Vancouver Sexuality Resources
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Introduction
This guide provides brief descriptions and contact information for some
of the sex-positive cultural resources of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Before beginning, we should pause to mention that:
- This guide is only intended for (and frankly only of use to)
consenting adults, since the overwhelming majority of the organizations it
describes are restricted to participants over the age of legal adulthood.
- This guide comes with no accuracy guarantees, may eventually go out of
date, in some points is (by necessity) based on second-hand suggestions
rather than the first-hand experience of its creators, and in using it you
release its creators from any liability concerning it.
- There is always time in life for new experiences, but some health and
safety mistakes can't be undone: if you haven't learned enough about safer
sex to know what you need to do to preserve your own health and that of
those around you, or aren't sure whether you're the sort of person who can
stick with what you've decided, then this isn't the guide you should be
reading right now.
- Common courtesy, and asking whenever you're unsure whether something
is OK, never go out of style.
BDSM/Leather
For most folks Metro Vancouver
Kink (which offers both social and educational events) is probably the
best place to start.
A separate organization called Rascal's Club offers monthly play
parties, and their web site currently includes the most up-to-date list of
the Vancouver area's BDSM community "munches" (i.e. informal restaurant
gatherings for newcomers).
The Sin City dances (see below) are also very popular in the community
right now.
Men who enjoy men-only events may also wish to check out Vancouver Men in Leather and
the Pumpjack.
Swing Clubs
Clubs currently include Club
Allure, Club Eden, Pleasure Retreat, Confidentially Yours, and Kat's Fantasies.
For BDSM-themed swing events, see the "DenOfPleasure" group on the fetish
networking site fetlife.com.
Although not a swing club, Libido Events (see below) also offers sexy
social events: see the "Grown-up Fun" section of their web site for
details.
Polyamory
The Vanpoly Mailing Lists are the
primary means by which poly events in the Vancouver area are publicized
(alternatively, see their "Vancouver Polyamory - Vanpoly" group on
fetlife.com, or their "Vanpoly" Facebook page).
Men's Bathhouses and Sex Clubs
Vancouver's men's clubs are M2M
(leather/levi crowd), Steamworks, F212, and Steam 1.
A safer sex reminder may be in order here: obviously you can't tell
whether somebody is HIV-positive or HIV-negative based on how they look or
what they say, and particularly if you're new to places like these
visiting them while intoxicated is not a good idea.
Spiritually-Focused Sexuality
The Body Electric School offers
its men's and women's workshop several times a year in Vancouver.
Sex Education
The leading organization hosting adult educational events in Vancouver (on
topics ranging from erotic photography to rope bondage) is Libido Events, which also offers a
wide range of purely social events.
A well-designed art gallery and sex toy store called The Art of Loving also sponsors
educational events.
Tantra Fitness offers
both group classes and one-on-one instruction in striptease, pole dancing,
burlesque, and lap dancing.
Sex Toys
Womyn's Ware is an extremely
comfortable and informative place to shop, and offers the best selection
of high-quality sex toys in the city. The Art of Loving (see above) is
another great choice.
If you're a gay or bi man, and especially if you're looking for
leather clothing, don't miss Priape.
Fetish Fashion and Dancing
The twice-monthly Sin
City Fetish Night dance (which has a strict dress code) is one
of the most remarkable events Vancouver currently offers: as it stands,
Seattle residents who love fetish fashion and/or dancing regularly drive
to Vancouver to attend it. A new dance event, with a similarly strict
dress code, is the Noir Fetish
Ball.
Sanctuary, which does
not have as strict a dress code as Sin City or Noir, is generally held on
the weeks Sin City isn't held.
Spit is a new dance party offered by
and for the Vancouver queer community, and is "inspired by Vancouver's
alternative parties of the past and present."
In the traditional club scene, at least when this guide was lasted updated
Tonic (mostly straight) and Celebrities (mostly gay)
were both very popular, and the web site ClubVibes was
doing a good job of reporting on Vancouver's nightlife.
GBLT Resources
General
Vancouver's GLBT resource centre is Qmunity. For GLBT books and gifts, visit
the famous Little Sisters
Book Store.
Vancouver has both an annual pride
parade and a women's
community march.
Gay or Bi Men
In addition to the other resources mentioned in this guide, Vancouver has
active organizations for gay/bi bears, nudists, fisting enthusiasts, and
rubber enthusiasts.
Lesbian or Bi Women
In addition to the other resources mentioned in this guide, Canadian Mayhem, Flygirl Productions and Lick all
offer events for lesbian/bi women.
Transgender
Local resource guides and support are provided by TransAlliance Society.
Crossdressing
Heterosexual crossdressers are served by the Cornbury Society.
Health and Counseling
STDResource.com provides STD
testing locations, and sex therapists include Dr. Pega Ren, Dr. David McKenzie, Dr. Paul James, and Dr. Renee Lanctot.
Local Media
See the Georgia Straight for general
news, Xtra! or the
GayVancouver web site for GLBT news,
and either the Sexlife Canada
web site or the Sexy in
Vancity podcast for sex-positive news.
Victoria and Beyond
British Columbia's capital city of Victoria is accessible by ferry from Vancouver: its main poly
resource is Van Isle Poly, its
main BDSM resource is Sagacity,
and a Tantra teacher named Maryse Côte offers
workshops for both individuals and couples.
In Squamish, the store Trinity
Romance offers a good selection of both high-quality sex toys and
workshops.
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