshops and classes - sharing skills and experience in regards to particular activities or types of relationships
Groups and communities may be:
- Online (via the Internet) - in which case geography is largely irrelevant
- Face-to-face (sometimes called "meatlife")
Support groups
Support groups commonly exist to provide emotional or other support in times of difficulty. While this might include helping people during break-ups or when abuse occurs, support can be useful also for people who are just getting into BDSM or who are reconciling personal conflicts in regards to BDSM ("How can it be that I love him when I stick needles into him and beat him with a cane?")
- Online groups (such as Google Groups)
- FetLife
- Discussion groups
Social opportunities
Many communities (not just incuding BDSM ones) exist to provide their members with opportunities to get together, share experiences, and seek out new friends or partners. In BDSM these opportunities frequently occur through the following:
Education
BDSM activities can be challenging or even dangerous. In many towns and cities local BDSMers arrange educational afternoons or weekends where community members can run:
- Workshops
- Discussion groups
- Online presentations
- Question-and-answer sessions
Preferences
While we may talk about a BDSM community as being, generally, people who are into BDSM, there are also common sub-groupings or sub-communities. Beyond those which focus on particular activities (such as bondage), other grouping may form along the lines of:
- Newbies, beginners and newcomers
- Sex expected - don't attend if you don't intend to fuck
- Polyamory - partner mixing and exchange
- Heavy play - focussed BDSM play which might be confronting for new BDSMers or people of sensitive dispositions
- Social-based play - light, non-confronting BDSM play combined with drinkies and nibblies
- Gay/lesbian
- Women only
- Submissives only - masters, dominants, and tops are excluded
