We are excited to host
Mara
(They/Them)
A long time ago in a leather bar far, far away, a precocious-ly young Mara set out hoping to cruise themselves to a good night of leather and pain. They discovered love, lust, family and a calling to service that is still going strong.
Today Mara is the current SouthEast Person of Leather, and identifies as a Slave with a capital S, a proud member of the ATM Collective, and wears a host of other labels as a conversation starter: Leather, gender-queer, pansexual, and body stress ritual practitioner. They also love dancing on either side of the S/m slash reveling in being equal parts evil bastard and pain slut.
Their 25+ year journey has been one of pushing boundaries and creating safer spaces for folx in marginalized communities, as well as empowering all people who identify on the right side of the slash.
Thank you for your interest and your support of THRIVE! Because THRIVE is 100% free, we ask that you pay it forward by donating to our speakers.
Mara accepts support through CashApp ($roninmara) and Venmo (@roninmara) and PayPal (blah@gmail.com)
If you enjoyed Mara, you can follow them at https://roninmara.com
If you would like to support THRIVE’s efforts, consider picking up THRIVE swag at https://www.redbubble.com/people/DevynStone/
Who will be presenting:
Lines in the Sand & Learning to Say NO!
Class Description
Trauma history? Check. Service Heart? Check. Huge struggle setting healthy boundaries in PE/AT relationships? Double check! Setting boundaries and saying no is one of the biggest challenges an S-type can face. Add to that trauma triggers that have us default to fawning, freezing or fighting, and you can have a perfect storm resulting in unhealthy PE/AT relationships. Learning to say no to a prospective play offer, saying no to the community demanding too much of your time, and the ever dreaded- saying no to your D-type can be an invaluable skill. This class focuses on establishing a foundational bill of rights, recognizing when we watch our lines in the sand get washed away and how to recover and finally how to say no as a complete sentence. Especially when there is a power imbalance in your relationship. I will offer up some tricks on how to use posture, protocol and Voice to get our will across in a polite manner (and also tips on when and how to not be so polite!)
Who will be presenting:
Welcome/Opening
Opening Description
Join us as we open THRIVE for the fourth year! We will discuss rules, excitement for the weekend, and more! This year our opening keynote will be delivered by our 2024 International Person of Leather, Mara!!