Metro Vancouver Kink newsletter

September 2008

Introduction

Annual General Meeting

"This is how we do it at MVK!"

MVK announces its second annual general meeting, which includes our year in review, a question and answer session with the incumbent board, and the election for the new board. This is your chance to meet MVK's leadership, learn what we've been doing for the past year and what we want to do in the future, make your voice heard and help chose the future leaders of your organization.

To run for election, you must have a voting membership, available the day of the election, and a valid nomination form. Self-nomination is allowed. Your nomination must be seconded by another person with a voting membership. Both you and the person who nominated you must be present at the election for your candidacy to be valid. You may apply for a named board position (President, Vice President, Secretary or Treasurer) or one of the Director at Large positions. In the event you are nominated for a named position but are not elected to the position, you may opt to be placed on the ballot for a Director at Large position. Nominations can be filed via email after September 18th, 2008, during the afternoon session on October 4th or at the beginning of the AGM in the evening.

There will be two rounds of voting.

The first is for the named board positions: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.  Election will be by secret ballots. In the event there is only one candidate for a named position, that candidate will win by acclamation.

The second round is for Directors at Large, to a maximum of 5. In the event there are no more than 5 candidates, those candidates will win by acclamation.

We will also elect an Ombud position, a community representative to the board of directors.

Voting membership costs $5.00. A voting member may cast one proxy vote for a person who is not present by purchasing a proxy voting membership ($5.00) with a properly signed form.

Time: October 4th, 2008 2:00pm-4:00pm Nominations and orientation with the incumbent board. 7:00pm doors open 7:30pm-9:00pm Annual General Meeting. Followed by October play party.

Location: Capri Hall, 3925 Fraser Street, Vancouver BC

See www.metrovancouverkink.com/agm for more details, or email contact+agm@metrovancouverkink.com

September Party

September 6th: Vancouver Dungeon workshop and play party

MVK presents Vancouver Dungeon workshop and play party on September 6th, 2008. Featuring the Red Light Room!

Location: Capri Hall (wheelchair accessible)

3925 Fraser Street @ E.24th, Vancouver, BC

For Facebook users, install the Facebook Carpooling application from http://www.zimride.com/. You will be able to arrange rides with other attendees, once you have the event in your list.

Transit:

#8 and #25 buses will bring you there. After the regular buses stop, N8 still runs!

Please check Translink for details

The last scheduled bus, at the nearest timing points are:

8 Northbound: 1.07am

N8 Northbound: 2.48am (every 30min)

8 Southbound: 2.00am

N8 Southbound: 3.33am (every 30min)

Pride 2008

MVK's pride parade contingent made a great impression, with our taiko drummer and our human pony cart. Thanks to all of our participants and volunteers.

You can see photos of the Pride Parade at http://www.flickr.com/groups/mvkpride2008/pool

Slick

MVK's new all-inclusive bath house night, Slick was a surprise hit on August 26. We had a better turnout than we expected, and people reported enjoying the facilities at Friction in downtown Vancouver.

Watch this space for future event announcements.

Meetings

In the interest of transparency, MVK's board meetings are open to the public. If you want to speak your mind, please attend. Our meetings are posted on our web site's front page and our calendar.

Our next board meeting is on Tuesday, September 2nd, 6:30pm-8:30pm at the meeting room at 909 Mainland & Smithe, Vancouver BC

Munches

The BDSM community has traditionally held casual dinner gatherings for people interested in BDSM to socialize in a low-key manner. Come out and meet the community. All open-minded people welcome.

Vancouver West Munch:

Location: Boston Pizza, 190-1333 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC.

Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM, August 6th and the first Wednesday of each month.

Vancouver East Munch:

Location: The End Cafe, 2360 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC.

Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM, August 20th and the third Wednesday of every month.

News

Glenn Marcus gets retrial

Marcus' conviction for his conduct in a long term master/slave relationship was overturned, and he was granted a new trial. He was prosecuted under human trafficking law that wasn't in effect when the relationship started.

Link

BDSM people not sexually abnormal: Australian study

An Australian study found that kinky people were no more likely to have been coerced into sexual activity and were not significantly more likely to be unhappy or anxious.

Link

Editorial

There's been a lot of talk about the profusion of new munches and other social gatherings in the Vancouver Scene: the under-30 munch, the over-35 munch, etc. People say there's clique-iness and exclusion, that this will balkanize the Scene instead of fostering a sense of community.

First, is this is a problem at all? People taking the time and effort to promote and host events is what this community needs. They deserve encouragement and gratitude, not people sniping at them on Fetlife.

Second, this is a self-correcting problem. If there's a sufficient demand for an under-30 munch or other specialized group or event, then there is a need being met, and the event serves the community. If not, it will die out from lack of interest.

Munches have a vital function in the BDSM Scene of outreach to the curious and the newcomers. When people take their first step in actually meeting kinky people face to face, their first impression is often formed by the people they meet. Some people will go to their first munch and wonder, "Why am I the only person here under 30?" "Why is everybody else white?" That's a surmountable obstacle, but some will be put off by that. That feeds the self-perpetuating perception that BDSM is something middle-aged white people do, and diminishes the community's diversity and vitality.

I started quite young in the Scene, 22 years old, and for a very long time I was usually the youngest person at any BDSM event. I've done this long enough that I've seen at least two generations of Vancouver scene leaders come and go, and become part of one. Now I'm old enough that I'm no longer considered "youth" in the scene, and there are events I can't attend because the red jewel in my palm would start blinking. (If you get that reference, you're probably too old to go to the under-30 munch.)

There will be a generation of leadership after this one, and the time to invite them to start is now. We live in a time when teenagers are coming out publicly as gay or trans, when before they might have lived in the closet for years and not come out until later in life. Kinky people in their teens and twenties should also be recognized, supported, and provided with information and resources.

Masthead

Editor: Peter Tupper, president and communications coordinator. Contributions by other MVK Board Members. Published monthly by Metro Vancouver Kink Society.

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