When BDSM Company (皮繩愉虐邦) staged its first public bondage/domination and sadomasochism (BDSM) show in June, two Next Magazine (壹週刊) journalists wrote a report on it using sensational language and unauthorized photographs, questioning whether the performance was “a crime against public decency” (妨害風化).
As part of the Taipei Fringe Festival (台北藝穗節), the same troupe will debut a new theatrical performance titled You Can Be the Kinky Star! (你就是SM片最佳男女主角!) about a group of BDSM enthusiasts auditioning for a BDSM movie. After the NT$500 show, audience members can pay an additional NT$500 to gain hands-on experience with the troupe. Experts will assist participants in arranging and engaging in BDSM performances, and a professional photographer will be on-hand to record it all. The activity is limited to those who have seen the performance.
Members of the company stress that while their performances are theatrical, they are not only about entertainment.
Photo courtesy of BDSM
“We share similarities with theater people in the sense that we are more aware of the limitations our society and culture impose on our bodies,” said Song Jia-lun (宋佳倫), one of the group’s founders. “Theater is a medium, making BDSM more accessible to the general public ... Perhaps through performances, audiences will be more conscious of what limits and represses their bodies and try to break free. We would be happy if audiences stopped seeing [BDSM practitioners] as perverts and pick up an easy trick or two, like tying hands or blindfolding, and tried them at home.”
Founded in 2004 by a group of like-minded people who met on Huakuei Sex (花魁藝色館), a bulletin board which supports the rights of sexual minorities and hosts related discussions, BDSM Company was launched as an activist group for Taiwan’s BDSM community. The group is an active participant in the annual Taiwan Pride Parade. Members have given lectures and held discussions at colleges across the country, building a Chinese-language archive of BDSM-related educational materials on the company’s Web site (www.bdsm.com.tw). Some members, including Song, take a more political approach and work at the Green Party Taiwan (綠黨), which supports sexual diversity.
However, the group’s liberal stand on gender roles in erotic practices sometimes conflicts with BDSM enthusiasts who hold more conservative views, Song says.
“What we do now is focus on changing the negative views outsiders hold on BDSM rather than serving insiders ... Our imagination and understanding of BDSM can be vastly different from many other practitioners,’” she said.
The group holds a talk every month with the aim of raising awareness of BDSM. Anyone is welcome to share their ideas or simply chat and meet people.
“There is no topic or theme,” said Song, who is better known as Shihyeh Queen (十夜女王) in BDSM circles. “What happens, happens. Maybe people will show up with ropes and start giving a bondage lesson. Who knows?”
The monthly gathering takes place every second Saturday of the month at G Straight Cafe (直走咖啡) at 18, Ln 27, Dingzhou Rd, Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市汀州路三段27巷18號). Visit the group’s Web site for updates.
BDSM Company’s productions on Sunday at Nanhai Gallery (南海藝廊) and on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 at the Comedy Club sold out two weeks ago. If you don’t have tickets, but still want to learn about BDSM, bondage artist Shima Malphas from Japan will perform late tonight and tomorrow (“definitely after 11:30pm,” organizers say) at Show House (秀屋) at 161 Daguan Rd, Greater Taichung (台中市大觀路161號). For more information, call (04) 2251-5888 or visit www.show-house.com.tw.
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
Even by the standards of Ukraine’s International Legion, which comprises volunteers from over 55 countries, Han has an unusual backstory. Born in Taichung, he grew up in Costa Rica — then one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — where a relative worked for the embassy. After attending an American international high school in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, Han — who prefers to use only his given name for OPSEC (operations security) reasons — moved to the US in his teens. He attended Penn State University before returning to Taiwan to work in the semiconductor industry in Kaohsiung, where he
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the