Dates: Tuesdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26
Time: 7:30-9:30pm
Location: Wayfinding Academy | 8010 N Charleston Ave
$173. Scholarships available.

What is kink? What draws people to these activities and these communities? We’ll talk about everything from the “why” to the “how,” and we’ll make kink something that’s not only accessible, but enjoyable for anyone. 

This course will cover the mild to the wild, from hair pulling and blindfolds to bondage and spanking and more. We’ll talk about rough body play (perhaps you call it rough sex?) and ways to play with only your hands and items you find around your house, plus options for people who want to dive into the world of toys. 

Class will include show-and-tell as well as some live demos, and even a few chances for students to try a few of the things shown, such as rope bondage. All demos will be done fully clothed, and practice time will be limited in scope, so don’t worry about anything we try being too scary! You’ll also leave class with a vast list of additional resources if you’d like to continue diving into the world of kink on your own.

This class is suitable to anyone and everyone who is curious about kink, whether for your own life, or for academic or professional curiosity or growth. 

This course is sponsored by Spartacus, who has kindly donated lots of freebies Stella will be giving away to students!

And thanks to She Bop for helping us spread the word about this course!

Week One: Setting the stage. For starters, we’ll get on the same page with vocabulary, talk about reasons people like playing with shadows, and begin the dive into our own fantasy worlds. (Sharing with the class is always optional!) We’ll also talk about the more psychological forms of play, including dominance and submission. 

Week Two: Communication. How do we do kink well? Surprise, it’s the same as sex! Talking, talking, talking. We’ll cover communication and negotiation to help you build the scene of your dreams. And although we’ll be focusing on kink, these tools will apply across the board to your intimate interactions with other people (and yourself!). We’ll cover negotiation techniques that focus on feelings rather than acts, as well as using kink to foster intimacy and connection. 

Week Three: Ready to learn some techniques? We’ll cover the softer side of kink, showing options for sensation play (feathers, fur, ice, etc.) and forms of play that only require your hands, from pressure points to grabbing, scratching, and spanking. In the second hour, you’ll see a show and tell of a variety of kink toys as well as learning about their uses, ways to negotiate for impact play, and areas of the body that can take impact — as well as where and what to avoid. 

Week Four: Rope bondage! Rope bondage is one of Stella’s most popular classes, and in this version, you’ll learn the basics to get you started playing right away. Best of all, you can practice everything on your own, so no worries if you aren’t attending with a partner. Everyone who attends will receive Stella’s rope bondage ebook, so you’ll have a take-home refresher for everything you learn, plus the resources to dive deeper. Practice rope will be provided, but feel free to bring your own if you have it. 

Stella Harris is uniquely qualified to teach an intro to BDSM. In addition to being a kinkster in her personal life, Stella is a Certified Intimacy Educator and Sex Coach who uses a variety of tools to guide and empower her clients, and she teaches everything from pleasure anatomy, to communication skills, to kink and BDSM. A regular at SheBop and KinkFest locally, Stella also teaches at venues and conferences across the country (and Canada!), most recently appearing at Dark Odyssey: Surrender in San Francisco and Kinky Kollege in Chicago. 

Stella’s teaching dives deep into feelings and motivations, and, as her training might suggest, has a focus on intimacy and communication. In fact she’s such a nerd about communication that she wrote a book about it — look for Tongue Tied: Untangling Communication in Sex, Kink, and Relationships this September from Cleis Press. Stella also writes a sex column for the Willamette Week, and her work appears in several kink-centric collections including As Kinky As You Wanna Be and The Big Book of Bondage. Learn more at www.stellaharris.net or follow @stellaerotica on Twitter or @stellaharriserotica on Instagram.