Center for Sex Positive Culture

The Center for Sex Positive Culture (CSPC), formerly known as The Wet Spot,[1] is a non-profit, membership-based organization located in Seattle, Washington.[2][3][4] It organizes events and provides space for several different sex-positive subcultures, notably BDSM, swinging, and polyamory groups. CSPC welcomes people of all sexual identities and seeks to encompass all consensual sexual practices.[5] The Center is a 501(c)(7) recreational club; its sister organization, the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture (renamed Pan-Eros in 2018[6]) is a 501(c)(3) charitable/educational organization.[7][8]

Center for Sex Positive Culture
Formation1999
TypeNon-profit
PurposeSex positivism
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington
Region served
United States
Websitethecspc.org
Seattle's Center for Sex Positive Culture main building was demolished in 2017 and relocated to Gallery Erato at 309 1st Ave S

The organization held its first event, a fundraiser, in March 1999.[9]

Mission and vision

The mission statement of the Center for Sex Positive Culture:
The Center for Sex Positive Culture encourages the exploration and celebration of the many facets of human sexuality. Through an encompassing variety of events, created by and for its membership, the CSPC seeks to educate, to facilitate consensual open sexual expression and dialog, and to provide a venue for fellowship and community.[5]

The vision statement of the Center for Sex Positive Culture:
As proponents of sex positive culture, we believe that the appropriate uses of sex extend beyond reproduction. They include creating personal pleasure, bonding interpersonal relationships, promoting spiritual growth, and enhancing emotional and physical health. In a sex positive world, everyone has the freedom and resources to pursue a fulfilling and empowering sex life.[5]

Membership and activities

The CSPC's primary location is at Gallery Erato, a building in downtown Seattle. The building is operated by Pan-Eros,[10] and is used by the CSPC on a per-event basis. Membership is open to anyone over the age of 18 who has attended an orientation class and agrees to the organization's rules of conduct. There is also an annual membership fee. Volunteers organize and run most events.

There are many different on-site and on-line events that occur on a monthly basis. "Offerings include BDSM focused events, sex and sensual touch focused events, bondage focused events, fetish and fantasy focused events, art focused events, socially focused events, and events specifically for new members."[11]

The same physical space is used in various configurations for different events. Some have only tables and chairs, other prominently feature dungeon equipment with an adjoining social area, plus private spaces for those who wish to avoid voyeurs.

Annual events organized by the CSPC or Pan-Eros include:

History

Founded in 1999 as the Seattle Sex Positive Community Center. Socially speaking, it is an outgrowth of Allena Gabosch's Beyond the Edge Cafe, which hosted BDSM related events. Several regulars of the cafe started discussing getting a dedicated space for their activities. One famously quoted "It would be great if we could get 200 members." In fact the idea became more popular than they envisioned; in its first year The Wet Spot registered about 2,000 members. In September 2007, they reached 10,000 registered members, although not all of them are current members. In 2007 the organization also changed its name to the Center for Sex Positive Culture[1] and opened a second, "annex" building.

In November 2008 the Center for Sex Positive Culture was scrutinized in a KOMO-TV report regarding the Center's non-profit status,[12] and the sexual activities which occur there. The story was criticized by Dan Savage[13] and others for inaccuracies, and was later pulled from the station's website.[14]

Building problems with new space, shutdown and acquisition of a new space

The Center lost its long term home in late 2016 when the building they were in was sold to developers, and rebuilt as a commercial storage facility.[15] The Center was supposed to open in a new building at 1514 NW 46th Street, in the Ballard section of Seattle in the summer of 2017. However, the new space fell through due to unexpected major seismic upgrades required by the City of Seattle. In April 2018 the Foundation announced a name change to The Pan Eros Foundation and that a new home location for both the Foundation and the Center had been acquired.[16]

In the new space at Gallery Erato, The CSPC regrouped under the leadership of a new board, and started organizing events again, though at a lower frequency than the original location in Ballard. At the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic, both CSPC and Pan-Eros were required to cease in-person operations as of March 2020, which also led to the cancellation of that year's Seattle Erotic Arts Festival. Both organizations pivoted to online events, and in the middle of 2021, resumed some events with limited capacity and protective-measures in place.[17][18][19]

References
  1. Gabosch, Allena (2008-02-26). "A Sex Positive Renaissance". Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  2. "The Stranger, Hot Town". Retrieved November 7, 2005.
  3. "Sexuality.org". Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2005.
  4. "The CSPC". Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
  5. "Mission and Sex Positive Vision". Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  6. "Big Announcements". Pan Eros.
  7. "About the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture". Center for Sex Positive Culture. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  8. Holden, Dominic (2008-11-25). "Beat Off". The Stranger. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  9. Allena Gabosch, We've come a long way Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Director's blog on official site, July 19, 2007. Accessed online 15 October 2007.
  10. "Big Announcements". Pan Eros.
  11. "What happens at the CSPC?". thecspc.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  12. Savage, Dan (2008-11-17). "Maybe It Wouldn't Be a "Problem" If They Called It a Church? | Slog". Slog.thestranger.com. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  13. Savage, Dan (2008-11-18). "Dan Lewis Needs to Apologize Too | Slog". Slog.thestranger.com. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  14. "Beat Off by Dominic Holden - Seattle News - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper". Thestranger.com. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
  15. Help Re-Build The Center For Sex-Positive Culture! - Indegogo website
  16. "March Newsletter". the CSPC. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  17. "PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITY--COVID POLICIES AND PRACTICES". CSPC.
  18. Francis, Bryan (5 February 2022). "Sex positivity in the Pacific Northwest". First Washington News.
  19. Bryan Francis (5 February 2022). "Sex positivity in the Pacific Northwest". First Washington News.

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