Power Play Mixed-Tape--Team Theory

by Turtle

It’s time again for the sexiness that is Power Play Mixed-Tape (PPMT) this Saturday, 5/7! Non-members can join the party by attending New Member Orientation immediately before the party, and members can still get tickets for the party only. Come get your pervy groove on with the hottest vibe and the chillest party team!

The Power Play Mixed-Tape Team Theory is a huge part of what makes this event and our team so special. Our Team Theory bonds us as a group, makes us stronger, and helps us create a stronger party that is more fun for everyone.

• We appreciate each other following certain guidelines. We use sincerity, specificity, presence in the current moment, and a non-hierarchical team structure. That means anyone can appreciate anyone else in the group regardless of perceived status. It doesn't matter whether you're the leader or the setup crew or behind the scenes, we expect everyone to look out for what is best for the group and the party so our community can have the fantastic experiences they expect from the CSPC and PPMT. Sometimes this means noticing when someone is doing something great and complimenting them, and sometimes this means speaking up in a positive manner when something can be improved.

• We try to keep up with each other at least a little bit outside of the party, like just poking our head in and saying, "Hey, how's it going?" We focus on really noticing that someone has a life outside of the party. If they're sick we say, "Please take care of yourself. You are important!" (and mean it!), and then look around for someone to fill in their place for the night. Each individual volunteer is important, and we want to help them be the best human that they can be. 

• We also pay attention and look for the best person to fill a volunteer spot on our team. We try to see who people are, and whether their personalities will fit the group. The Leads discuss it before we approach someone and say, "You really have a great skill set that will really fit with our team. Would you join us?" Our goal is to actively build a team that wants to be together. That makes volunteering together more fun!

• We do little things for each other just to have our own small traditions to make it more fun. Maybe it's a card or we bring in cookies or stickers for each other, or we do something for the party attendees that month like plan a flash mob to a particular song, but it's something that we as a group bond over. We as a group are one entity doing something special to give back to our community, and that's something really cool to do. 

The opportunity to be part of a volunteer team is part of what makes the CSPC the vital community resource that it is. It's important to volunteer to support your community. I grew up in an immigrant family with a deeply ingrained value for volunteering as a way to give back to our community. Whether you made jam, fixed a fence, quilted, helped build a barn, or collected garbage along a road, everyone pitched in to make our small community a better place to be. The connections built while volunteering are absolutely priceless.

So join us as a party guest at PPMT this Saturday night for a booty-shaking good time, and talk to one of our team members about their experience as volunteers at the CSPC. We’d be delighted to help you find the team that lights you up and adds even more joy and connection to your experience with the CSPC!

Buy your Power Play Mixed-Tape tickets here: PPMT with New Member Orientation or PPMT party only.

Learn more about volunteering here. It’s also not too late to join the online training for Registration and Monitor roles from 4:30-6:30 on May 12!

Community Matters--Updates from the Board

For the upcoming in-person events in both May and June, the CSPC will continue to uphold our current COVID precautions: we will continue to require mandatory proof of vaccination; mandatory masking except for eating, drinking, or using your mouth in a scene; and we will cap event attendance at 120 tickets sold in order to maintain space for social distancing. As folks begin to attend larger gatherings where masking isn’t mandatory (restaurants, sporting events, art and music festivals, etc.), we are seeing an increase in case counts in our region. Please consider taking a rapid test at home before attending events at the CSPC to help take care of each other and reduce transmission within our community (free rapid tests may be available here). Thank you to all our members for your ongoing willingness to care for each other’s safety and comfort.

As the CSPC continues to expand our in-person event offerings, volunteering is more important than ever! All our sex-positive resources and events are for members, by members. Involvement as a community volunteer is great for both new members and long term members. Make new friends, learn more about the opportunities for connection and growth in our sex-positive communities, and enjoy the satisfaction of providing essential support for all the hotness you enjoy as a member! Event volunteers get into the parties where they work for free, with time for play before or after their volunteer shift. For more information about volunteering, including links to the volunteer application and online volunteer orientation (on demand), visit us at https://thecspc.org/volunteering.

Now is an even better time to get started with volunteering, with online training for Registration and Monitor roles happening from 4:30-6:30pm on Thursday, May 12! 

