An Austrian History of Perversion – and what it teaches us about Non-Monogamy

“Libertine Vienna” was founded in 1986, which makes it the oldest pansexual and politically active BDSM non-profit association in German-speaking countries. Even though the history of “bizarre” sexuality is clearly much older.

One of Libertine Vienna’s activities is to keep an archive with posters, flyers, newspaper clippings etc. I will use this material in my talk to trace the history of the BDSM- and fetish culture in (eastern) Austria.

Instead of just organizing parties, Libertine Vienna developed an ongoing tradition of hosting and engaging in numerous political, philosophical and sometimes visionary debates. Thus also influencing communities with related interests. Examples can be found in the contribution to the founding of the “TransX” association for the local transgender community, involvement in Vienna’s polyamory discussions and get-togethers as well as the participation in many events of the queer community in and around Vienna.

Concepts like “informed consent”, “negotiation”, “power exchange” and “play”, which became the foundation of modern discussions about (ethically non-monogamous) relationships, sex-positivity etc., can be traced back to their origin in the BDSM- and fetish community. Hence, looking at the ideas, terms, lessons and anecdotes of discussing, integrating and living non-normative “perverse” desires can provide interesting hints for our ongoing discussion about polyamory and modern concepts of relationships.

Since self-mockery, humor, jokes, caricatures and satire always were a part of the self-expression of Vienna’s BDSM- and fetish community, we can’t guarantee, that this talk is free of elements that may be percepted as amusing, ironic or plain funny.