|
|
|
For more information contact: jeanluc@disciplinemagazine.com
www.disciplinemagazine.com
SENSUOUS SADIE: The new issue of Discipline magazine just came out.
What are you focusing on?
JEAN-LUC: "Our last issue is the biggest yet. We have several
really good columnists that touch on many different issues facing the
lifestyle. The new issues features includes an interview with the
Mediaeval Baebes, an interview and review with the producers of the new
documentary 'Alternative Loving,' a new look for 'the leather chef,'
some humour with our kink-o-scopes, some fiction with Slave Wages and
our comic strip Symbiotika. I think this is by far our best yet, and we
are very excited about it. The magazine is going to be on sale in 110
stores, including a couple in the US. If you check on the publication
page, you will find all the retail outlets. We are also looking at
finding some new stores in the US too. If anyone knows of a shop we
should contact, please email me."
Sadie: I understand you've been involved in the BDSM community for
some time. Please tell me about this.
Jean Luc: "It all started about 10 years ago. A buddy took us to a
club night. It was fun, though, not well organized or attended. I met
the guy who had set it up, and offered to help him out. We tried to
organize a few things, without much success. That went on for a couple
of months. Then, six months later, I tried again to set up a fetish club
in Ottawa, again, not too much success. A year and a half later, I met a
new sub, and we tried again, and this time, we found a niche. We had a
decent (not great) location, and we took the time and money to make a go
of it. Since then, I have run a fetish night in five different
locations, in Ottawa, and Montreal. I have had the opportunity to see
pretty much everything. As we developed the different clubs, we came
with an idea about 3 years ago to do a newspaper/magazine for the scene.
Something like Fugues in the gay world. Our first attempt at Wildside
Magazine was a flop. But, it's resurrection as Discipline has really
taken off. Clubs I have ran were... The Royal Canadian Lifestyles club,
The Wolfs Lair, The Lair, Shackles 2, and Fetish Montreal. I have also
been very lucky to be able to participate in many events in eastern
Canada. For some reason or other, unlike the US, there isn't any big
organizations that encompass smaller clubs. That might be a future
project."
Sadie: How would you describe your philosophy/approach as it pertains
to the BDSM lifestyle? Are you dominant, submissive, switch?
Jean Luc: "I am a Dom. Some might even say a natural Dom. I have
never had problems finding partners. I am kind of lucky that way. I am
certainly more into the mindplay aspect of things. I find some of the
best scenes are done without a paddle or whip or any toys for that
matter. To me, it's about intensity of the mind as far as I am
concerned; the scene is about having fun. If you aren't enjoying what
you do then maybe you should get out. I like to stay positive, and enjoy
life. I find that sometimes, our scene can be so negative, and I would
just rather stay away from those elements... life's too short."
Sadie: Are you currently in a relationship?
Jean Luc: "I have been in a fabulous relationship with Claudia now
for a year and a half. We live in a great little apartment in Montreal
with our three cats, and three fish. Luckily, the cats don't seem to
want to eat the fish... at least not so far. Claudia is a wonderful
woman. She is a programmer. We met at a fetish club a couple of
Halloweens ago."
Sadie: How long have you been involved in the BDSM scene? Please tell
me a little bit about your background and experience.
Jean Luc: "I am always learning, but have pretty much tried it all.
I have had stable with up to 8 subs, and also been part of monogamous
relationships. I really enjoy paddles, fireplay and mind/psychological
play."
Sadie: Do you have any special interests in the BDSM world? Toys?
Special skills?
Jean Luc: "I don't use torches when I play with fire. I use my hand
to put fire on my sub, just a personal thing. From my hand to your (body
part) you feel my fire."
Sadie: How has BDSM changed your life? If you had a choice, would you
rather have been a regular "vanilla" person?
Jean Luc: "It hasn't really changed my life. I think back about my
teenage dating years, and see D/s in those relationships too; so, I
never was in the 'vanilla' frame of mind. Just I put a label to it in my
early 20's."
Sadie: What are the biggest challenges you've found in growing in
your D/s lifestyle?
Jean Luc: "Creating a balance between D/s and real life. You can be
domly 24/7 it can be who you are, but you can't scene 24/7 and finding
that balance in your relationships can be very difficult. I don't know
that I have or ever will find that perfect balance. I don't know that
that is possible, you are dealing with two people, and to have it
perfectly timed and match is not easy."
Sadie: Which BDSM groups are you involved with? Are you active in the
organization in addition to being a participant?
Jean Luc: "As of the moment, none. There really are no such
organizations in Canada, though a few seem to be developing. Hopefully,
something will come up, where I would join; however, there is always a
question of time."
Sadie: What are your thoughts about how the BDSM community is
changing as it moves into the new millennium?
Jean Luc: "Most of it is pretty good. There seems to be alot more
'working together' type spirit. The internet has brought lots of new
exposure, lots of new people. It has made it more anonymous, though that
can also be a fault. It becomes very easy to sit on the sidelines and
complain & whine if you don't have to look at someone in the face. I
think the community will have to stop killing off its leaders. In every
city you see scene folk backstabbing people who are trying to do stuff.
This is unfortunate, and hopefully, as people realize what they are
doing, eventually, the experienced folk will try to curtail these
things.