Stay safe, stay sexy!

March with the CSPC at Pride!

Pride is coming! On June 26, the CSPC will be marching in Seattle’s 2022 Pride Parade. As an organization for our members, by our members, we are looking for at least 25 members who are excited and enthusiastic about dressing up and showing Seattle what sex positivity means to you! You might even get to help carry our banner or hand out buttons and other swag to the onlookers along the parade route.

You will need to commit to gathering on Sunday morning with the rest of the CSPC marching contingent on 4th Ave, between Pike St and S Washington St, for staging before the parade begins, then shake your groove thing for the crowds for the next few hours as the parade moves through downtown ending at Seattle Center. All participants are required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. So if you’d love to show off your finest fetish gear, cutest critter costume, or whatever outfit brings out your Pride, contact us at pride@thecspc.org. We’d love to have you help us share the joy of free and authentic sexual expression at the 46th annual Seattle Pride Parade.

Consent Corner 2.13

by Emma Atkinson and Rachel Drake

Hello again!  It’s officially spring and we couldn’t be happier.  We hope you’re digging it too.  

Springtime seems to bring thoughts of newness - everything old is new again, right?  It’s getting easier to enjoy the wonders that nature has to offer.  

How does the thought of kinky camping sound to you?  Got a new play partner and want to spend a weekend exploring each other?  Want to try out a new toy?  Want to meet new and interesting people - people like you?  Want to spend a weekend with fifty or so of your favorite sex-positive friends?  

By popular demand, the CSPC’s kinky camping event - The Frolic - is back!  It’ll happen in July (22-24) and in August (5-7).  

And we’re excited to tell you that Consent Corner will be there, helping you hone your consent skills.  You heard it here first - tell your friends!  It’s just one more reason to take some time to savor our sex-positive community.  

Homework:  check your calendar and see which of the CSPC Frolic dates works for you - it might be both of them!  Follow up as desired. 

“Be excellent to each other” - Bill and Ted

“Be sexcellent to each other” - Emma and Rachel

Say What? Sex Positive Dictionary

by Eirikah Delaunay

I had such a fabulous time at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival (SEAF) last weekend! I got to have hundreds of short, sexy conversations with festival patrons at the sponsorship table for my sex+relationship coaching practice, Desire Alchemy, using my “Let’s Talk About. . .” conversation cards. One of the things that came up over and over again was just how many definitions people have for the words we use in the sex positive community, and how confusing related words can be–edging vs. edge play, for instance. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of how many different kinds of play people with different experiences might classify as edge play.

To help folks better understand each other in the context of our shared sex positive community, the CSPC is seeking assistance from our members to create a crowd-sourced Sex Positive Dictionary. We’ll share a short list of words here in the newsletter periodically to solicit YOUR definitions to be shared with your peers in an online resource, similar to the Urban Dictionary.

In April, we shared five words for your definition generation pleasure. Huge thanks to those who submitted! Some sample responses:

• Brat–A bottom/submissive who tends to act out in ways that are likely to bring chastisement, restrictions, or punishment from their Top/Dominant, typically for the mutual enjoyment of both. Usage example: “I love giving a brat the spankings they are clearly asking for.”  –7

• Genderfluid–Identifying as two or more genders (not necessarily feminine or masculine), in a way that shifts between those genders over a period of time. Usage example: “I am male-bodied but I fluctuate between being in nonbinary-identifying and strongly female-identifying modes.” –7

• Impact Play–Sexual or sensual consensual play in which some implement is used to hit another’s body.  Implements can include:  hand, flogger, whip, wooden spoon, cane,and paddle.  Know which parts of the body will be happy to get that impact and which will cause lasting distress. –M@

• Primal–An animalistic/primitive style of play, often with aspects of consensual non-consent (chasing, wrestling, capture, etc.) and unrestrained expression (scratches, bites, growls, and the like). Also, a kink identity as one favoring such play, sometimes with Top/bottom identities such as “primal Dom/sub/hunter/prey/switch.” (Not to be confused with Optimus Primal: roleplaying as an Autobot for purposes of seducing Megan Fox.)

