DUDE. 2 Early Release Party!.

flagging opinicus rampant will be giving away hankies and flagging guides at the DUDE Party at Midsumma! click the above link for details.

• January 18 2012
• 1000 £ Bend 361 Little Lonsdale St Melbourne
• 7pm
• FREE

from Bieberlicious!

Queer Courtship & Hanky Code

a seminar with introductory talk, facilitated discussion, group exercises and roleplays – and hanky giveaways

11 June 2011 – 11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Plump Gallery, 240 Enmore Road, Enmore NSW

We want to learn and share techniques for navigating love and fucking, from pick up to break up, for queer thinkers who care about consent. So much seduction is premised on manipulation, or relies on assumptions about heterosexuality, monogamy or gender-normative roles and bodies. If these aren’t our lives, how do we hoist the flags of our desires?

You can invite all your friends to the Facebook event if that’s your style. The first Sydney POC THE MIC is happening on the Sunday night and there’s lots of other fantastic events. The full Camp Betty program is available here and it’s on iCal so you can sync it to your Google Calendar if you have one. Oh yes, we are teched up and festival ready!

1. click the link below
2. find a colour printer
3. press print
4. trim the edges
5. fold it up
6. hit the town

Back Pocket Flagging Guide

Thanks to nyx mathews at designsonfragility.wordpress.com for our wicked logo, also to Melbourne Leather Pride and the {also} Foundation‘s take care {out} there project for their assistance and support with printing. Pick up a hard copy at Melbourne Leatherpride events and Hares & Hyenas from this weekend!

• Hands aren’t the safest: you are not always aware of cuts under and around fingernails. Cuts greatly increase the risk of infection-transmission.
• Sex fluids that carry infections can infect microcuts that might result from ordinary dry skin or abrasions of any sort, and are invisible to the naked eye. You can check skin for microcuts by splashing it with rubbing alcohol, lemon juice or vinegar: which will cause cuts to sting (frequent exposure to rubbing alcohol will dry the skin in a way that can cause damage).
• Check all hands: if there are visible cuts or scratches, or you fail “the sting test“, use gloves.
• Like kissing, most people seem to be ok with the risks involved in hand jobs.
• Remember: hand jobs are only safest if hands are not swapped; that is one hand per person/orifice. Swapping hands (ie using a hand on yourself then another person without a barrier) involves fluid exchange, and therefore puts you at much greater risk.
• Safest: use barriers.

[Consensual Sadomasochism]

Our complete safer sex guide is here.

BLACK/WHITE check

safe sex top

safe sex bottom

• Black/White check (alt. safety pin) originated during the 80s AIDS crisis, for obvious reasons. Flagging Black/White check means you’re in for a night of wholesome play, which doesn’t mean the play is soft, rather that the safest possible option is taken (and fluids aren’t exchanged). Many fluid-bonders choose to play outside a fluid bonding circle/chain with the following activities.

Talk

Watch

Non-genital touching

	BLANKET	seeking massage	masseuse
	MAUVE	worship my navel	has a navel fetish
	PINK, Dark	worship my tits	tit worshipper

Teddy Bear

cuddler

cuddlee

• Skin to skin non-genital contact still harbours the following risks: scabies, crabs (body lice), armpit fungus.

Kissing

BLACK/WHITE stripes

kissing

kissing

• saliva exchanging risks: herpes, syphilis.

With Barriers (Gloves/Dams/Condoms)

Possible risks even with barrier use: HPV, BV, TV, thrush, herpes, hep B, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis (because they can be transferred by skin to skin contact).

• see Effective barrier use

Our complete safer sex guide is here.

• If you have any kind of sex in open water, make sure all players are good swimmers.
• Check here for sex in public.
• Water washes away natural lubricants (from the body).
• Water degrades latex.
• Oil based lubes degrade latex, as do other oil based substances like sunscreen, tanning lotion, bath oils, bubble bath, soap and shampoo.
• Silicone lubricant is the best to use as it is not water soluble (will not be washed away in water).
• There has been little research into the effectiveness of condoms underwater. That said, it seems silicone lube on a latex condom is the best.
• As it is water-resistant, silicone lubricants may be difficult to wash off (your body, clothes, sheets).
• Make sure condoms/gloves are put on dry skin.
• It is a lot more likely a barrier will slip off; holding it in place will decrease this risk.
• Any kind of penetrative (front or back) sex in water containing chlorine or bacteria makes abrasions, irritation and infection a lot more likely. High risk: thrush, UTI. This risk is higher for people with a vagina.
• For sex in shower/bath: invest in a nonslip mat. Having something to hold onto is also a plus (like a bar installed).

