As almost two years have gone by with little to no activity on the outside there were many attempts to get the project back on track again. But now is the time for me to let go of this project that was, and in many ways still is, a deep passion of mine that I have to let go with regret and sorrow. I had to disappoint so many great people and there was so much energy and love for this project that I feel obliged to share some context of this failure that is in the end my responsibility to take.
Showing kink in public From the onset we as a team focused on claiming a place in the public sphere, where the recognition of BDSM belongs aside other diversity and sexual orientation or identity topics. In our initial search for a tax advisor, we still legally needed despite being non-profit, we got two dozen rejections from local tax advisors in Hamburg. The emails differed only in two sentences describing what the project was about.
There is still a stigma attached in the business world dealing with BDSM related professions in public. One that people in these professions feel and notice often on social media and when dealing with banks and other organizations they depend on and we felt it as well. People advising not to associate yourself with such a project publicly.
Reducing this stigma became our mission. Still, it was a huge step to associate yourself with this project let alone make yourself publicly known for it. Sex workers probably feel this stigma almost every time they are about, must, or are considering revealing their profession. Despite this, people like Matthias Grimme, and other have shown that you can publicly associate yourself with your profession and passion. I was ready to make myself vulnerable by standing for the Museum with my person, face, and name.
Sadly, things have changed and out of private reasons I can and no longer want to do that. Considerations and expectations From the beginning it was clear that it would not be an easy task to navigate different expectations and set up an exhibition that would promote the fact that people into BDSM are mostly normal people like everyone else.
