Ropes, scarves and neckties awaited curious students in the Rosa Parks conference room at the Educational and Referral Organization for Sexuality’s Kink and Bondage workshop Wednesday.
The 83 person crowd wasted no time engaging in the workshop as instructors Shay Tiziano, “expert kinkster” and education director of the SF Citadel, and Jade Taylor, a health education student, led the discussion.
“I’ve been tied so tight I’ve experienced some nerve damage,” psychology major Morgan Bockelman said proudly at the workshop as attendees shared their past experiences with bondage.
While the workshop was full of laughter and energy during knot tying demonstrations, the event addressed the larger issue of ethics and safety within the bondage community.
“I’m glad that she focused on awareness and safety,” said Fredrick Raie, a gender studies student. “I’m new to this so it was a good introduction.”
EROS is an ASI funded program that provides safe sex materials, referrals to other organizations and resources, and hosts workshops like the kink and bondage event.
The program even has it’s owe collection of pornographic movies that can be rented out to students.
“I know for a fact that there are two former students in there,” Heather Russell, the director of EROS said with a smile, although she wouldn’t say which titles.
The collection includes films that depict presentations of safe sex, are feminist in nature and are locally produced.
At the workshop, the demonstrations came to a climax when Tiziano asked Taylor to shimmy off her panties to be used as an impromptu mouth gag. Taylor, who has assisted Tiziano in workshops for over five years, said that it was a little different doing it in front of her peers and classmates.
“It was an interesting experience,” Taylor said. “It’s something I had never done before, so I was a little uneasy at first, but once the class got going it was great.”
“(The audience) was super great,” Tiziano said. “I never know if I’m going to get the deer in the headlights.”
While EROS likes to present sex in a fun, lighthearted way, their main purpose is education and talking about sexual subjects that have historically been taboo. Last month the group hosted a workshop on prostate pleasure that went beyond explaining how to reach the male g-spot and addressed stigmas of prostate stimulation within the straight male community .
“Sometimes we never know what we’re going to get with a guest,” Russell, said. “(Tiziano) covered the nitty gritty while also addressing safety, gender issues, things that we try to promote.”
