My experience with BDSM, fetish, and kink fantasy is forever a work in progress. I always play within my competence level, so if there’s something specific you’d like and you’re not sure if I’m trained to do it, please ask. If I’m not, I will happily refer you to someone who might be able to help you.
My foundations for work in BDSM are academic; after all, much of our play takes place in the mind. My work as an undergraduate dealt with gender, sexuality, and cultural politics, and was a strong foundation for me to complicate my understanding of gender identity, cultural expectations regarding sexuality, and what actually comprises our individual sexual identities. This work continues to be crucial and I still pursue this study as a hobby.
My apprenticeship as a professional BDSM practitioner was conducted at The Correction Centre, and took place over 18 months until the business closed its doors in 2013. Here I worked closely with Switch Tova. I have also sought mentorship and training from other Mistresses and switches on a more casual basis, including Domina Vex; Mz Electra Amore and Mistress Gabrielle of The Fetish Palace, Adelaide; and Lady Ambrosia, who introduced me to the industry in 2011.
I now session independently and continue to seek further education through workshops, skillshares, and private one-on-one trainings.
I currently study shibari / kinbaku with the Melbourne Rope Dojo. Rope has a special place in my heart and is quickly becoming one of the most passionate forms of play for me. This is a long-term journey so I am constantly upgrading my skills and practicing regularly. I thoroughly enjoy encorporating rope into my sessions.
I have completed Barbara Carrellas‘ Urban Tantra Professional Training Program, which is designed specifically for sexuality professionals. This was one of the most significant personal and professional turning points in my career, and I am extremely grateful to have been able to access Barbara’s work so intimately. She works on making tantric principles and practices accessible to those for whom some mainstream Western tantric culture does not appeal. The crux of her work is about presence, connection, and what she calls the ‘resilient edge of resistance’. The program contains a BDSM component, and I found this particularly resonant for me. Kink and tantra and rather natural bedfellows, so if this is something you’re drawn to or curious about, please mention this when making a booking.
I have also completed Touching Base‘s PDAT training program, which aims to offer support and skills to sex workers working with people with disabilities. They also have a referral service for people with disabilities and their support networks to connect them with a sex worker who has completed the training. This level of access is important to me, and the premises from which I work in Melbourne is wheelchair accessible.
In late 2014 I also attended Betty Martin‘s ‘Like a Pro‘ training, which offers those whose professions are based on touch to integrate processes of giving and receiving, consent, and asking for what you want into their practices. This was a fantastic opportunity to analyse my approach to play in a collaborative space with other sex workers. I look forward to integrating this learning into my professional sessions in a way that can help myself and my clients get more out of the exchange we engage in.