Going to Kink Soc was a great bonding experience

The recently student union ratified Kink Society, previously known as DiCKS, might not have been the best place to go with friends you don’t really know that well.

But something about being tied up in front of a group of strangers, in a room reserved for Chinese language seminars, is a great bonding experience.

We didn’t want to like Kink Soc, it was just another society to document, but when welcome drinks involved a pamphlet on the A to Z of kink our perspective changed drastically.

It’s fair to say we did not expect these seemingly mild mannered people with their fun A-Z guide, to be quite so explicit. Who knew that E was for Enema – the humiliation of it all apparently is a turn on. Or that J was for Japanese Rope Binding?

You may not class yourself as vanilla in the bedroom, but these lovely kink-teachers will give your embarrassing Pornhub searches a run for it’s money.The first session was a meet and greet, leaving us bitterly disappointed at the lack of kink action.

We expected blindfolded, collar wearing third years demonstrating the art of Japanese rope bondage but we ended up literally playing chess in the Library bar.

The next week when we went to the rope workshop we realised these people weren’t weird losers – they were doing a public service. Being kinky is a full time job. Rope 101 put us in our place. Turns out, ropes are fun but they’re also bloody hard to tie up.

How familiar are you with rope burn? These people were very well informed – there is a level of sheer attention detail completely ignored by us mere mortals. Things like burn factors are a central part of the rope kink. Just FYI: the more synthetic, the more chance of rope burn.

The regulars had brought their own equipment but were kind enough to share their rope around and allowed us to caress one another to test the varying textures. We soon realised the complexities of experimenting with rope as the “rope master” performed an act one can only describe as a sensuous cat’s cradle. Her hands moved so quickly we were left far behind in a knotted, far from pleasurable mess. It got very hard, very quickly (the knots).

Demonstrations of kinky activity is probably limited to rope binding, and hopefully doesn’t extend to the urineology section. In our workshop, an almost balletic demonstration of rope binding was a fascinating insight into Kink Soc’s world. The watered down demonstration was only toned down by the fact they were wearing clothes.

Tying up someone on the floor of a seminar building is an intense situation for anyone, but as awkward as we felt, we simply couldn’t look away. Rope binding is truly an art.

There is something delicious about having your mother iMessage you explaining how she’d just made banana bread for the neighbours while you’re learning about consensual rope binding.

Who knew you could tie people up using ropes from B&Q? Or you could try hemp rope, or cotton rope, or whatever-the-fuck rope.

These people knew their shit, and care about the quality of rope they tie each other up with. Discussions of a full time job in a hardware store which sold rope were half-jokingly bandied around.

What is most shocking about Kink Soc is not their brazen discussions on these topics, but the level of care and attention given to emphasising a mutually beneficial sexual exploration by both partners. This is a society built around consensual fun – there was even a welfare officer present to make sure everything is legit.

Getting kinky in the bedroom is time consuming, but rewarding and you just can’t mess about. When your partner wants to be tied up, not knowing about basic knots could quite literally mean the difference between a very hard A&E visit to explain, and a night of fun.

So yes, they might not be the top of the social pecking order. And no we probably won’t be racing back for more.

Kink Soc is far more useful information and far less raging orgy than you’d expect. For one thing, who knew you should have a mini torch on you in case power goes out? I just don’t know where you’re supposed to store it.