Clauses. A Self-Reflection

The list of things we want to include as guidelines in our workshop descriptions keeps growing longer and longer with each workshop we hold. For example, at one point it felt sufficient to simply state that “people of all genders and sexual orientations are welcome.” It’s now clear: simply mentioning that isn’t enough, of course. Because a mixed group brings its own explosive potential, and while everyone is welcome, how do we address the specific challenges that arise? Can workshop facilitators talk about vulvas in a way that allows people without anatomical vulvas—but with energetic ones—to receive their vulva massages? Who can do that? How? And how do group leaders navigate this, ensuring a group handles it coolly when, for example, structurally marginalized people (e.g., people with bodies that, across the spectrum of race, gender, age, and disability, present conditions different from what a socially conventional norm dictates) are present—without triggering…