Dossie Easton

Dossie Easton, a long time player on the San Francisco S/M scene and well-known killer bottom, is co-author of The Ethical Slut, The New Bottoming Book and The New Topping Book, When Someone You Love Is Kinky and most recently, Radical Ecstasy: SM Journeys to Transcendence. She is a licensed psychotherapist working with individuals, couples and more in her private practice, with a particular interest in how SM journeys into Shadow can bring old wounds into the healing light of consciousness and and give them a shot of life force in the form of good hot sex. An active sex radical since 1961, Dossie was a member of the first Board of Directors of the Society of Janus in San Francisco in 1974. In the eighties under the name of Hidebound Leatherware, she had a business crafting whips and restraints. Currently she makes her home in the mountains north of San Francisco , travels around to teach at conferences all over the world, and spends her nonexistent free time hiking the hills declaiming filthy poetry to the vultures and hosting outrageous pajama parties. You can check out her website at www.dossieeaston.com.

Bio Current as of December 17, 2008

2009 Presentations:
Ethical Sluts -
As all the wonderfully different kinds of people we are, we play many different roles with many different people, and many of us hope that many of them are sexual. How do we manage our (sometimes very) nonmonogamous lifestyles with full respect for all the members of our sexual constellations? How do we deal with conflict, jealousy, time, roles, mundane life and all that, and manage to have fulfilling and connected relationships with all our lovers? How do we stay in love with so many gorgeous people?

In this workshop we will explore communicating about and working with whatever that complex of emotions is for you that you call jealousy. You can dig into and safely move into ownership of your jealousy while you learn to take care of yourself in a kindly and loving manner if you feel jealous. You can immediately apply the jealousy unlearning skills as you meet emotional challenges of new friendships and loving connections. These are the skills that successful sluts have used to make a community of lovers where everyone gets her needs met and no one gets done wrong.

This year, a special bonus: the second edition of Ethical Slut will be hot off the presses, not available till April, 09 at the earliest, and Dossie will have copies available for sale and signing.

Radical Ecstasy -
Ever had a scene that lifts you out of mundane reality, setting you free to fly into the realms of bliss? You may think it's spiritual, you may think it's magic, you may not know what to think, and it will definitely feel wonderful. We will explore activities and techniques that raise energy to help achieve transcendent states during BDSM. Participants will do exercises drawn from yoga, tantra, kink, guided meditation and more. Whether you're a dedicated spiritual journeyer or a skeptic who believes that crystals belong in salt shakers, this program will give you new tools for building connection, transcendence and heat in your BDSM practice.

We will explore an ecstatic breath during this workshop, so please wear loose clothing and bring a pillow or blanket to sit on. Please come on time: the doors will be closed after the workshop begins because we need to teach safety at the beginning. Thank you.

PLAYING IN THE SHADOW OF CULTURAL TRAUMA -
Roleplaying characters from the dark side of our cultural history, actively playing into real historical oppression, violence, bigotry, and downright evil, can be highly controversial in our communities. Many choose not to, and that's fine. Others find healing in exploring trauma from their personal or ancestral histories, with S/M roles as their vehicle for traveling into deep Shadow.

When we explore the risky side of our fantasies we can reclaim forbidden feelings, live out all of our personae, explore archetypal roles, and use the special boundaries of an erotic role play to safely experience parts of ourselves that could have dreadful consequences in our real lives. In this workshop we will learn how to provide for emotional and physical safety as we plan our journeys into the shadowy sea of our deepest fears and longings. Who are your precious inner victims and villains? How can you enact them, how can other people interact with them? And then what might happen? As a therapist, Dossie has been invited into the darker sides of many people's psyches, and has much to say about how our fantasies can inform our growth and also promote wonderful loving connections and healing sexual journeys. A whole lot of our fantasies have very dirty roots. And how else will we grow roses?

Surfing the Pain -
Some bottoms ride pain as if it were a wave, full of joy, laughing and giggling, flying on a magic journey with their tops, possibly screaming and writhing but obviously loving it. Ever wonder how they do it? This workshop will demonstrate that there is as much skill and art in bottoming as there is in topping. We will look at breathing, body tension and relaxation, ways of receiving pain, ways of delivering it, timing, pacing, rhythm, and all the other tools that tops and bottoms employ to travel with pain to amazing destinations. Dossie says: "Sometimes I feel like my tops throw me off a cliff and then I fly and the top gets to ride." We will discuss useful tools, and then there will be a blistering demo.