• Sensation Play–Using a variety of objects or techniques to create different physical sensations, such as fur, feathers, claws, knives, temperature play with ice or hot wax, etc. Can include scratching, biting, pinching, stroking, and other sensations. Might also target other senses besides touch. –E

Our words for May reflect common questions from our newer members:

• Bottom

• Top

• Scene

• Scene Name

• Safeword

How would you define these terms in your experience? Tell us at sexpositivedictionary@thecspc.org! Be sure to include the initials you’d like us to use to identify your contributions. We may share them on Discord, social media, and the newsletter, as well as the dictionary platform when it’s complete.

Have a Spanking Good Time at LaQueer!

By 7

The first time I had a plan to attend LaQueer, I was riddled with anxiety. I didn’t have anything really queerfabulous to wear, so I often came across presenting as cisgendered. My Domme persona only really comes out in dynamics and scenes with submissives, and I had no partner to bring along. Was I queer enough to hang out with the cool queer people?

A very wise friend has informed me that this kind of imposter syndrome is basically an indicator that yes, I am queer enough. Because people who are not queer do not have anxiety about whether they are queer enough to hang out with the cool queer people.

So I’m passing on this message to you. You are queer enough, and we love that about you! Come out to LaQueer and be part of our weird and wonderful community. 

We’ll have a tour of the space for people new to the Gallery, volunteers to help with any questions/advice you might need, and this month we’re trying an Impact Line of Dominoes: Anyone willing to participate will form a circular line, each with a toy of choice. One person will be the first to spank the person in front of them, who will then spank the next person, and so on, all the way around the circle. Circles don’t end, so this might continue round and round until we all fall down! ;-)

The fact that you get to perv on (and possibly take part in) some creative and smoking-hot scenes set to music by amazing queer artists will be icing on the cake.

Just a Taste of Wicked Wordplay

By Eirikah Delaunay

Wicked Wordplay is coming soon! Join us online next Wednesday, 4/27, from 6-8pm to share a half hour of co-writing time followed by readings by writers who choose to share their smokin’ hot words with the group.

Your co-hosts, Chel and Eirikah, offer a prompt to guide your writing if desired, but you are free to follow your own erotic and creative impulse. During reading time, writers can share their freshly written words or something else they’d like to read to our appreciative collective. Not a writer, but love storytime? This event is for you, too! 

At our inaugural event in March, the writing prompt was “Play Space: Imagine your ideal sensual/sexual environment. Is it a BDSM dungeon, wild outdoors, cozy bedroom, or some other special place? Write a detailed description.” The brief extracts below offer just a little taste of some of the pieces shared by attendees that night:

The sunlight slant on your warm skin, playing off your fur; the silver and gold of your bristly, close-cropped beard; the soft brown of your chest hair and sparkling ginger of your still-damp belly and groin. You are so relaxed, stretched out on our air mattress. I envy you your quick transition after the hazardous trek back from the makeshift shower across the rocks, and roots, and mud of the campsite. I’m still struggling to kick off my boot, wet foot refusing to let go as I wobble wildly, half in and half out of our tent, trying to keep the dirt out, now that we are finally clean. You’re laughing at me, even as you reach up to steady me, hand pressed firmly against the back of my thigh.

–Skitty

This is it. The lighting set to low—goddamn LEDs looking fine as hell. Red cast on everything, the sheets, the pillows, the wood, the leather.

We’ve wanted this for years, my love. Talked about the st. andrews cross and the automatic fucking machine. We’ve joked about the firmness of positional pillows, and the wall of whips and paddles. The displays took too long to make, had too many splinters, and god, who can forget the paint spill?

The crash, the blackness draining from the bucket all around you on our carefully laid plastic sheeting. How you covered your face and apologized for your clumsiness. How I ignored your embarrassment and climbed on top of you, pushing you into the tar-like sea. Black handprints on your paint shirt, black strokes on your jawline. My kisses left no mark but a memory.

–Chel

They gave others on the street a wide berth, since they liked to go maskless outdoors. The road to the beach was downhill the whole way, and even in November she stopped to take pictures of the unseasonable flowers or the pattern of mulch left in the gutter after a hard rain. At the beach, the water stretched into the distance, small, insistent waves lapping the shore. A few dog owners strolled idly in the shoreline park, watching the ferry boats come and go.

