Is GD2 closing on January 1st?  What happens on that date?

GD2 will be open after January 1st, 2012.  GD2 will continue to host its monthly education and newcomer’s socials and will offer the same membership benefits as before.

On January 1st, 2012 GD2 will be under the management of Jerith and Wilson, who will assume full operation and responsibility for the club.   For the most part, things will remain as they currently are – you will enjoy the same membership structure, the same benefits of membership, and the same space.

Is GD2′s name changing to Locus on January 1st?

No.  GD2 will morph into Locus sometime in the late spring/early summer of 2012.  We will open in a new space configured to allow us to meet Locus’ inclusive mission statement.

Where will Locus be located?

Locus will be located in Chicago and we are currently searching different neighborhoods across the city.   We are carefully weighing the pros and cons of each space to choose the best location for our membership.  This includes taking into consideration public transportation, distance to highways, accessibility, square footage, ambiance, parking, and a host of other factors.

What can we do to help?

The best way to help Locus become a reality is to join GD2.  The more people who become members of GD2 now, the more resources Locus will have to bring you everything you want in a sex positive, kinky community center.   In January, 2012, we will announce our fund raising goals and plans, so be on the look out for information on how to donate to Locus.

In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter to learn about the great events happening at GD2 right now.

We also have received a few questions repeatedly, so read on to learn more about Locus and what it means for GD2 to become Locus.

What Do We Mean by “Sex Positive and Kinky”?

Someone who is “sex positive”:

• Embraces the multitude of our desires, relationship structures, and identities.
• Is committed to being aware of and having the freedom to make our own decisions when it comes to sexual and other intimate relationships.
• Is inclusive and avoids restrictive assumptions rooted in stereotypes based on who we are or how we identify.
• Contributes to a culture or sub-culture that does not denigrate differences and limit possibility.

Being sex positive and kinky means being sex positive in a way that focuses on BDSM, Leather, fetishism, and alternative sexuality and relationships.

GD2 and Locus are sex positive and focused on kink, not one or the other.

Is GD2 becoming a swing/sex club?
Will Locus be open to anyone who has an interest in sex?

No. The focus of GD2 and of Locus is all manner of kink, whether BDSM, Leather, fetishism, and alternative sexuality or relationships. For some people, that includes non-monogamy or sex, while for others it does not.

GD2 and Locus are for everyone who is sex positive and kinky and is committed to our communities and will never be a place for people just looking for sex.

Will GD2/Locus be open to the public?

Aside from free events that are solely educational or social, GD2 is, and eventually Locus will be, members-only and will not be open to the public in any way.

What kinds of membership will be available in Locus?
When will you announce Locus’s membership structure?

To successfully navigate the many legal, regulatory, and fiscal issues involved, we have been laying the groundwork for a long time for the basic types of membership options we’ve announced. We are in the final stages of laying that groundwork, and when it is fully laid, we will be able to announce the specifics of membership in Locus.

Why is the age limit changing from 21+ to 18+?
I’m worried about the age limit change.

More and more people under the age of 21 are involved in our communities than ever before, and we believe it is important for everyone 18+ to be able to explore and learn about our lifestyle safely.

Although the age limit will change, members of GD2 and of Locus as its successor will be held to the same standard as they always have been. Members will be expected to exhibit the maturity, common sense, and personal responsibility that are the hallmarks of GD2 and its members. Any deviation from that standard will be dealt with promptly and directly, regardless of age.

An image…is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan, or an easily remembered picture.  It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual institution, corporation, product or service.

Wilson and I knew that we wanted our logo to be bold and special.  We wanted it to convey that Locus was true to the definition “a place of importance to an activity or interest.” We wanted the logo to imply that we are inclusive.  We wanted it to speak to the tagline “Center for Creative Sexuality”.  All of that is a lot to encompass in a small image.

After fiddling around with some sketches, it was apparent that we couldn’t do this on our own, and we needed some assistance in developing the concept.  We approached Rob, the talented graphic artist behind SmutCraft, to design our logo and were thrilled with his ideas.

He created several images for us that were dramatic and met all of our needs, but the one that resonated with us the most is the one that you see on our website — 3 concentric but open circles that we think visually speak to our mission statement.

We recently received a message from someone active in the Chicago kink community who really felt strongly about our logo.  I want to share her message with you:

Nice logo, by the way, on the website. It implies a spiral – a symbol that’s expansive and inclusive.

But conjointly, the logo design acts in another way, too, because the spiral is implied rather than being outright. In not being a continuous line, your logo is also dynamic, creating a feeling of action.

Also, the colours speak. The red section is exciting, the black has depth (which could be interpreted as ‘relevantly meaningful’, among other things), and the brown is grounding.

Taking it in as a whole – the implied spiral, the broken lines and the colours used – the logo’s visual rhythm certainly isn’t static. And yet it is well-balanced.

