At long last, I’ve come back to teaching!
Every other month, I facilitate the Hypnokink Enthusiasts’ Group Skillshare at Gallery Erato in Seattle, and I have a few classes in development that I’m very excited about.
More soon!
about kink classes on Zoom
I’m gearing up to begin offering workshops over Zoom, and although I’ve made the decision that I’m comfortable doing so, I think it’s worthwhile to talk about the risks- especially if I’m going to be asking others to join me on Zoom! This is a excerpt from a post I made on my Patreon, lightly edited for this context.
I want to talk a bit about the Zoom platform. As the use of Zoom has skyrocketed in the current pandemic, privacy and security issues have come to light, and I think it’s important that everyone have the chance to make informed choices.
The Guardian has a summary of criticism of Zoom and if you’re on FetLife, you may have read any of a number of posts there detailing the issues. On Wednesday, [Zoom’s CEO made a blog post acknowledging concerns][https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/04/01/a-message-to-our-users/] and committing to a 90 day freeze on new features in order to focus resources on trust, safety, and privacy issues. Unfortunately, I am not currently aware of platforms which offer similar functionality without these problems.
You do not need a Zoom account to join meetings, so if you have not yet created an account, you may wish to think about whether you want to do so and what information you wish to provide. If you do already have a Zoom account you want to use for kink events, please take a moment to check what name you have provided, as it will be visible to other attendees.
One issue which is currently getting a lot of press is “zoombombing” which refers to unauthorized users entering meetings to harass the participants. I’ve looked over Frame Shift Consulting’s advice on dealing with this possibility, and I don’t anticipate it being a problem in classes I present.
I have personally made the decision that my interest in participating in kink events outweighs the risk to my privacy, just as I regularly decide that my interest in attending kink conferences outweighs the privacy risk of providing my legal name and contact information to registration volunteers. I hope that everyone reading is able to come to decisions that both safeguard your privacy to the degree you need and also support your need for education and community.
cancellations and other event news
Sadly, due to the covid-19 pandemic, my classes in Seattle at the end of March have been canceled.
The HEaRT conference in Austin at the end of May has also been canceled. However, they have already chosen dates for 2021: the conference will be May 21-23. I’m planning to be there and hope you can attend too.
I’m slated to present at Beguiled in Chicago at the end of June, but right now we’ll need to wait and see if that event is able to happen. They have currently suspended ticket sales while they wait for more information from their local government and their hotel. If it looks like the conference will be happening and ticket sales open again, I’ll definitely be posting about that!
This is a hard time for all the kink and sex-positive organizations we adore, so please do consider supporting them by attending online classes or just sending donations if you can. I’m exploring the idea of offering distance education, primarily as a way to support the Pan Eros Foundation here in Seattle. If you have thoughts on classes or other offerings you’d like to see online, please drop me a note about that.
I hope you’re well, and able to safely keep your physical distance from others while maintaining your sense of social connection!
Classes in San Francisco in July
I’ve just confirmed two classes at Wicked Grounds!
On Sunday, July 19th, I’ll teach Sadistic Eye Fixation through HypnoSchool. The FetLife entry is here, you can buy tickets here, and the photo for this post hints at some of the class content!
On Wednesday, July 22nd, I’ll be co-presenting Spot the Difference: Goofus & Gallant on Cross-Contamination. The FetLife entry is here and you can buy tickets here!
HEaRT schedule is up!
The schedule is up for the HEaRT of Texas hypnosis conference! You can look at the pdf version or find out about the schedule app they’re using here.
I’m excited to return to Austin at the end of May! I’ll be teaching Slap Me Down: Face Slapping as Kinesthetic Induction, and will also be facilitating Sunday’s unconference. The unconference was a powerful and fulfilling experience last year, and is one of the things I’m most looking forward to this year.
