Stockroom Repeating Seminar that Sparked Northwestern Scandal

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles-based fetish specialty retailer Stockroom.com is offering a West Coast repeat of a seminar originally presented at Northwestern University that spawned national debate after a  sex toy was used live in front of college students attending the workshop. Titled “Networking for Kinky People,” the class covers not just the demonstration of extreme toys that spurred the Northwestern scandal, but also the etiquette of using them—and finding someone to use them on. Led by original presenter Ken Melvoin-Berg, aChicagosex historian and educator, the workshop happens inLos Angeleson April 9 as part of the fetish retailer’s monthlyStockroomUniversitylecture series, which explores and educates on BDSM practices. “We’re offering a first-hand look at what actually happened, under all the controversy,” said Stockroom President Mike Herman. “The use of the toy live inChicagowas framed by a broader discussion of what the toy was used for, and how the people demonstrating it felt about doing so. It was a legitimate example of a kinky toy used within the logic of a kink lifestyle. Seeing everything in context will make the educational value of what took place very clear.” As the exclusive online retailer of the toy at the center of the debates—which resembles a reciprocating saw with a sex toy at the end rather than a cutting blade—The Stockroom is in a unique position to educate the public. The device made national headlines when Faith Kroll and her fiancé, Jim Marcus, demonstrated it live for students in Professor J. Michael Bailey’s class on February 21. The two were panelists for Melvoin-Berg’s Kinky Networking workshop, which was part of an optional after-class series Bailey offered his students. Arriving early, Kroll and Marcus saw a film being shown during Bailey’s regular lecture, which preceded the seminar. The film made outdated claims about the capacities of the female body and so the couple offered to use the toy—which had been brought in purely as a visual aid—to prove the film wrong. Bailey agreed to the demonstration. The Stockroom workshop is open to anyone over 18. It will be held Saturday, April 9, at the company’sLos Angelesretail boutique and showroom, located in the Silverlake area at 2809½ W. Sunset Blvd.,Los Angeles,CA90026. The class runs from 4-7 pm; cost is $20 in advance or at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the StockroomUniversitycourse listings page at Stockroom.com/Stockroom_University.