Organ Grinder:
News for Pervy Little Monkeys

Every so often in this column I like to shine a spotlight on individuals that make this town a happier, hornier place to be. This week I'd like to introduce you to Velvet Steel (as if you didn't already know her, my pervy little monkeys.) Velvet is the vivacious personality behind The Body Perve Social Club, and An Intimate Affair, two of Vancouver's tastiest fetish events. It should be noted that nepotism is in full effect here; Velvet and I go way back. We used to do fashion shows together for Northbound Leather in Toronto, back when Gwen Stefani was still in knee socks. Wait a second; Gwen Stefani is still in knee socks. Mmmmm…. Gwen Stefani in knee socks… but I digress.

The Body Perve (formerly Bettie Page) nights at the Lotus have a Barnum & Bailey -meets-burlesque aesthetic and a strict door code that encourages all manner of dress (and undress.) There's the guy (who looks like my Uncle George) standing next to his boyfriend (who looks like my Uncle Albert), both identically bound in yards of clothesline, each still sporting his black socks and dress shoes; they're talking casually with the girl in the latex nursie uniform, and her clubby boyfriend with a hankie around his bits. Velvet maintains: "People are accepting of everybody else, having a good time and enjoying each other's company, and respecting of other people's boundaries…" Diversity doesn't even begin to describe it. Sexual identity becomes as blurred as morning-after mascara. Add some music that seems to have been broadcast via Time Warp from a late-eighties goth perv disco, and you have an idea of the BPSC's charming retro-playhouse-surreality.

The Intimate Affair events happen in the lush velvet and candlelight surroundings of the Fox & Firkin (1762 Davie St.), on the Sunday of every long weekend. The atmosphere is elegant, featuring table service, cocktails, and a more ambient vibe, but the stocks, whipping benches, and manacles are still ubiquitous.

'No means No.' is the mantra of these and all fetish events, an ideal that is strictly upheld by staff and patrons alike. This may be reassuring to those who are intrigued by the idea of fetish, but unsure about participating in 'play parties'. These are BDSM events that feature all manner of pain and power manipulation. They're usually strictly drug and alcohol free because, as one party organizer put it, "If the endorphins (of S&M play) aren't enough for you, then you probably don't need to be here." In contrast, the BPSC parties are a mixed bag of dress-up exhibitionism, socializing, and spankings. As Velvet says "It's all about cosmetic, fashion oriented fun… and if sex goes along with that, then great, add it to the mix, why not? Like shoes for example - high heels…when we are having an orgasm, everybody's foot points into the position of a high heel!…For us it is about dressing for pleasure. A lot of people aren't really into fetish fashion because they think that if you're into S&M that should be aesthetic enough for you."

Social events like the BPSC are an excellent way to gain exposure to the more colourful variations of sexuality that are to be found preening in one's shadowy self. I knew, for example, that I was "alternative" at 18, when I first entered the BPSC milieu. What I didn't know, (besides my pubescent obsession with the Rocky Horror Picture Show), was what, exactly "alternative" meant. Says Velvet: "I don't think I really put a term to my desires until I was 25-26, but as the animals that we are, we always have to put a definition to everything: homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, try-sexual, omnisexual or whatever. All we should really be saying is we're sexual. Remove those prefixes and the underlying definition is still the same."

After eight strong years promoting events in Vancouver, and amidst a growing public acceptance of "alternative lifestyles", what's next for Velvet and her entourage? "Ultimately the hope would be to have a permanent venue that we could call our own, whether Vancouver is ready for that I don't know, but that's what I would like to see happen: open it up to the gay scene, have drag shows, cabaret, and poetry performances. My fantasy would be to have a sort of Moulin Rouge meets fetish, that's what I would love."

Anybody see A.I.? DON'T, just download the pictures of Jude Law with the plastic hair and the 3/4 length PVC coat, and take my word for it: In the future, everything's coming up fetish.

BPSC (www.bodyperve.com) happens on the last Saturday monthly. The next one is July 28, at the Lotus, 455 Abbott St. For more information, see www.bodyperve.com.