At Knife Point: Artistry with Blades

Marilyn & Rio
Saturday, 3:00 PM
@ Sidewinders

Knives are scary! And sexy, passionate, and fun. We’ll talk about different types of knives and related toys. We’ll also discuss the basics of playing with different kinds of knives, and how to make it hot. We’ll give you some ideas about how to integrate knife play into scenes, and negotiating. There will be spicy demos, and plenty of time for questions and sharing.

Empowerment is my Kink: Emotional Intelligence and Transformative Authority Exchange

Sir Quill & His Mercy
Saturday, 4:30 PM
@ Sidewinders

In light of sex-positive approaches to kink and the eroticization of power, consensual authority exchange as practiced in certain styles of BDSM can have positive, lasting, and transformative effects on our day-to-day lives. Successful, consensual authority exchange relationships require self-awareness, vulnerability, and transparent communication. Such skills enhance accountability, authenticity, and self-expression, directly and holistically contributing to the overall cultivation of an emotional intelligence skill set, and often having beneficial effects regarding emotional well-being and resilience. Through a discussion of the four facets of emotional intelligence, this presentation will discuss how D-types and s-types uniquely become catalysts of change beyond our private spaces, and how authority exchange can allow us to walk in our authenticity as we navigate our way through the world.

Dom-ly Doms and Simpering Subs: Overcoming D/s Stereotypes

Marilyn & Rio
Sunday, 10:00 AM
@ Soft Corners Studio Center

Society and the Leather community have conspired to paint pictures in our heads about what it means to be Dominants and submissives. And people in these roles are plagued with being “not enough” or “not doing it right”. In this class we’ll discuss the range of what it means to be on either side of slash, “Imposter Syndrome,” how to find your authentic voice, and how to let go of the “should be” stereotypes.

Meet the Instructors

Marilyn & Rio

Marilyn and Rio, Mistress and collared slave, served as Northwest Master and slave 2023. Marilyn is a Master, a sadist who likes to play very hard, and a control freak with an intense blood lust. Rio is a butch leatherdyke, a knife fetishist, a hopeless romantic, and is obsessed with service. Their home club is the Exiles, where they spent many years as officers. They are also active in MAsT SF, where Marilyn is the Director. Rio is currently the Secretary of the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance, and served as Ms. San Francisco Sober Leather in 2016. Together and separately they have taught, judged, MC’d, tallied, and sung at many events across the country, including Northwest Leather Celebration, Southeast Leatherfest, Southwest Master/slave Contest, International Ms. Leather/Ms. Bootblack, Leather Leadership Conference, the Folsom Street Fair, and more. And they delight in welcoming people into the M/s, leather and kink communities. In her non-kink life Marilyn is a computer professional with two adult gender-variant children, and is active at her synagogue. Rio is a career bookseller, a published author, and an award-winning painter. But nothing makes her happier than to be naked at home serving her Mistress.

Sir Quill & His Mercy

Sir Quill & His Mercy have over 35 years combined experience as educators in higher education and the outdoor industry respectively, specializing in cultural & gender studies, leadership development, and risk management. Sir Quill is a polyamorous Dom, and Master to Mercy, His polyamorous pandemisexual switch. In their classes and through their “Please Kink Responsibly” Substack, they explore transformational authority exchange, and how our identities and power are connected to our deepest spaces of vulnerability.