We don’t just do it for the money. Right?
We enjoy our work. It’s skillful and sensitive and important. It is an experience people can find almost nowhere else. Sometimes, it is art. And yet, that’s not the whole story.
From the beginning, tantra-massage has considered itself avant-garde*. To distinguish itself, it used markers from spiritual practices, language, symbols etc which don’t necessarily sit right today. The work evolves with each generation of practitioners. We have moved beyond boomer aesthetics, esoteric woowoo and (pseudo)psychological babble. So now where do we stand?
Reading from two contemporary texts exploring the joy, the juice, and the sometimes itchy truths of this profession, we welcome an open discussion about the realities of the job, in Berlin, in 2025, and the future we wish to create.
With the possibility of covering topics such as:
Demographics of our clientele (why is it still mainly white cis-men?)
Consent(violations) and power(abuse) - it cuts both ways
Cultural appropriation and how we deal with it
The reinforcement of structures we despise eg. The sale of pleasure, rest, respite for consumption (#emotionallabour)
*innovative or experimental concepts, works, or people - especially in the arts - that are ahead of their time or challenge established conventions
FEATURING EVA HANSON & REBECCA FRANCES
MODERATED BY BEATE ABSALON
EVA HANSON
Eva has a degree in religious studies, works as a tantra masseuse for 12 years and blogs about it almost as long. Has just published her first book “Hautrausch: Inside Tantra-Massage”. She believes that the way we touch each other can be a powerful force for change.
REBECCA FRANCES
Rebecca read languages at Cambridge and now studies how bodies speak. Interested in the parts of us we don’t fully control, she explores tantra, pranayama and butoh to dig deeper into swamps of being and what happens when we die. She teaches tantra massage and writes about massage sessions to better understand and articulate what transpires when bodies meet.
Instagram: @feel_more_bln
Photo: Jana Reinwarth
BEATE ABSALON
Beata is the author of "Not giving a fuck. On listless sex and sexless pleasure", a psychosocial counselor interested in the fact that people are inconvenient and a cultural theorist invested in the nuances of consent. She co-hosts the retreat TANTRA WITH A PINCH OF SALT together with Rebecca, trying to de-clutter tantra massages from all things guru, heteronormative and cringe.
Instagram: @beateabsalon
SCHEDULE
Mon, 10.11.2025 - 7pm-10pm
LANGUAGES
English & German
HOSTS
Eva Hanson, Rebecca Frances, Beate Absalon
PRICES
Participation on a donation basis
Please also read all further info below, too.