Comments on: The Slippery Slope of BDSM Certification http://bannon.com/2009/11/10/the-slippery-slope-of-bdsm-certification/ Intelligent information, ideas and insights about the adventurous side of sex and relationships. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:33:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Race Bannon http://bannon.com/2009/11/10/the-slippery-slope-of-bdsm-certification/comment-page-1/#comment-6368 Race Bannon Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:17:26 +0000 http://bannon.com/?p=204#comment-6368 Richard, I appreciate your input. Thanks. I still contend certification of any kind would be a big mistake. Certification implies competence and there is truly no way that can be verified since certifications would likely be doled out by anyone with the time and motivation to create such a certification. And I'm still bothered by the idea of certifying any form of personal sexual expression. It is likely to lead us down the path of conformity and sameness that would likely stifle people's sexuality over time. I've taught countless classes and workshops over the years and am a big supporter of education in all of its forms, but certification is not something I can support. Richard, I appreciate your input. Thanks. I still contend certification of any kind would be a big mistake. Certification implies competence and there is truly no way that can be verified since certifications would likely be doled out by anyone with the time and motivation to create such a certification. And I’m still bothered by the idea of certifying any form of personal sexual expression. It is likely to lead us down the path of conformity and sameness that would likely stifle people’s sexuality over time. I’ve taught countless classes and workshops over the years and am a big supporter of education in all of its forms, but certification is not something I can support.

]]> By: Richard Gicomeng http://bannon.com/2009/11/10/the-slippery-slope-of-bdsm-certification/comment-page-1/#comment-6366 Richard Gicomeng Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:20:53 +0000 http://bannon.com/?p=204#comment-6366 Why not have "individual sex and erotic play... influenced by appointed arbiters of BDSM competence"? Certification is not going to change individual expression, what it can do is generate greater interest. During the 1980s and 1990s, I held BDSM workshops in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington that motivated attendees to explore and experience sides of their sexuality they might never have reached, while offering many a demonstration on safety precautions that guided the BDSM community to adopt safer practices which could have culminated in a fatal situation. The workshops I held did not change individual expression, but they added a degree of safety and awareness that many participants admitted they would have never known had they not attended the workshops. Certification does not dictate protocol, but rather it establishes a standard. Logically, a standard for erotic play is not going to mandate that everyone follow it. This is, after all, the 21st century. Those hangups that moralists once expressed towards consensual adult sexuality which brought sodomy laws into the hands of state legislators, have been stripped away for the most part. At least we are heading in the right direction, which is more than we can say for the drug laws that are ridiculous, especially when they impact the ability for those with chronic medical disorders from receiving medication. At least when there is certification, there is allowance. What I object to is a BDSM certification that is required by law to have and to be followed with someone exercising their right to file a lawsuit against another person not practicing the standard. That, I agree, is going a bit too far. The purpose of the standard here should be to suggest rather than enforce. It would absolutely horrify me if the government started hiring members of the public to pose as sex partners for the purpose of policing sexual activity between consenting adults. I think that this practice is rather absurd when it applies to children who are hired to catch pedophiles. If BDSM certification is going to promote safety without enforcing it, I am in favor to it, but when the government starts drawing the line and dictating sexual experiences, I would rather there be no standards, because that's only going to take society back where we came from and I don't think there is even an exhibitionist who wants the federal government casting an analytical glance in their direction, unless they are doing so just to get off on it. Why not have “individual sex and erotic play… influenced by appointed arbiters of BDSM competence”? Certification is not going to change individual expression, what it can do is generate greater interest. During the 1980s and 1990s, I held BDSM workshops in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington that motivated attendees to explore and experience sides of their sexuality they might never have reached, while offering many a demonstration on safety precautions that guided the BDSM community to adopt safer practices which could have culminated in a fatal situation. The workshops I held did not change individual expression, but they added a degree of safety and awareness that many participants admitted they would have never known had they not attended the workshops.

Certification does not dictate protocol, but rather it establishes a standard. Logically, a standard for erotic play is not going to mandate that everyone follow it. This is, after all, the 21st century. Those hangups that moralists once expressed towards consensual adult sexuality which brought sodomy laws into the hands of state legislators, have been stripped away for the most part. At least we are heading in the right direction, which is more than we can say for the drug laws that are ridiculous, especially when they impact the ability for those with chronic medical disorders from receiving medication. At least when there is certification, there is allowance. What I object to is a BDSM certification that is required by law to have and to be followed with someone exercising their right to file a lawsuit against another person not practicing the standard. That, I agree, is going a bit too far. The purpose of the standard here should be to suggest rather than enforce. It would absolutely horrify me if the government started hiring members of the public to pose as sex partners for the purpose of policing sexual activity between consenting adults. I think that this practice is rather absurd when it applies to children who are hired to catch pedophiles.

If BDSM certification is going to promote safety without enforcing it, I am in favor to it, but when the government starts drawing the line and dictating sexual experiences, I would rather there be no standards, because that’s only going to take society back where we came from and I don’t think there is even an exhibitionist who wants the federal government casting an analytical glance in their direction, unless they are doing so just to get off on it.

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