A “BDSM Youth” group which promotes sadomasochism to teens was recently spotted at a Pride event in Munich, prompting criticism on social media. The organization, “BDSM Jugend,” is a registered non-profit that provides “youth work in the areas of BDSM and sex education.” The group has chapters across the nation.
In photos snapped at a recent Pride event in Munich, a tent belonging to BDSM Youth was seen promoting sadomasochistic sexual activities for young people.
BDSM Youth offers a forum, chat service, and e-mail list for “young people and young adults up to the age of 27 who want to find out more about topics in the areas of BDSM and youth, and exchange ideas with other interested parties.”
On the forum, which is ostensibly for youth aged 16 years and up, users exchange information on bondage gear, including making collars and home-made restraints. In one post, a young user asks where to find “tasks” to complete as a “sub/little.”
One user replies with suggestions including accessing fetish-themed guides from “Valentina’s Slave School” and “Sissy University.”
BDSM Youth also organizes local meet-ups for the teens and young adults to “discuss their sexual identity in the broad field of BDSM and fetishism freely and without fear of exclusion in a protected environment.”
On its main website, a section titled “Information for Legal Guardians” offers guidance to parents of children who want to explore BDSM.
“For parents, the topic of their children’s sexuality is often not an easy one, especially when it comes to BDSM,” the section reads. “This collective term is often associated with deterrent clichés and prejudices that can trigger worries and fears about your own child.”
BDSM Youth then instructs parents to read their testimonials section, which includes a glowing review from an individual claiming to be the mother of a 15-year-old girl. The writer showers praise on BDSM Youth for providing her and her child assistance and information on kinky sex.
“Our mother-daughter relationship has never suffered as a result, rather it has improved. My child has given me back the trust I had placed in her many times over, and looking back I am very glad that I acted that way at the time,” reads the testimonial.
“My questions and concerns resulted mainly from my ignorance of what [sadomasochism] really is and the more intensive study of this topic made me realize that it is nothing bad or dangerous, but one of many ways to lead a happy sex life. I’m very proud of her, and am a little bit proud of myself that she confided in me and that I supported her.”
In 2012, a BDSM Youth member anonymously penned an op-ed in Zeit Online, claiming that she had enjoyed bondage from as young as 5 years old. Presenting kink as though it were an orientation similar to homosexuality, the member claimed that BDSM Youth had helped her to “exchange ideas about BDSM” without fear of discrimination.
“I have always found the association’s online platform to be a safe haven,” she wrote. The op-ed also took aim at Jungendschutz, a child safeguarding organization, after the group had expressed concerns about the ability of minors to freely access the BDSM Youth forums, arguing it was inappropriate.
“The fact that what I feel is natural is suddenly presented as something bizarre, abnormal has made me cry. I have never felt so helpless. That I am different and want to exchange ideas with people my age – can this be so abnormal that it has to be banned?”
According to the official website, BDSM Youth was formed between 2000 to 2002 after a 15 year-old boy who was searching for “age-appropriate information on the topic of BDSM” was repeatedly denied access to content due to being under the legal age of consent.
The organization’s establishment was finally completed in 2010, when it was registered as a non-profit based in Berlin.
While BDSM Youth claims it is fully membership funded, it appears to have previously received the support of a government-funded project intended to provide resources for “gender and sexual diversity.” It was included on a list of links for youth amongst several other “queer” groups, and was labeled as offering “networking opportunities for young people and young adults who are interested in BDSM or fetishism.”
This is not the first time a German organization has been caught directing explicit sexual content towards minors.
As previously reported by Reduxx, German academics discovered “explicit sexual media directed at children and young adults” being promoted by government subsidized media channels.
Last year, Marie-Luise Vollbrecht, a PhD candidate at Humboldt University, and others in the field of science released a dossier titled “Ideology instead of biology in the ÖRR.” The ÖRR is the national broadcasting service of Germany, and the academics had worked together to examine hours of media content produced and promoted by it.
During the course of their research, they discovered a number of disturbing programs directed at minors, including a program targeted at children as young as four years old which discussed the concept of gender identity and promoted sex self-identification policies.
Vollbrecht and the other academics involved also noted that ÖRR had been broadcasting content aimed at minors aged 14 and over which includes themes of BDSM, pornography, prostitution and pedophilia.
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