[About Contraception, Ask Men]

Our complete safer sex guide is here.

• Any activities involving blood carry a higher risk for Hepatitis C, HIV and other blood born viruses.
• Using new equipment, wearing gloves and keeping the procedure sterile dramatically reduces the risk of transmitting bacteria and viruses.
• Make sure there’s an experienced player involved (rather than 2 novices going at it for the first time).
• You can’t learn this stuff from text, you need to learn it from a professional or experienced player.
• On piercing, see Deborah Addington’s Play Piercing or Instigator Magazine 21.
• Any blood spills should be cleaned up using bleach or alcohol and detergent solutions.
• Blood on sheets or clothing should be washed with an antibacterial detergent (bleach/napisan).
• Infection usually comes from foreign sweat or lube entering the open wound. Treat and dress wounds immediately after cutting/piercing.

[Consensual Sadomasochism, Instigator Magazine, Play Piercing, Sports Medicine Australia]

Our complete safer sex guide is here.

How to be safer: Use a new condom for every partner or orifice. Wash toys after (and/or before) use. Safest: Keep a separate toy for each partner and yourself.

Cleaning sex toys: Porous toys (made from jelly, rubber, PVC, vinyl, or Cyberskin) can be cleaned (with soap and water) but not completely disinfected. Always use a condom with porous toys. Nonporous toys (made from silicone, acrylic, glass or metal) can be disinfected:

• Silicone: hot water and anti-bacterial soap, sex toy cleaner, diluted bleach solution (10:1 water-to-bleach), boiled for 5-10 minutes
• Acrylic: hot water and anti-bacterial soap, diluted bleach solution (dry with soft cloth, paper towel can scratch them)
• Glass: hot water and anti-bacterial soap, diluted bleach solution, alcohol
• Metal and other materials: see manufacturer’s instructions.

Also

• Make sure that DIY sex toys are safe by ensuring they are not brittle, do not have sharp edges and are able to be cleaned easily and often

[ACON, Opening Up]

Our complete safer sex guide is here.

The effective use of barriers in the following activities greatly reduces possible transmission by preventing the transfer of infected fluids or by covering an infected site.

Possible risks even with barrier use: HPV, BV, TV, thrush, herpes, hep B, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis

• Make sure you have the right size (a tight fit) for gloves and condoms. Different brands have different sizes.
• You can make dams from unlubricated condoms by cutting them up one side. Extra thin condoms tend to provide more stimulation than dams. You can make a tongue condom from a glove: cut the wrist and fingers off (leaving the thumb in tact), then cut up the side where the pinkie was. This tends to afford the highest sensitivity to both giver and receiver.
• Ensure barriers are within their use-by date (they degrade over time and are thus more likely to break).
• Make sure it is not torn when removed from packaging.
• Coloured gloves are awesome because you can have a different colour for each hand.
• Double glove for the convenience of moving from back to front play (just whip off the outer glove).
• With condoms: if relevant, pull back the foreskin. Squeeze the air out of the tip (you can also place a small amount of lube on the inside tip of the condom to reduce air bubbles and increase sensitivity) and roll the condom all the way down.
• For oral sex/rimming, lube can be put beneath the barrier for extra stimulation – but be aware that this makes it more likely to slip off.  With dams, mark each side with a different coloured marker to more easily keep track of the down and up sides.
• Hold the barrier in place during use.
• Check that the condom remains in tact throughout use. The more lube you use and the more frequently (while fucking), the less likely breakage is. When pulling out, hold the base of the condom to ensure it doesn’t slip off.
• Use barriers only once. Use a different barrier for each person or orifice. Throw them in the bin after use.
• Use water or silicone-based lube with latex condoms. Non-latex condoms tend to be made of silicone. Don’t use silicone condoms or lube on silicone dildos/toys. Oil based lubes (like hand cream or Vaseline) weaken latex condoms, causing them to break more easily.

Also:

• Fisting and hand washing are more risky than fingering as the likelihood of tearing the lining of the vagina/anus is higher.
• On cleaning sex toys.
• Any activities involving blood carry a higher risk for Hepatitis C, HIV and other blood born viruses.
• Condom guide

Our complete safer sex guide is here.