Smutburger investigates expanded conceptions of sex and love, focussing on the ins and outs of the poly experience for women. 

As the practice of polyamory and ethical non-monogamy gradually becomes more open and known in our imagination, what still needs to be understood? What does it mean to love more than one person at the same time? How does polyamory function in our overriding Western culture of monogamy, possession and jealousy? Does this type of relationship challenge the dominant culture in larger ways, outside of the bedroom? How do people get into poly – by accident or by drive? And is polyamory a practice or an identity? Does it differ between LGBTQ and heterosexual communities? What are the histories, both established and less known? And of course, because this is a Smutburger event, what is the literature of polyamory? Guests Renelyn Quinicot and Jenny Yuen explore these questions and more in an evening of open dialogue and exploration.

We are all so hungry. As we rush to take up space with gorged bodies again, Smutburger wants to explore communal pleasures through food and sex. It’s not a coincidence that Dionysus was god of wine as well as ecstasy and mindless pleasures. A post-COVID world may be our Bacchanal. Oysters on the half shell and open legs.

How are we going to congregate in the near future? How do we prepare ourselves to emerge from extreme states of caution to break bread with each other? What is irreversibly changed in regards to social awareness and equity? What should these celebratory gatherings look like? What do we need to feel fed and FULL? How can we dilate, get out and get loose? Smutburger wants to talk about this pursuit of pleasure-to-come. Everyone rotten and bursting with flavour. Let’s talk about preparing to help each other let go and let our cup runneth over. 

Still in the shock of lockdown, our first event online congealed around two texts: When the Sick Rule the World by Dodie Bellamyand How to Have Promiscuity in an Epidemic. by Douglas Crimp. Writer Drew Zeiba presented a beautiful, original piece about being and desire in the first throes of the pandemic. Through his piece, we experienced a tentative, yet possible online intimacy.