By Irene Messina. Think again. Meet the members of a local social club called Desert Dominion. Desert Dominion is a member club formed about five years ago. Members must be 18 or older and can be any sexual orientation, race, creed or religion. What brings them together: They all enjoy various kinks legal activities involving consenting adults. The group has a clubhouse, board, committee chairs and bylaws; it even pays taxes.
Members must sign terms of agreement and pay dues. They also sponsor the Southwest Fetish Ball, which was held Jan. Member Dawn explains the terminology.
Dominance and submission is something that happens on a mental level. People think if you are a masochist, you like pain. I don't like pain. That's not really what the term means and how we use it. A masochist receives pain in given amounts in order to get the endorphins going.
That's what they are looking for, the endorphin high. No one will come up and say, 'I want you to hurt me. We tell people: Don't do anything you don't want to do. It's important for us to know the difference between abuse and consensual domination.
These are people who, for one reason or another, live lifestyles or have feelings that are a little off the mainstream. Because of that, they may have felt isolated, unloved or bad. This is an opportunity for them to be with people who support them and make them feel good for who and what they are," says Tom, a member for the last two years. The group offers a variety of activities including discussion groups, movie nights, parties and seminars.
