I'm a 19 year-old straight guy who really likes getting a good spanking. The problem is, I can't find any women who would actually like to spank me... Do you have any suggestions about where or how to meet women who could be into spanking young men on campus?
—Asking For It
While placing an ad á la ""Hackers"" is always an option (""Disappointed white male, crossdresser, looking for discreet friend to bring dreams to reality. Leather, lace and water sports. Transvestites welcome.""), Madison offers an impressive scene for a smallish city. There are (currently) no kinky social organizations specific to the UW campus, but many students are able to meet people through local community orgs.
One of the first options for the college-age crowd is the Madison Area Whippersnappers. According to their website, madisonareawhippersnappers.org, MAW is a ""pansexual kinky group for people 18 to 35 years old. We educate the younger sections of our local kink community in a comfortable environment and help build safe, non-threatening spaces for both education and socialization around Madison.""
The Whippersnappers have munches the first Saturday of every month, and an organizational meeting the third Monday of the month. A munch is an informal gathering of kinky people, usually in a public setting. It's an easy, casual way to meet people who may share your kinky interests.
Another good option is Satyricon. Their website is satyriconmadison.org, and they describe themselves as ""a non-profit, pansexual group in Madison, Wisconsin that supports the free and open exploration of safe, sane, and non-exploitative BDSM as practiced by consenting adults."" Unlike MAW, there are no age requirements or restrictions for Satyricon membership (except 18+). Satyricon meets for munches the second Saturday of every month.
The reason I listed these two organizations first is because they have an educational focus, and some readers may be interested in learning more about kink or specific techniques in addition to meeting people to potentially play with. Some kinky things can't be learned from a book or through an online chat—to most effectively reduce the risk involved in an activity, sometimes we must be shown techniques by an expert.
If you know exactly what you like/want, there are many other events/organizations in Madison with a more exclusively social focus. Use the Google machine to check out First Friday, Sabbat de Sade, Madison Kinky Crafters, Leather and Lace, or the MadTown Kinkfest for more on the local scene.
And speaking of using the interwebz, many sites are set up to allow for meeting people in your community. One particularly popular one is fetlife.com. Fetlife.com is free to join and currently lists 912 Madison kinksters. Another option which allows local navigation is recon.com, though this website caters exclusively to gay men.
Lastly, just because UW doesn't currently have a kinky organization doesn't mean that nobody does, or that one cannot be started. Kinky U is an educational and social discussion group at the University of Minnesota. The Kinky Cardinals can be found at Ball State, and Iowa State is home to the Cuffs. Information for starting a new UW student organization can be found at the Center for Leadership and Involvement website, http://cfli.wisc.edu/student_organizations.htm.
How come you can't get herpes from a toilet seat if you can get colds or other viruses from a touching a doorknob?
—Germophobe
Not all germs are created equal, Germophobe—they differ in the ways in which they are transmitted and in how well they survive outside a host. Though it is possible for herpes simplex (types 1 and 2) to enter the body through a break in the skin, it most commonly gets in through the oral/genital mucosae (soft, moist tissues). Additionally, the virus does not remain viable outside the body for very long.
Generally, unless you're vigorously rubbing yourself all over public toilet seats, it's the tougher, keratinized skin of your butt that's making contact. This means a person who has herpes is not super likely to deposit virus on the seat in the first place, and even if s/he did, a) it would die shortly thereafter and b) it would be highly unlikely for the next person to position him- or herself in a way that put the virus in contact with the most infectable tissue.
Cold and flu viruses, on the other (hopefully washed) hand, can live for up to 48 hours on a hard surface like a doorknob, according to the Mayo Clinic. And since these viruses are typically transmitted through the respiratory epithelium, an absentminded nasal scratch deposits those doorknob germs right at their specific entrance to your body.
Thanks to AFI and Germophobe for their questions this week, and to all readers who have been writing—thank you! The sex column, like sex, is better when all parties are enthusiastically participating, so keep it coming—again, and again, and again.
Want more Britney Spears lyrics as headines in the future? Want to learn more refined spanking tips? E-mail Erica for all this and more at sex@dailycardinal.com.
