Society of Janus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Society of Janus booth at Folsom Street Fair, 2004

The Society of Janus is the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society)[1] and is a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group.[2]

The Society of Janus is

power exchange. They publish a monthly digital newsletter
called Yellow.

History

The Society of Janus was founded in August 1974 by Cynthia Slater and Larry Olsen.[2] According to the Leather Hall of Fame biography of Slater, she said of the Society of Janus:[3]

"There were three basic reasons why we chose Janus. First of all, Janus has two faces, which we interpreted as the duality of SM (one’s dominant and submissive sides). Second, he’s the Roman god of portals, and more importantly, of beginnings and endings. To us, it represents the beginning of one’s acceptance of self, the beginning of freedom from guilt, and the eventual ending of self-loathing and fear over one’s SM desires. And third, Janus is the Roman god of war—the war we fight against stereotypes commonly held against us."

— Cynthia Slater

A group called Cardea, a women's discussion group within the Society of Janus, existed from 1977 to 1978 before discontinuing. A core of lesbian members of Cardea, including

feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983, and was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States.[6]

The Society of Janus was one of the founding coalition partners of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, which was founded in 1997.[7]

In 2004, the Society of Janus Hall of Fame was established.

In 2014, the Society of Janus held their 40th Anniversary Dinner, Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Play Party, which was awarded "Best Organization Anniversary Event" at The SF Leather Community Awards for that year.[11]

In 2017, the art installation known as the San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley was installed; in it Society of Janus cofounder Cynthia Slater is honored with a metal bootprint displaying her name and a short statement about her.[12][13]

In 2018, the Society of Janus was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.[14]

See also

References

  1. .
  2. ^ a b "About – Society of Janus". Soj.org. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  3. ^ "2014 Leather Hall of Fame Inductee: Cynthia Slater (1945-1989)". Leather Hall of Fame (Inductees List).
  4. Archive.org
    .)
  5. ^ Cameron, Drake (December 2002). "Drake's Event Guide for Leather Women". The Exiles. San Francisco. Archived from the original on 8 February 2005.
  6. .
  7. ^ "History of NCSF". National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  8. ^ "The SINS Center Weekend with Guy Baldwin". Sinscenter.com. 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  9. ^ "Making the Connection: Guy Baldwin | San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance". Leatheralliance.org. 2012-02-12. Archived from the original on 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  10. ^ "Society of Janus". Erobay. 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  11. ^ "Awards & Archives". San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance. Archived from the original on 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  12. ^ Cindy (17 July 2017). "Ringold Alley's Leather Memoir". Public Art and Architecture for Around the World.
  13. ^ Paull, Laura (21 June 2018). "Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway – J". J. Jweekly.com. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  14. ^ "> Inductees". Leatherhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2019-12-31.

Further reading

External links