They settled on the bench she liked, the one that was slightly sheltered from the wind by a large rock.

“I want to give you a treat,” she began. “May I?”

He was curious about what sort of treat she could possibly give him on the public park bench, exposed to so many watchful eyes. “Yes,” he said with only a little hesitation.

–Eirikah

They met at a Starbucks and decided to walk into the woods, except the woods were just a small stand of trees at the edge of an apartment development, more like the representation of woods. He held her hand as they walked into those trees, looking around for a spot of green thick enough to hide them from the road and the apartment windows. While he scoped it out, he listened to her talk about her favorite poets. A part of him would have gladly listened to her opine on poetry for hours, but another part of him pushed her firmly against a tree, smiled, then kissed her deeply. That tree became their first impromptu play space. He pushed his body hard against hers. After minutes of soft kisses, he pulled back, then rested his palm against her cheek. He waited a moment, kissed her once more, then slapped her face lightly – just barely enough to sting. He kissed her again, and this time her kiss was warmer, more open, like she wanted to melt into him.

–Ophir

Join us to hear more, with content so fresh it’s still steaming! Participation is free for CSPC members and $5 for non-members. Be sure to RSVP here to receive the zoom link for next week’s Wicked Wordplay!

Leadership Spotlight: Fleur Bellerose

This is the eighteenth of our spotlights on community members who volunteer with the CSPC in leadership positions. In this issue, we’ve asked some questions to get a deep and personal look at our Discord Coordinator and Party Champion of Kinderkritters: Wired (an online ageplay/petplay event coming May 28!), Fleur Bellerose.

• Name and/or scene name:

Fleur Bellerose

• Pronouns:

She/they

• How do you identify (this can include gender, sexual orientation, kink or BDSM roles, etc.)?

I’m a polyamorous, panromantic, demisexual, nerdy, transgender demigirl. I’m a collective of personalities (DID) working together in a single body. I am the matriarch of House Bellerose. In kink scenes, I’m mainly an ageplaying switch, but I often have big Mommy domme vibes.

• How long have you been with the CSPC?

I began volunteering in May 2021. After moving to Washington in the middle of a pandemic, the CSPC has provided opportunities and spaces that I would never have thought possible.

• What brought you here and what are your main areas of interest?

Originally, what brought me to the CSPC was its events. Prior to Covid, I was hosting ageplay events in Michigan, and when I heard about Fucking Precious and The Sandbox I saw an opportunity to volunteer and perhaps even to educate my local community while I follow the science behind ageplay and age regression. Like many ageplayers and regressors, my interests in these topics began long ago, though I only began including this side of myself in relationship dynamics in 2016. I couldn’t be happier with that decision.

• CSPC e-mail address, title/role, reasons for contact/areas you cover:

You can reach me at discordcoordinator@thecspc.org. I’m currently acting as the Discord Coordinator, which means I run the CSPC’s Discord server and oversee everything that goes on there while providing additional organizational tools to its volunteers and board members, as well as a welcoming social media platform to its volunteers and any interested members.

• What was your path to your current position?

As I’ve been managing online communities for over a decade, and running Discord servers since before it became one of the most popular online communication platforms, hosting cozy online spaces comes as little challenge. When I began volunteering, the CSPC was searching for someone to run its Discord server. When I filled the position, there was a massive overhaul of the server to be done, and I’m now also self-hosting a Discord bot to help with moderation tasks and user-friendly features like self-assignable Discord roles. Since then, I’ve been seeking out other volunteer opportunities within the CSPC to help serve my local community.

• Which CSPC event is your favorite and why? 

Thus far, The Sandbox. Having a virtual event based around ageplay mid-pandemic was a massive boon to my partners and I. One of my littles will never forget one of the stories told there, and to this day she’ll giggle and blush if you look at her and say, “bee bo”!

• Career or day job (industry, position, or whatever you're comfortable sharing):

Surviving by any means necessary, just as many others.

• What do you like to do in your free time?