And so, all of these elements can be felt to be within the mission of Locus. Expansive, exciting, inclusive, dynamic, well-balanced, relevant, meaningful.

Feels like an optimistic and progressive development for our community

-Mimi S.

Thanks Mimi!  We agree.  We look forward to seeing you out and about and we want to thank you so much for your support!

At Locus, we take confidentiality seriously and permission was obtained before names were used.

The Chicago scene is abuzz with the promise of renewal and rebirth, and New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to celebrate our future and honor our past.

Don a disguise, unmask your hidden or not so hidden desires, and join us to embrace your depravity, indulge your senses, and fulfill your fantasies. Exhibitionists, voyeurs, fetishes, a kinky crowd doing things most people only dream of. . .you’ll find it all at GD2 on NYE.

We’ll have some masks on hand, but to find an exceptional disguise, we suggest these retailers:

• Leather Masks from The Mummers Cat
• Venetian Masks from Visions of Venice
• Crème de la crème from Carta Alta (order early)
• Budget Friendly Feathered Masks from BridalBijou
• Lace Masks from Totus Mel
• Inexpensive Leather and Feather Creations from Bead Mask

When: Saturday, December 31st, 2011
Time: 8:00 P.M. – 3:00 A.M.
Place: Galleria Domain 2, Chicago, IL
FetLife Event Page

I took that advice to heart by engaging and supporting existing organizations and groups, most notably GD2.

It was a much more difficult time for kinky folks in Chicago in 2002. Among the many other challenges we faced, the kinky clubs in town had been heavily fined and shut down by the city’s Department of Revenue for reasons related to licensing, being open to the public, and accepting money at the door (which is why membership-based clubs in Chicago are structured the way they are). In the aftermath, GD2 quickly opened as a successor to the original Galleria Domain with an initial membership base of…35 or so members.

How did GD2 ever survive, and not only survive but thrive and come to set the standard for similar organizations in Chicago and elsewhere?

Obviously, Carol and Colt, who established the new GD2, took on the hard work, responsibilities, and liabilities of running the club. (When you see them or meet them, please, thank them for their hard work!)

What sometimes isn’t so obvious is that GD2 survived and has thrived because of all of the people who got involved and helped make it what it is.

My own story? I had been to the original Galleria Domain previously, but I nonetheless visited the club as soon as possible after it opened in the wake of its predecessor being shut down. I knew I loved the space, I was even more excited that all manner of play was not only allowed but encouraged, and I was impressed with the way the club was structured to comply as fully as possible with applicable laws and ordinances. With an understanding of what GD2 already had to offer and inspired by its potential, as well as an understanding of how important each membership was for the club, I immediately joined.

I have been a member ever since. I became a regular at GD2 events and invited people to attend with me, I recommended GD2 to friends and acquaintances, I organized group outings to the club, I volunteered.

I didn’t do all of that all-out and non-stop, of course. There were times when other obligations, like work, school, or family, took priority. But even when I wasn’t able to attend as often as I would have liked, I maintained my membership and referred people to GD2 because it was a small contribution to building an organization that had the potential to serve, did serve, and will continue to serve our communities.

That’s my story, but GD2 isn’t where it is today because of me or any one person. It’s due to the similar actions and contributions of many, many people. It’s due to all of the people who have been active in and supported GD2 over the year. People like you, people who are current, active members, people who are members but only attend occasionally, and going forward, people who are not now but will become members in the future.

People getting involved to create what they wanted was and is the difference between success and failure, the difference between having a place to meet and learn and play and not.

The same is true of Locus, which is possible because so many people have already gotten involved.

As GD2 transitions to Locus and as Locus creates exciting new opportunities for our communities, I look forward to people becoming even more involved, people actively engaging all of what Locus has to offer and, through their support, Locus having the ability to offer even more.

In the coming months, you will see me write or hear me speak of “communities” often. I say “communities” rather than “community” because to me the plural more accurately accounts for the diversity of people, practices, and lifestyles that fall under the umbrella of whatever term one uses to refer to what it is that we do or to define who we are, whether we say “Leather,” “kink,” “BDSM,” “lifestyle,” or any other term, commonly used or not.

The singular also suggests a unity or conformity, and a level of closeness or cohesiveness, that do not necessarily exist for us in the ways that they sometimes do in a smaller community that is more tightly bound both geographically and in terms of practices and identities. The plural, on the other hand, indicates more broadly shared characteristics and interests distinct in some respect from the larger society in which we exist, and I think those characteristics and interests align more than many of us realize or are willing to acknowledge at first glance.

By emphasizing communities rather than a single community, by focusing on the interests we have in common, we can provide greater opportunities for protecting and furthering all of our goals, both separately and together.

As people get involved with GD2 and Locus, I look forward to not only engaging those common interests but more closely aligning those interests to strengthen all of our communities.