Conversio Virium

Conversio Virium at Columbia University Activities Day Fair

The Columbia University Activities Day Fair is an afternoon in the Fall of each year where all the university’s extracurricular groups take over College Walk, Butler Plaza, and Low Plaza. The fair is a chance for these groups to attract new members, promote themselves, and stand side by side with each other. Of course, Conversio Virium will have a table there, staffed by volunteers like you. The event is open to the public, so anyone who wants to can show up—I hope I see a lot of familiar CV faces that day!

GMSMA meeting: S/M Orgasm

GMSMA‘s first meeting of the Fall 2007 season gets started with a (very pleasurable) bang! The meeting is called S/M Orgasm and promises to introduce or reacquaint you to a number of delectable kinky delights.

Are you yearning for bondage? Felt the thud of a flogger? Been wrapped like a mummy? Locked in a chastity device? Get a taste of these and other s/m delectables at our S/M orgasm evening.

Summer CV: Sunset Before School

This is it, the final Summer CV dinner of the season! Next week, Conversio Virium has its first official meeting of the new school year, so this Monday evening at 8 PM is your final opportunity to get a burger with a two-dollar draft beer special, tater tots, or a black and white milkshake at Big Daddy’s Diner with the rest of your kinky school-bound friends (until next Summer, of course).

The sun’s setting on this short chapter of CV, but I think it’s worthwhile to take a moment to appreciate all that’s happened in only the past half year!

Our club made national headlines and quadroupled our membership almost overnight. We made a splash entrance onto the Internet with our own WikiPedia entry, this web site, our public calendar, and top search results for fun, sexy phrases in Google. We got noticed by bloggers and academics, other BDSM events, and are getting our name out there in all sorts of new ways. And, of course, we’re just getting warmed up!

So on Monday night, go to the top of Big Daddy’s Diner at 239 Park Avenue South between 19^th and 20^th Streets for one final downtown meal together before we kick off the new year with the CU Activities Day fair!

TES meeting: S&M Through the Ages with Brother Leo

The upcoming general interest TES meeting next week is called S&M Through the Ages. This presentation, presented by Brother Leo, may be of particular interest to history buffs but sounds interesting for a number of reasons, least of which is the potential for additional fantasy material. (I know I’ve always wondered what it might have felt like to be a Roman slave….)

The description reads:

TES’s highly acclaimed series returns with a presentation about the Ancient World…the Greeks and Romans, early Christian martyrdom, practices among early monks, worship of the mother Goddess.

Dark Odyssey Summer Camp 2007

If you’ve not yet heard of Dark Odyssey, it’s description is mesmerizing.

Imagine a vacation where you can explore the many facets of sexuality in a private, intimate community of like-minded people. A wholly unique experience which brings together sexuality, spirituality, education, and play in a fun, supportive, non-judgmental, diverse environment where fantasy becomes reality.

[…]

Dark Odyssey is a 4-6 day, all-inclusive, clothing optional Alternative Sexuality retreat for open-minded adults from all walks of life. We gather to explore, learn and play on two hundred very private and secluded acres in Northern Maryland.

However, registration for Dark Odyssey’s Summer Camp is nearing a close so register now if you can make it this season. If not, there’s always next year. :)

TES meeting: The uniform fetish with Sir Guy

TES‘s dominant men and submissive women’s special interest group invites Sir Guy to present on uniform fetishes:

You know she’s a grown woman, but that little catholic school girl uniform does something to you that you can’t explain… He’s coming to write you a ticket, but all you can think about are those polished leather boots, tight motorcycle breeches and leather gunbelt… she’s handing you a pillow but as long as she’s wearing that sexy flight attendant’s uniform, you’re anything but comfortable. the imagery of uniforms in the BDSM scene is almost as old as the scene itself. Why does it move us? Sir Guy will explore this, as well as the origins of uniforms in the leather community, the psychological aspects of uniform play, uniform scenarios, uniform resources and laws to be aware of in public play.

TES party: A night in Wonderland

Our friends over at TES are throwing a party at Paddles

When the sun goes down in Wonderland, it gets curiouser and curiouser… where the impossible can (and will) happen. Come across the caterpillar in the mushroom patch, or converse with the flowers in the garden. But don’t get lost, for the Cheshire Cat may guide you to the right path, or leave you in the middle of the Red Queen’s rose garden. If you think SHE’S mad, well… we’re all mad here… Join us early (8pm) for a special tea party, then we’ll all fall down the rabbit hole together…

I don’t know about you, but my favorite thing about Wonderland has to be the “eat me” cookies.

LSM meeting: Beyond Twisted: Permutations of Kinkiness with Midori

One of the reasons I suffer from clit-envy has to be that I can’t get in to see Midori present at women-only events, like this one called Beyond Twisted: Permutations of Kinkiness being hosted by the Lesbian Sex Mafia. From LSM‘s events page:

A sadist must of course be a dominant. A submissive must of course be a masochist. Right? Wrong! Come along as Midori explodes the standard definitions of kink roles and expands the idea of what kink is all about. In Beyond Twisted, she maps out a fine-tuned and flexible framework that anyone can use to help describe their deviant desires. And as we all know, that’s the first step to fulfilling them! This is a class for those who don’t quite fit into the standard boxes…and for anyone who’s curious about their own possibly untapped potential!

This sounds like an absolutely fantastic meeting, one for which I’m already envious of the audience, because rigid stereotypes plague the BDSM community with much more oppression than many people realize. Midori, an excellent speaker, is sure to have some wonderful insights on this topic.

Oh and hey, don’t forget to tell the lesbian mafia that a boy from Conversio Virium sent ‘ya!

(As an aside, since I don’t check the lesbian sexuality events with any regularity for obvious reasons, I’d very much appreciate someone’s help posting such events to our calendar who does keep up-to-date with the lesbian scene. If you’re interested, please check out the CV announcement about our unaffiliated events calendar.)

Museum of Sex presents “Pink Japan”

For those of us who left our Kinky Japan meeting last year wanting a little more, or weren’t sure how much to believe, the Museum of Sex will be having a Slideshow/Lecture presentation on “Pink Japan: Contemporary Sex Culture”, presented by Midori. The blurb sounds quite promising, and you can be sure I’ll be there. I suggest, buying tickets in advance and make sure to get a student discount if you can.

Here is a selection of the blurb from the site:

From cuisine, music, fashion, technology to anime, Japan’s cultural influence on the West is immense. In many ways the Japanese erotic cultures are also influencing today’s Western tastes. Yet the daily realities of Japan’s gender relations, sexual habits, sexual consumer culture and gay/lesbian/transgendered world remain hidden to us, creating an aura of mystique. In this funny and insightful talk, join Midori for a double-expatriate’’s photo tour of Japan’s hidden sexual culture today.”

Tickets can be purchased at the museum’s front desk or by calling (212) 689-6337 ext. 115.