I legitimately enjoy the work I do in community leadership, and that’s part of what I do as a passion and hobby. I cook for my House, and do so quite well. I’m a nerd, and play a lot of different types of video games, board games, and tabletop games. And every now and then, I’ll take a blushing newbie little under my wing to show them the ropes.

• Living situation (partners, roommates, pets, plants):

I’m currently rooming with the partners in my polycule. They and I are House Bellerose, and the bonds between us have become nigh unbreakable.

• Something no one would ever guess about you or a fun fact:

I’m autistic, with ADHD, CPTSD and DID. For those of you whom that means something to, I say this: if you can’t find a place for yourself in the world, make your world fit to you. Find people that love, accept, and care for you, and show it every day regardless of your flaws.

• Turn-ons and/or squicks: 

Turn ons? Ageplay, diapers, hypnosis, petplay, edging, intelligence, spanking, chastity, rope, and bondage. Both in submissive and dominant roles and probably in that order too, unless bondage mixes with ageplay, in which case it goes right to the top! All of these are huge turn ons for me though, along with humble intelligence. I’ve been experimenting with impact and primal play in dominant positions, and I’m curious about how I’d look in leather. But most of all, consent. It ain’t hot if you can’t not.

Squicks? For one, disrespect in its many forms, whether it’s a lack of communication or a violation of boundaries. I’m definitely not a pain slut. Watching others inflict pain on someone’s most sensitive bits is unsettling to me, as is blood play. Scat grosses me out. I’m not here to shit on anyone though, YKINMKATOK. (Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That’s OK)

• Hopes and concerns for the CSPC and/or the greater sex positive community:

Education is key. Knowledge is power. I want to help provide my local community with as much knowledge and as many tools as possible to continue progressing sex-positivity as a widespread part of modern culture.

• Advice for a new member or volunteer: 

Definitely put yourself out there as much as possible. Make sure to be patient, as we’re all volunteers here and have lives outside of the organization. Finally, don’t lose heart if you mess up, as it’s part of the learning process. Be honest, admit your faults, and always seek to know more.

• Is there an event or organization, outside of the CSPC, that you feel our community should know about?

Absolutely. Huge shoutout to Aimee and her Bluestocking Bookshop back in Holland, Michigan. I began running events in person for the first time at her bookshop. Without her, I probably wouldn’t be here volunteering with the CSPC! Another huge shoutout to our volunteer DJ Napalot who took these photos. Hit him up here if you want your own: djnapalotpro@gmail.com.

• How can we build up each other? How can we be here for one another?

Accept honest mistakes. Life is a journey and learning is a never ending process. Be forgiving as a default, but also do not put yourself at risk doing so. Love unconditionally, but also know to love oneself. Be honest and communicate efficiently, including when it comes to one’s own needs. Be your own priority when you must, but give back whenever possible. Balance is essential.

Huge gratitude from the CSPC to Fleur and our other volunteers! Interested in supporting your CSPC community by joining in the volunteer action? You can learn more and begin the volunteering process with the online orientation at https://thecspc.org/volunteering.

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Community Matters--Registration and Monitor Volunteer Training!

By Sakari

Mark your calendars! Registration and Monitor volunteer training via Zoom on May 12!

Hi CSPC fam! Are you volunteer-curious? Do you have a drive to help your fellow community members? If so, think about taking an advanced volunteer training class with us! The CSPC is hosting a big training day on May 12.

From 4:30pm to 5:30pm there will be Registration training for anyone interested in facilitating our front-of-house operations. If you have experience in customer service and like the idea of greeting our party goers while smoothing their way to kinky enjoyment, this could be a great opportunity. 

From 5:30pm to 6:30pm we'll have a Monitor training classroom. Monitors are a key component of our mission. If you're passionate about consent culture, responsible kink, and just plain helping your fellow community members, please consider becoming one of our Monitors by taking this first step. Once the classroom portion is complete, you get the chance to sign up for a shadow shift at one of our parties to complete your training. 

If you'd like a chance to make a bigger impact at the CSPC, please join us in our online Zoom meeting space on May 12 at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81161509712?pwd=U2QrbDNzSjV4VW1tb3JSSkNUbVBhQT09.

See our website for more information about becoming a volunteer. If you have any questions please send emails to eventsdirector@thecspc.org. 

Hope to see you there!