Draft:Cynthia Slater
Cynthia Slater | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Professional Dominatrix, Sex Educator |
| Subject | BDSM, Activism |
Cynthia Slater, along with Larry Olsen, founded the second oldest surviving SM organization in the United States - the Society of Janus.[1] She is known for paving the way for women to be accepted within the gay leather scene in San Francisco during the late 1970's.[1] She was an early proponent of SM safety, and one of the major AIDS activists & educators during that time.[1]
The Society of Janus
According to the Leather Hall of Fame biography of Slater, she said of Janus, "“There were three basic reasons why we chose Janus. First of all, Janus has two faces, which we interpreted as the duality of SM (one’s dominant and submissive sides). Second, he’s the Roman god of portals, and more importantly, of beginnings and endings. To us, it represents the beginning of one’s acceptance of self, the beginning of freedom from guilt, and the eventual ending of self-loathing and fear over one’s SM desires. And third, Janus is the Roman god of war--the war we fight against stereotypes commonly held against us."[1]