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SwitchMe

SwitchMe is a bisexual switch who loves to play. He lives in the Northeast (gotta love that weather). A formerly depressed, frustrated, inhibited, uptight guy, SwitchMe sought salvation in many ways, but eventually discovered that self-acceptance gave me a good nights’ sleep and a positive outlook made a lot of difference. He says: “Along the way, I managed to finally come out of my shell enough to realize that I was bisexual in a comfortable way, and that I could actually overcome decades of self-deprecation about who I was and how I looked. I was, gasp, OKAY! Letting myself accept the Tao of my own sexuality has opened new doors. Many remain to open, but few remain shut. I’m determined to open them all up.”

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Body Beautiful: the Body as Temple
A Gentle Introduction to Self-Exposure and a Celebration of the Body

We celebrate, revere and revile the body. All of us are steeped in a “body culture” that at once exaggerates and denigrates the body. We are deeply enculturated in a society that says the naked body is "bad" to begin with, worse if it does not meet a certain standard. An ideal vision of what we "should" look like prevents us from celebrating ourselves, prevents us from sharing and appreciating our physical bodies as they are, as temples, something to cherish, display, and pleasure. If we finally do reveal ourselves – even if we meet this mythical "standard" – we are often castigated as perverted or exhibitionist.

This workshop asks the participants to step past their own hesitation about self, and present their individual bodies in all their glory and wonder for everyone to see. Each person will put themselves on display, and reveal the self as just the nude body, and, with a framework of ideas and questions provided, be given a chance to "tell their body": the joy, the pain, the pleasure, the fear, the stories. The story they tell and the body they present are theirs to show and share. The goal is to create a relaxed place and time that encourages everyone to be with their own and others' bodies openly, comfortably and safely and to push past the imposed cultural veneer of shame and guilt.

This workshop is a safe space in which each of us can, without fear or hesitation, let our own “temples” be seen, appreciated, exposed and celebrated just as they are, and to tell and share with others in a way that is comfortable and "ok". Note that we aren’t going to provoke or demand sexual behavior from anyone. We will, of course, welcome the sexual side of anyone, but participants should not feel that this is the center of the work we will do and should not feel pressured to include their sexual selves.

Come and learn how to push past your inhibitions, let down your guard just a little, and appreciate your own body and self, to become your own temple!

Nudity is strongly encouraged! Space is limited.

 

Bisexuality Panel member