"There is a saying in French, tout le monde veut que tout le monde
l'aime mais personne aime tout le monde. Meaning everyone wants everyone
to love them, but no one loves everyone. I think if you keep that
thought in mind, it always brings a certain perspective on things. There
is very much a new feeling of community as far as clubs working together
within and outside it's immediate city if we all pool our knowledge and
experience, our scene can develop and progress to where the gay scene is
today as far as acceptability is concerned. I hope."
Sadie: What do you think about educating the vanilla community about
what we do?
Jean Luc: "To a certain extent, if they are willing to learn, in
particular the consenting adult part, yes, absolutely. We also though
must be careful of the image we portray, and the people we associate DS
with. I don't know that being so closely tied in with the Marquis De
Sade helps... I don't think all his scenes were necessarily
consenting."
Sadie: Any pet peeves about the BDSM lifestyle in general?
Jean Luc: "People that bitch and whine, but yet, that can never get
up and do better. Like, if you aren't happy and you don't like what is
happening, shut the hell up and show us better. We have all heard the
'there not enough women, men, subs, tops, etc. and then trashing people
or places because of it. If you think so, well, then do something about
it. I never will trash someone who is running an event, it is extremely
difficult, and generally quite unprofitable, so, to those people who are
willing to put up the effort, I instantly respect and admire."
Sadie: How did your approach to BDSM change over time you've been
exploring this side of your sexuality?
Jean Luc: "It has progressed in my skills and knowledge and
experience. But I don't know if I could pin that down. What kind of
advice would you give to novices starting out in the lifestyle? Have
fun. Take everything with a grain of salt. Listen and learn. There is no
right or wrong way (except consent) so don't let anyone get you
down."
Sadie: Do you have any particular areas of education or
specialization that you would like to educate our readers about?
Jean Luc: "Our new issue of the publication does have a story from
one of our writers on how yoga and BDSM are related Is there anything
else you'd like to share with our readers? We are looking at creating an
American Discipline issue. As in a specific US publication. If anyone
would be interested in writing or know of possible advertisers or stores
that might sell the publication, please let us know. My email is jeanluc@disciplinemagazine.com
or through the website at www.disciplinemagazine.com."
Sadie: Do your vanilla friends know that you publish Discipline
magazine?
Jean Luc: "A few. I outed myself to some people at the work
Christmas party in December. I figured with all the time off I am
taking, I might as well, especially since a few members of our club work
at the same place. People actually did not react badly at all. Some even
grabbed the magazines right out of my hand."
Sadie: What's the focus of the magazine?
Jean Luc: "The idea is to give a 'news' forum to the scene. It's
primary goal is to act as a link between fetishists, and talk about what
is going on locally: who's doing what, where, when. We try to have news
from as many places as possible. We list local events and are always
looking for local content (interviews, local writers, that sort of
thing)."
We are an information-based digest size publication. This is not your
typical glossy photo filled fetish magazine, nor will it become that. We
think it's got to be affordable and relevant, so that people can keep up
with what is happening around them.
Sadie: Why did you decide to do a magazine?
Jean Luc: "When I had the club in Ottawa, we produced a four-page
newsletter, similar to yours. Then about three years ago, I thought it
would be great if our scene had a pansexual 'news' type publication that
was accessible to many. So, silly me, I thought it, then for some reason
I had to act on it."
Sadie: How is it distributed?
Jean Luc: "We do all the distribution ourselves. We ship to local
fetish and adult oriented shops, fetish clubs, and BDSM related
organizations. People can also order a subscription through the website
or the magazine itself."
Sadie: How can people order it directly from you?
Jean Luc: "Just send us a check or money order, etc. We will ship
anywhere we can. The magazine costs $4.99 plus shipping (typically
around $2). Send a money order to Discipline Magazine PO Box 60156
Montreal, Qc Canada H2J 4E1. We ship in plain unidentifiable envelopes.
You can pay for single copies by money order or Paypal $7.75 (includes
postage) directly via Paypal to claudia@ircbar.com/."
Sadie: How's the website going?
Jean Luc: "Right now it's pretty basic. You can see our current
cover and a list of stores where the magazine is available. We should
have the full website up and running soon. When you click on the cover,
you will see the cover of our first three issues, and the table of
contents, telling you what each magazine featured as far as articles
go."
Sadie: What are your writers guidelines for the magazine?
Jean Luc: "We prefer emailed submissions in Microsoft Word or plain
text format. Columns or news pieces can be from 3 - 500 words, poetry
less than 150 words, fiction from 5 - 700 words, and feature stories
(non-fiction) from 12 - 1400 words. Topics are generally open and not
set by us, except for the feature story, which we usually assign. If
it's a recurring column, we would appreciate knowing your idea in
advance. Deadline for submissions is one month before the release date
for that issue. We translate just about everything into French and
English."
Sadie: Thank you so much for your time.
Jean Luc: "Thank you very much for chatting with me!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sensuous
Sadie is the author of It's Not
About the Whip: Love, Sex, and Spirituality in the BDSM Scene (http://www.trafford.com/robots/03-0551.html).
She is the founder and leader (1999 - 2001) of
Rose
&
Thorn
,
Vermont
's first BDSM group.
Comments, compliments and complaints, as well as requests for reprinting
can be addressed to her at SensuousSadie@aol.com
or visit her website at www.sensuoussadie.com. Sadie believes the universe is abundant, and that sharing information
freely is part of this abundance, so she allows reprints of her writing
in most venues.
Copyright
2003 Sadie Sez Publications
|
|
|
