The Society of Janus is the second

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 ...

organization founded in the United States (after

The Eulenspiegel Society The Eulenspiegel Society, also known as TES, is the first BDSM organization founded in the United States. It was founded in 1971 and based in New York City. History The Eulenspiegel Society was the first BDSM organization founded in the United St ...

) and is a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

based BDSM education and support group. The Society of Janus is

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, volunteer run and is devoted to the art of safe, consensual and non-exploitative adult power exchange. They publish a bimonthly

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...

called ''Growing Pains.''

History

The Society of Janus was founded in August 1974 by

Cynthia Slater Cynthia Slater (1945–1989) was the cofounder of the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society), a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group known as the Society of Janus, which ...

and Larry Olsen. According to the Leather Hall of Fame biography of Slater, she said of the Society of Janus: A group called Cardea, a women's discussion group within the Society of Janus, existed from 1977 to 1978 before discontinuing. A core of lesbian members of Cardea, including Pat Califia, who identified as a lesbian at the time,

Gayle Rubin Gayle S. Rubin (born January 1, 1949 in South Carolina) is an American cultural anthropologist best known as an activist and theorist of sex and gender politics. She has written on a range of subjects including feminism, sadomasochism, prostitut ...

, and sixteen others, were inspired to start

Samois Samois was a lesbian- feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983. It was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States. It took its name from Samois-sur-Seine, the location of the fictional estate of Ann ...

on June 13, 1978, as an exclusively lesbian BDSM group. Samois was a lesbian-

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983, and was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States. The Society of Janus was one of the founding coalition partners of the

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) is an American sex-positive advocacy and educational organization founded in 1998. NCSF has over one hundred coalition partners (consisting of businesses including law firms, mental health professi ...

, which was founded in 1997. In 2004, the Society of Janus Hall of Fame was established. Some of its inductees are:

Guy Baldwin Guy Baldwin, M.S. (b. 1946) is a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist, author, activist, and educator specializing in issues of particular relevance to the BDSM and leather communities. He maintains that inclusion of non-injurious elements of sadom ...

Patrick Califia Patrick Califia (born 1954; formerly also known as Pat Califia and by the last name Califia-Rice) is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transition ...

Dossie Easton Dorothy "Dossie" Easton (born February 26, 1944), who has also written under the name Scarlet Woman, is an American author and family therapist based in San Francisco, California. She is polyamorous and lives in West Marin, California. Backgro ...

Janet Hardy Janet W. Hardy is an American writer and sex educator, and founder of Greenery Press. She has also been published as ''Catherine A. Liszt'' and ''Lady Green''. She is the author or co-author of eleven books, and frequently collaborates with Doss ...

, Viola Johnson,

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

Fakir Musafar Roland Loomis (August 10, 1930 – August 1, 2018), known professionally as Fakir Musafar, was an American performance artist considered to be one of the founders of the modern primitive movement. Life Born Roland Loomis, at age four he claim ...

, Charles Moser,

, Jim Ward,

Mollena Williams-Haas Mollena Williams-Haas (born 1969), formerly Mollena Williams, is an American writer, BDSM educator, actress, and former International Ms. Leather (2010). Early life and education She was born Mollena Lee Williams on June 20, 1969, at New York ...

, and

Jay Wiseman Jay Joseph Wiseman (born 1949) is an American BDSM author, educator, and expert legal witness.Mark Morri"Missouri sex slave case may hinge on expert view of subculture", ''Kansas City Star'', November 25, 2012 His most famous work is the book ''SM ...

. In 2014, the Society of Janus held their 40th Anniversary Dinner, Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony & Play Party, which was awarded "Best Organization Anniversary Event" at The SF Leather Community Awards for that year. In 2017, the art installation known as the

San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley The San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley consists of four works of art along the Ringold Street alley, at 8th Street, in San Francisco's SOMA district honoring leather culture; it opened in 2017. Artworks Collectively titled ''Lea ...

was installed; in it Society of Janus cofounder

is honored with a metal bootprint displaying her name and a short statement about her. In 2018, the Society of Janus was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.soj.org Society of Janus, The Sexuality in San Francisco Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco Organizations established in 1974 1974 establishments in California

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links