BDSM News - Aug 23 1999
BDSM News
page for the website associated with the Everett, Massachusetts club called
Restraints. Not exactly an uncommon sight on the web. But the reality is
that the site is not being built, it is being torn down, because the club it
promotes has been closed by local police.
Restraints was an S&M club, where those into "sadomasochism" indulged their
sexual kinks. According to the police, the way in which these people
indulged went far beyond the bounds of what the law would allow. Acts of
unsafe sex, including oral and anal penetrations, occurred frequently there,
according to both the police and a number of the club's patrons.
"The place was downright filthy, the bathrooms were a horror," said one such
patron, a middle-aged woman from New Hampshire who asked to remain
anonymous. But it wasn't just the condition of the club itself. "They let
things go on there that they knew were illegal and dangerous and unsafe."
It is difficult to comprehend the notion of "safe sadomasochism," since it is
the intent of those into sadomasochism to inflict pain onto their partners.
Yet there is a common notion of practicing sadomasochism "safely" among
people who practice S&M (or BDSM, as they like to call it, standing for
"Bondage and Domination and Sadism and Masochism"). Organizations like John
Warren's Boston Dungeon Society, a support network for people into
sadomasochism, advocate what they call "safe, sane, and consensual" BDSM.
Such groups seek to portray sadomasochism as just another valid form of
alternative sexual expression. They hold classes in the technique of
sadomasochism (how to whip someone "properly" without causing bodily harm),
organize social events for sadomasochists to meet and beat each other, and
promote the notion that people into sadomasochism are otherwise "normal"
people and not the ruthless evil sadistic monsters that one stereotypically
associates with sadism. Warren's group was closely affiliated with
Restraints, and frequently held meetings and parties there.
The police report contradicts what people like Warren and his group claim
about the nature of their sadomasochistic activities. In addition to the
unsafe sex acts, acts of sadomasochism that were deemed "unsafe" (even by the
standards of the Boston Dungeon Society) frequently occurred at the club,
including the use of electrical devices on body parts above the waist,
improper and dangerous techniques for "suspension," and using unclean
implements for penetration. "The people who play there don't take kindly to
being told they can't engage in whatever sort of play they want," the woman
added. "The club owners had to tolerate extreme dangerous play by unsafe
people because if they didn't, they'd all pack up their toys and go home."
These are the "players" that people came to see, and if they didn't show up,
no one would. At least, that was what the club owners feared would happen.
So the owners of the club were stuck between a rock and a hard place: either
clamp down on unsafe activities, or let those unsafe activities that people
wanted to see and engage in continue, in order to keep the club open. In
choosing the latter, they risked being closed by the local police, and that
risk came home to haunt them last week. (Ironically, although the club
owners knew they would be closing the club down to forestall litigation and
possible criminal proceedings against them, they continued to sell long term
memberships for the club up to the very last night it was open.)
The owners of Restraints were not available for comment, nor were Mr. Warren
or other members of the Boston Dungeon Society.
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Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Jeffrey C. Albro
about this as far as I know.
Restraints did have safety and cleanliness problems, however, they were
not that bad. Also, there seems to have been a concerted effort by some
members who had been banned form the club for harrasment to close it in
revenge. I suspect that is who wrote this newsletter. Note that there
is no real name attached.
I am going to try to get the extended legal records to give the leather
law project. They had many legal battles (which they mostly WON) but
were not able to stand up to the town in the end. It was really a sad
situation. There are many lessons for would-be club owners here.
-Jeff (Match Stick)
Valky8769 (valk...@aol.com) wrote:
: x-no-archive:yes
: I'd heard about Restraints closing, but understood it was more a police
: created problem than a real one. I've never been there, so *shrug*
: Given the tone of the article, it seems like it was from some local paper or
: other, rather than "BDSM News." Anybody know?
: >It is difficult to comprehend the notion of "safe sadomasochism," since it is
: >the intent of those into sadomasochism to inflict pain onto their partners.
: >
: <snip>
: and
: >Organizations like John
: >Warren's Boston Dungeon Society, a support network for people into
: >sadomasochism, advocate what they call "safe, sane, and consensual" BDSM.
: >Such groups seek to portray sadomasochism as just another valid form of
: >alternative sexual expression. They hold classes in the technique of
: >sadomasochism (how to whip someone "properly" without causing bodily harm),
: >organize social events for sadomasochists to meet and beat each other, and
: >promote the notion that people into sadomasochism are otherwise "normal"
: >people and not the ruthless evil sadistic monsters that one stereotypically
: >associates with sadism
: valkyri,
: wandering off to sleep.
John Warren
BDSMNEWS@HOTMAIL. First off, people should be aware that the poster, who as
far as I know has never posted to SSBB before, has no relation to Carter
Steven's newspaper and while the post states that I was "not available for
comment," in fact, I was never contacted. Both my email addresses and
telephone number is widely available so it can be suspected that there was an
ulterior motive in operation here.
There are several inaccuracies in the post. Perhaps the least important
(although dear to my heart) is the contention that The Boston Dungeon Society
is "my group." While I founded it, the group is run by a service board and is
about to be incorporated as a formally nonprofit entity. I do not even take an
active role in advising although I'm available should they request my help.
While this is not significant in the larger issues raised in the post, I feel
it is important that groups be run by their members and, after founding BDS,
Libby and I consistently worked toward that goal and are rather proud that it
has been accomplished.
While Restraints has had cleanliness problems, it has almost been surgical
compared with places like The Vault and Hellfire. Rather than an
institutionalized grunge, their problem have resulted mostly from a lack of
help caused by a perennial lack of funds. One should remember that greater New
York with a population of 11 million supports two or three clubs. Greater
Boston's population edges the one million mark. This means a proportional
support base. Volunteers from Restraint's members worked hard but they can
hardly be compared with a paid cleaning crew.
Restraints' present problems date from the ejection of a member who went by the
names of Petronius and Gothmuscle. He was removed because a number of
complaints had been lodged against him in regard to harassing female patrons.
Despite having a reputation as a bit of a careless player, particularly where
blood play was involved, he mounted a campaign against Restraints presenting
unsubstantiated complaints similar to those seen in the original post.
However, both because many of the local scene had been to Restraints and could
compare their experiences with his claims and because... well, because
Petronius is Petronius, he was largely ignored. The good side was that
Restraints did become a bit cleaner about this time.
Spurned by the BDSM community, he found an ally in the mayor of Everett who at
this time was in hot water with the electorate having been caught with his… and
several relative's hands in the cookie jar. The mayor recognized a good
distraction and set out to "rid Everett of the sinners." The situation was
aggravated when flyers purporting to come from Restraints were tucked under the
windshield wipers of cars parked at a local church during services.
The upshot was that one of Petronius playmates, a Purringsub (spelling may be
approximate) brought an undercover cop to Restraints and vouched for him,
enabling him to get a membership. He is reported to have observed Ramp, the
owner of Restraints, fisting a woman. This led to a charge of sodomy. The
city used the threat of this charge and the long prison sentence which could
result to convince Ramp to close.
For another neutral view of the situation and of the people involved, I
strongly recommend the newsletter of CUFFS, a BDSM group in Maine. Their
website is http://members.aol.com/cufsmaine.
--
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