Volume 2, Issue 26: What I Learned in 2021
Hi friends! Holy shit, we’re almost through 2021 and I am SO PROUD OF US for making it this far.
This year was a rollercoaster of emotions for so many of us. There has been so much loss already from Covid-19 deaths to the ending of relationships due to people choosing white supremacy over love. Add to that the excitement of vaccines then the utter disappointment to learn that people you know are anti-science and the variants, the endless variants.
A lot of folks got a master class in boundary work this year. I found it particularly fascinating because when I was a part of the kink and sex education communities, explicit communication was 98% of what we did. We would communicate what we need to feel safe and supported in ways that I never really encountered outside the communities. Things like safewords and STI testing are ways to be intimate while informing partners about boundaries, consent, and risk. They’re a way for people to say, “This is what I need to feel safe” and an opportunity for others to say, “I’m willing to do this thing to help you feel safe.”