SMart Rhine-Ruhr
| SMart Rhein-Ruhr eV | |
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| purpose | The support of sadomasochists who are dependent on help because of their mental or emotional state
and the promotion of education, the education about the phenomenon of sadomasochism. |
| Establishment date: | 1992 |
| Number of members: | ~ 120 |
| Seat : | eat |
| Website: | www.smart-ev.de |
SMart Rhein-Ruhr eV is the largest registered BDSM association in the German-speaking area, which offers various discussion and topic groups, round tables , workshops and beginners' meetings for first-time visitors in the greater Rhine-Ruhr area.
History, members and goal setting
The association founded on March 13, 1992 in Essen currently has over 120 members (as of 2010), the number of people involved in its network is considerably higher; According to the association, its immediate environment includes around 1,000 people as well as 12 groups and meetings in 10 cities in North Rhine-Westphalia .
The goals of the association are on the one hand to support individuals and on the other hand to break down prejudices against sadomasochistic sexuality. In addition to individual information and press work on the subject of BDSM, the club's activities also include general public relations, for example at events such as Folsom Europe or Christopher Street Day . These charitable goals are approached by many club members who work exclusively on a voluntary basis and are also open to people who are not members of the club.
The association is networked with other groups worldwide and nationally, is a member of the German Society for Social Science Sexual Research eV , Amnesty International and works on a local level with Pro Familia and AIDS organizations.
Naming and logo
The name SMart is a combination of SM (for sadomasochism ) and art (English for art ).
The club's logo is a modification of the so-called emblem , a sadomasochistic symbol from the USA. The design is by Wolf Deunan. The symmetry of the three parts is supposed to reflect the inscriptions protegere , informare and amare ( protect , inform and love ).
Club magazine
The SMart info was the quarterly print magazine of the association. It has not been published since the end of 2004. It used to introduce the groups at SMart and their events, and provided basic information about BDSM. Info was founded in 1992 as a member's letter and in the 1990s it developed into a regular magazine with a final circulation of 800 copies.
Central areas of responsibility in the SMart Rhein-Ruhr association
The general assembly elects a five-person board for a period of one year and also those responsible for certain central work areas. The following departments currently exist:
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Regional and themed groups
SMart SMart Rhein-Ruhr eV has regional groups in the following cities:
as well as so-called topic groups u. a. especially for women.
SMart archive and BDSM library
The association has been running its own extensive archive on the subject of BDSM since 1992. In addition to journals and magazines from Germany, Europe and North America, books, films and audio media can also be found here. Topic-specific press articles are also archived. Part of the media comes from third parties on permanent loan. After the dissolution of the S / M and Public Working Group (AG S / MÖff) in Neumünster , SMart succeeded in 2004 in largely duplicating the extensive collection of material from this group, which specializes in public relations, from 1989 to 1996. The archive is open to interested third parties.
Non-profit
SMart Rhein-Ruhr was recognized as a non-profit organization in 1994. The non-profit status was later revoked because the group was, in the opinion of the responsible tax office, promoting “living out one's own sexuality and not helping people based on one's mental state”.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Website of the SMart Rhein-Ruhr eV own information, accessed on August 5, 2013