6A= THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
Fetish group indulges in tough love
FRIDAY.MAR.15.2002
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Top: Members of Contra Naturam, clockwise from bottom center; Jericho, Famine, Sterling, Saffron, and Meghan. The group performed Wednesday night at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hamshire. Left: Sterling flogs an audience member with a whip of cloth cords during the audience-participation segment of the show.
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
By Mandalee Meisner Special to the Kansan
By all appearances, the first "Fetish Night" was absolute torture.
"It hurt a little," she said,
"but it wasn't all pain. It was sort of a tingling sensation."
But to Megan Ehlers—who writhed her way from one restrictive device to another on a darkened stage—even the electric shocks were "a lot of fun."
Fetish performance group Contra Naturam played host to Wednesday night's showcase of bondage, domination and sadomasochistic tools and techniques at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire. Translated from Latin, the group's name means against nature. More than 50 people attended the show, which will be held on the second Wednesday of each month.
As the only full-time "sub" or submissive in the group, Ehlers spent the better half of an hour getting spanked, flogged and bitten by the five other members.
After the performance audience members were invited onstage to experiment with the equipment.
But some people brought their own tools, such as a middle-aged couple dressed in black who spent most of the night exchanging sharp hits from a whip.
Others just watched the performance, opting not to explore their dark desires in public.
Radha Bhatnagar, a
AARON SHOWAITER/KANSAN
Lawrence resident, was intrigued by the "violet wand," an electroshock tool that gets its name from the bright flashes of purple light it emits when used.
Saffron ties up a willing participant near the end of the show. Contra Naturam will perform the second Wednesday of each month.
"That was a really cool toy they used up there," she said. "It'd be interesting to trvout."
But Bhattnagar chose not to partake in the audience-participation potion
of the show.
"You can't fully release yourself in an environment like this. There are too many people. I would have to be on drugs." she said
Vanessa Hays, Topeka sophomore, said she found the performance intense.
"I don't know many people who can take that many different kinds of pain in one session," she said.
In one segment of the show, Ehlers portrayed a baby who was raped by her parents, dragged away by figures dressed in black, and beaten against her will. Ehlers and Jericho van de Velde, the group's founding member, stressed that everything that
"Megan was being checked on constantly," van the Velde said. "Every time I was grabbing herby the hair, pulling her back and snarling, I was going
"Everytime I was grabbing her by the hair pulling her back and snarling, I was going 'are you okay?' "
Jerico vande Velde
founding member
Contra Naturam is dedicated to providing a safe haven for fetish appreciators.
Contact Meisner at meisner@kansan.com. This story was edited by Brandon Stinnet.
'are you okav?'"
"This is more than just a show, or a dance night, with a couple of kinky people," van de Velde said. "I want everybody who's into this to come out and socialize."
Gonorrhea prevalent in Kansas City
Millions of Americans might be infected with gonorrhea, but they aren't being diagnosed or treated, according to a study released last month.
The study also found that Kansas City, Mo. had one of the highest rates of gonorrhea in the nation. Those infected increased by 37 percent last year, which was the largest increase in America. It is estimated that between 5 and 8 percent of Americans have the disease.
in a study conducted last year, the Research Triangle Institute in Washington, D.C. found that almost all of the people who tested positive for gonorrhea reported no symptoms in the previous six months.
Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease, caused by a bacteria that grows in the warm, moist areas of the reproductive tract. The areas of growth include the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes in women, and in the urethra in women and men. The bacteria can also grow in the mouth, throat and anus.
Gonorrhea is spread through sexual contact. Ejaculation does not have to occur for gonorrhea to be transmitted or acquired.
Cathy Thrasher, chief pharmacist at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that any sexually active person could be infected with gonorrhea, but most people often had no symptoms. The center does not keep track of the numbers of students infected with gonorrhea.
Untreated gonorrhea in women can develop into pelvic inflammatory disease, which causes infertility. It can also cause infertility in men.
Thrasher said that gonorrhea could be diagnosed with a simple urine test and treated with a course of antibiotics, such as penicillin.
"The best prevention method is abstinence," she said. "Latex condoms should be used every time during sex."
—Summer Lewis
Gonorrhea symptoms
Male symptoms: A burning sensation when urinating and a yellowish white discharge from the penis, and painful or swollen testicles.
- Female symptoms: A burning sensation when urinating and a vaginal discharge that is yellow or bloody. The early symptoms of gonorrhea are often mild, and many women who are infected have no symptoms of infection.
source: Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov.
BET leaves Harlem amid fanfare
NEW YORK — Twoyears after arriving in Harlem, Black Entertainment Television announced it was swapping its uptown digs for a midtown address — much to the chagrin of black business and political leaders.
"We were disappointed about the news," Terry Lane, chief executive of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, said yesterday. "Given the culturally specific programming that BET does, it seemed logical that Harlem would be its home."
Instead, the black-oriented network was relocating to the CBS Broadcast Center on West
57th Street after breaking off negotiations for a bigger space about 20 blocks north of its current Harlem location.
Both CBS and BET are owned by Viacom, which purchased Black Entertainment Television in November 2000 for nearly $3 billion.
"Harlem had a great pride in its selection by BET," said U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, whose district includes the neighborhood. "There's no question that we, more than CBS or downtown, exemplify what the station is supposed to stand for."
City officials were talking with
BET to anchor its Gotham Plaza project at 125th street and Lee.
But Lane said officials at the empowerment zone — which had helped lure BET uptown two years ago with a variety of tax breaks — discovered the network was breaking off talks through a press release.
Attempts to reach BET officials about resuscitating the Harlem plan were unsuccessful, both Lane and Rangel said. A BET spokesman did not return calls for comment.
BET had moved to Harlem several months before the Viacom purchase.
Country music nominees named
LOS ANGELES — Toby Keith and Brooks & Dunn led nominations for the Academy of Country Music Awards yesterday with six apiece, including for album and entertainer of the year.
The Associated Press
Alan jackson, Tim McGraw, and Travis Tritt each had four nominations. All will compete in the top male vocalist category against Keith and Kenny Chesney.
Keith is also up for single of the year, song of the year and country video of the year for his hit "I Wanna 'Talk About Me.' Jackson's Sept. 11. insired-ball
lad, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," was also nominated for single of the year, along with Brooks & Dunn's "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You," "It's a Great Day to Be Alive," by Travis Tritt, and "One More Dear," by Diamond Rio.
Brooks & Dunn's "Only in America" was nominated for best song and country video. The pair also has a mention for best duo.
Mendominated most of the top categories - other entertainer of the year nominees were Jackson, McGraw and Garth Brooks.
Best album nominees were
Titt's "Down the Road I Go," Keith's "Pull My Chain," McGraw's "Set This Circus Down," Brooks & Dunn's "Steers & Stripes" and the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Winners will be announced during the 37th annual Academy of Country Music Awards show broadcast by CBS on May 22 from the Universal Amphitheatre
Nominees, voted by the 3,000-member academy, were announced by show producer Dick Clark, actress Jane Seymour and singer Jo Dee Messina.
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