Turns out lots of people were hungry for the information we had to share. What had started as mostly gay men and lesbians was now much closer to the demographic of the population at large. It was a paradigm shift for the leather community. It was a pansexual event, meaning we welcomed gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, straight and pretty much anything in between. It didn’t just support itself it fulfilled our mission to educate and welcome anyone with a sincere interest in what we now call “kink.” And from that day forth, we never looked back.īeyond Vanilla was a success. That first year, in a now-defunct hotel on Mockingbird Lane at Harry Hines, we brought in a fair-sized crowd. It was a big step and a financial risk for NLA-Dallas. I have yet to find it, but I feel sure it will surface (hint, hint).įinally, the event outgrew Resource Center, and we moved it to a hotel venue. One year it even featured a fetish fashion show, of which there is apparently video still hanging around. In later years I helped plan and expand the event to a full day of workshops at what is now Resource Center. I have participated in Beyond Vanilla for most of those 25 years, though in the early days as an attendee and not an organizer. Heck, I had real doubts whether I would even be around 25 years later. If asked in 1990 if I expected to be seeing an event like this 25 years later, I would have laughed. Every aspect of Leather/BDSM/Fetish/Kink is explored, and often in hands-on ways. That is a quarter-century of kink, and it is stronger than ever.īeyond Vanilla, presented by the National Leather Association-Dallas Chapter, still features safer-sex alternatives, but it has expanded to include much more. It was so good that what started as a one-night-a-week workshop has now become a full weekend of kink and entertainment. Still the idea that sex could be spiced up and still remain safe was a good message. What was covered was a bit tame to me after all, I already had some experience in the realm of kink. They were mostly a group of gay men in the leather community who wanted to educate people on the many activities that make up BDSM (Bondage, Discipline and Sado-Masochism) that were actually quite safe when it came to transmission of disease.Īt the time the only disease anyone seemed concerned about was HIV/AIDS, and after several years of “condom-only” sex many men were looking for safe alternatives. I had pretty much expected another “Here’s how you use a condom” session, but the presenters intrigued me. It was a class to explore ways to keep sex hot while keeping it safe. It was a Thursday night in 1990 and I had decided to attend a meeting at the Resource Center presented by the unlikely pairing of the Dallas County Health Department and a group called the Disciples of de Sade. Beyond Vanilla started 25 years ago as a small safe-sex workshop
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