Coming into the new year, I'm excited to be organizing educational events on behalf of Atlanta Dungeon. I am committed to lining up quality and professional education so I'm being very selective about the guest speakers invited to teach. Mansplaining aside, I am curious about the perception of gender in BDSM and Kink education.

For example, if a male sub is a professional rigger by trade, is it reasonable to have him teach ProDoms rope bondage? Or is the idea of a male sub teaching a Domme anything too much of a power exchange?

Or perhaps a male Dom is a professional massage therapist by trade. Would male subs be willing to learn body worship from another male? Do FemDoms feel comfortable learning Reiki or cupping from a male? Or receiving erotic massage (in the learning process) from a male Dom?

Maybe the best whip master in the area is a male switch. Would he be welcome to teach whip throwing to Dommes? Or would he automatically be seen as "less" for being male? Or switchy?

Should Pros learn about leather from a female submissive if she is the best/most knowledgeable around? Does that change if the woman is a Dominant? Or should leather only be taught by gay males as the founders of leather?

Do we judge a person's ability to impart quality information based on their gender and/or D/s orientation? Why? Can educating be classified as a service or is it always a position of power?

Should only FemDoms mentor/teach/train other FemDoms? Or is the best person to teach others the person with the most knowledge and qualifications?

I'm very curious to hear the thoughts of the other Dommes here as well as from the subs! Does your opinion or perception of a ProDom change is you know the gender or orientation of the people she learned from?

I think gender, professional status and BDSM orientation are all relatively unimportant. What would get me to attend (I don't live near Atlanta so can't) are the credentials of the presenter, in particular how many and what classes have they taught and where did they teach. Number of years as either a professional or lifestyle BDSM participant would also be useful.

A person could be an outstanding whip thrower, but if he or she can't do an effective presentation that teaches the skill, a class would be of little value. Presenting (teaching) is a skill best honed by practice.

We do but we shouldn't. If power is needed to qualify education than it's probably more accurately indoctrination.

Because a person is a sub does not mean they're *my* sub. Inversely with a Dominant. If people are uncomfortable or threatened by learning from someone they think they shouldn't receive information and instruction from it reflects their own insecurities.



This isn't inherently necessary but the advantage to being taught by someone in your (FemDom) position is they may have the perspective that a submissive or a MaleDom doesn't have.

In general, being given knowledge from someone who has a different life experience than you can provide a more holistic understanding of a subject. This is why you'll see some events intentionally want a diverse group of voices by inviting different kinds of people to act as speakers or conduct workshops.

Thanks for posting on such an interesting and thought provoking topic.

I want any Mistress that I session with to be a well experienced professional who has solid technique and is safety conscious. I assume that acquiring these skill sets takes time, training, and practice.

Since I will ultimately benefit from the education and training a Domme receives, I think that education and instruction should come from the best subject matter expert available, regardless of gender or how they identify themselves in BDSM. I also acknowledge that my perception could be very different from the Domme receiving the instruction.

A few of the Dommes that I have seen have been very candid about who mentored them when they first started on this path, like a badge of honor. It's always great to hear that I am sessioning with a Domme who has been mentored by a legend.

Again, thanks for the post. I very much appreciate that you take the time to post here.