The Center for Sex Positive Culture (CSPC), formerly known as The Wet Spot, is a non-profit, membership-based organization located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. It organizes events and provides space for several different sex-positive subcultures, notably

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

swinging Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, and

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships wit ...

groups. CSPC welcomes people of all sexual identities and seeks to encompass all consensual sexual practices. The Center is a

501(c)(7) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)) and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. S ...

recreational club; its sister organization, the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture (renamed Pan-Eros in 2018) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

charitable/educational organization. The organization held its first event, a fundraiser, in March 1999.

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. 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.

Membership and activities

The CSPC's primary location is at Gallery Erato, a building in downtown Seattle. The building is operated by Pan-Eros, 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.

Volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s 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." The same physical space is used in various configurations for different events. Some have only tables and chairs, other prominently feature

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

equipment with an adjoining social area, plus private spaces for those who wish to avoid

voyeurs Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

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

Seattle Erotic Art Festival Seattle Erotic Art Festival was founded in 2002 and is the flagship program of the nonprofit Pan Eros Foundation. The Festival supports a vibrant creative community, promotes freedom of expression, and fosters sex-positive culture through public ...

. * Seduction, a SEAF fundraiser gala Halloween party.

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 and opened a second, "annex" building. In November 2008 the Center for Sex Positive Culture was scrutinized in a

KOMO-TV KOMO-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue-licensed Univision a ...

report regarding the Center's non-profit status, and the sexual activities which occur there. The story was criticized by

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...

and others for inaccuracies, and was later pulled from the station's website.

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. 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. 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.

References

External links

*
Seattle Erotic Arts Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Sex Positive Culture 1999 establishments in Washington (state) BDSM organizations Human sexuality organizations LGBT organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Seattle Polyamory Sex positivism Swinging (sexual practice) Washington (state) culture