A Zine of Rope and Rebellion

We spend a lot of time in this community contemplating power. How inherent it is in our practice? Who actually has it? How do we neutralize it in certain moments and amplify it in others?

We are a community of people who navigate spaces on the margins of society, who differently face stigma for our involvement within this community and other communities that intersect ours (queer communities, trans communities, polyam communities, etc). And as such, we are well positioned to interrogate power that exists on a much greater scale than the power that we play with. Who has the power to create the margins in which we play? To create the stigma that we seek shelter from in these communities? What purpose does it serve? How do we neutralize it?

 A nuanced analysis of these issues helps us to create more inclusive spaces and communities. It helps us to sharpen our politics within and outside of the kink scene. And in a sociocultural moment that is witnessing dramatically increasing inequality, this feels as important a quest as the quest for perfect tension (so, pretty fucking important). Because the world and its problems are so big and overwhelming, and being one person walking through this earth feels lonely and small. But this community of ours is something special- and being in it feels big and powerful. We hold so much capacity for care and compassion, cultivated through the intensity of what it is we do. And we can utilize that care and compassion for more than just good sex.

 Hopefully, within these pages, you’ll find folks who are engaging in this power analysis for the sake of making this community, and the world better. Hopefully, within these pages, you’ll learn of people like you, who are critically examining their place in the kink community and the world and are connecting those dots. Hopefully you find your people. <3

-fuoco