SMJG is a
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definitio ...
originating in Germany which provides education in the field of
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 ...
and sexuality for young adults and teenagers. The association is active in all parts of Europe where German is spoken.
The association was formed by young adults in late 2000. At first they offered information and a communication platform on their online presence. Since 2002, several real-life meet ups are hosted by the group. With several iterating meet ups in a large number of cities, the SMJG is one of the biggest trans-regional charitable organization concerning BDSM in German-speaking European countries.
History
The name is an acronym which consists of “BDSM & JuGend” (The German word for youth and shorthand for youth-organization). The name developed from the original name “Sadomasochistische Jugendgruppe”. The SMJG was founded in August 2000 by a 15-year-old, as a reaction to the lack of information regarding BDSM, especially for young people. In the following years the project SMJG grew to be a charitable organization with a wide reach and is an important part of the German-speaking BDSM subculture. The SMJG offers interested young adults and teenagers contact to persons of their own age and detailed information on the topic of BDSM, creating a safe environment to talk about their sexuality. The goal of the organization is to be an venue for the sexually curious and the prevention of possible accidents during play sessions by setting a focus on education and risk-prevention.
Work
The group organizes regular
munches in 37 German and 3 Austrian cities, exclusively for teenagers and young adults.
In addition to the monthly meetups, the SMJG also offers a
mailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is re ...
, an
online forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
, and a moderated
chat
Chat or chats may refer to:
Communication
* Conversation, particularly casual
* Online chat, text message communication over the Internet in real-time
* Synchronous conferencing, a formal term for online chat
* SMS chat, a form of text messagin ...
. The forum in particular provides a communication network for interested young adults in which they can discuss the subject within the safety of their peer group. Additionally the homepage offers detailed information on potential risks and advice on safety in the context of BDSM and sexuality, as well as help with other youth-specific topics, such as “
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
” and “BDSM and parents”.
These services are open to every person of every gender and sexuality, but there is a strict age limit of 27. The SMJG is also present at fairs and street festivals like the “
Christopher Street Day
Christopher Street Day (CSD) is an annual European LGBTQ+ celebration and demonstration held in various cities across Europe for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and against discrimination and exclusion. It is Germany's and Switzerland's counterp ...
” for outreach and the dispelling of misconceptions about the group.
Controversy
In 2012
jugendschutz.net approached SMJG.org with a request to add measures for the protection of minors to the official Forum, threatening to start an inquiry with the
Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons
The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (german: link=no, Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or ''BPjM'') is an upper-level German federal censorship agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affair ...
. To prevent the unnecessary risk of being added to the index of media harmful to minors, the articles in question were only made available at certain times of the day. Within the German BDSM scene and the SMJG in particular, this was perceived as dangerous, as it restricts access to vital information needed when attempting more difficult types of “play”, potentially threatening minors who can not get this information from anywhere else.
['']ZEIT Online
''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles.
History
Th ...
:
Ich – bizarr und unnormal
Published at 22. August 2012. last visited at 24. September 2015. This was particularly problematic as the arguments for censoring the site, such as “risking to lead minors into deviant sexualities”, which have since been refuted by several psychologists, among them
Lydia Benecke
Lydia Benecke (born in 1982 as ''E. C. Wawrzyniak'') is a German criminal psychologist and writer of popular science non-fiction.
Life
Benecke was born in Bytom, Poland and left for Germany at the age of 4 with her mother. She grew up in Bott ...
, the Jugendschutzbeauftragte (Commissioner for the protection of minors) of the SMJG.
Literature
*
*
*
* {{Cite journal, doi = 10.1300/J082v50n02_13, issn = 0091-8369, volume = 50, issue = 2–3, pages = 263–280, title = SM International, journal = Journal of Homosexuality, date = 2006-05-02, pmid = 16871676, s2cid = 41195773
See also
Website of the SMJG
References
BDSM organizations
Youth organisations based in Germany
Youth organisations based in Austria
German educational websites