Safety in the Shadows: Kink vs Toxicity in Dark Dynamics

with vahavta

a live online workshop with Wicked Grounds

3/8 2pm Pacific

Concepts such as consensual non-consent (CNC), degradation, humiliation, and the intentional imitation of abuse cycles are all valid ways to express power exchange and kink. They can also quickly blur the lines between "healthy" and "unhealthy."

Through the sharing of stories, research, strategies, and communication tools, participants will be empowered to navigate these complex relationships and discern between dark dynamics and toxic behavior. We will emphasize the significance of communication, active listening, understanding, boundaries, and care within darker elements of total power exchange (TPE) and discuss preventive measures to minimize the risk of harm, along with ways to course-correct if an unhealthy dynamic is identified.

PRESENTER:

vahavta began her kink journey about a decade ago and has been grateful to get to teach, play, and learn in communities in North Carolina, Chicago, St. Louis, and internationally. Today, she serves her husband in a 24/7 CNC-based Total Power Exchange with heavy elements of emotional play and service. vahavta is disabled, Jewish, and femme, and believes in approaching kink with a firm understanding of intersectional context. As an educator, she aims to give honest and risk-aware information that applies to the realities of human behavior, focusing largely on the "how" and asking people to consider their personal capabilities, interests, and readiness. Passionate about community collaboration, vahavta is proud to run the Risk Evaluation Database (RED) and contribute regularly to kink blogs and her own Fetlife writing index. In all aspects of her life, she strives to be a work in progress.

ACCESS:

This will be a live, online class offered through Zoom. To participate, you may need to download the free, basic version of the Zoom app before the class! This class will not be recorded and is not available for later viewing.

Zoom now provides closed captioning, which will be available for this event.