Confessions of a Smutathoner
Smut Queen’s Log — Bellesa HQ — 28 Smuttember, 2019
It’s been 6 months since I was sat—
[Oh dear lord, the Britishness is already rubbing off on me. Ahem. Let’s try that again.]
I was sitting at a table with many of my favourite sex blogger faces. We were definitely riding high on the post-Eroticon buzz, and we might have been a drink or so deep when the conversation moved on to, “Well, do you reckon we should talk about this year’s Smutathon?”
It didn’t take long for the many branches of the night’s chats to join together in that moment to result in a lofty idea: why don’t we take Smutathon overseas.
Upon returning to Canada, I presented the idea of bringing Smutathon 2019 to my Bellesa family. I was met with great enthusiasm and the promise of giving me whatever tools and support I needed to make it a great success.
Needless to say, they made more than good on that promise and then some. Not only do we have full access to the Bellesa HQ, but they donated $500 to really kick off the Smutathon campaign along with a bunch of sex toys for the raffle and a few more goodies*, made sure we’re well-fed throughout the day, and even have some champagne for us chilling in the fridge for us pop in celebration at the end of this year’s run.
Also, on the topic of foodstuffs — a big shout out to the lovelies at Café Joe in Montreal for preparing the exceptional sustenance with all of our dietary requirements in mind. Our stomachs and our brains thank you a bunch.
In the time since getting the okay on “Operation: Smutathon does Montreal” from the Bellesa tribunal, I’ve had a lot of, ahem, opportunities to contemplate the current climate for anyone who might need an abortion.
Towards the end of April, I had to go on a dive into what my local options were. Because I’m in Canada, I have the significant privilege of having full, legal access to abortion services. It was bad enough having to deal with the massive hormonal upheaval my body was enduring, along with the tension that comes with not feeling like you can tell anyone why you’re so out of sorts. I couldn’t imagine having had to deal with that on top of knowing that I have no choice but to bear it, or worse — resort to unsafe methods like 25 million people the world over do every year.
I guess I can say ‘fortunately’ in the end, my body decided on a chemical pregnancy before I made the appointment, so I didn’t need to make use of my research uncovered nor do I have a personal abortion story to tell. But it made me starkly aware of both my privileged position on this issue, and feel more strongly than ever that no one should have to go through with such a body and life-altering experience if they don’t want to.
Unsurprisingly, I went through a series of highs and lows in the aftermath as my body recalibrated. Especially because not two weeks later, Alabama passed their anti-abortion bill. This repulsive revelation made me physically ill and viscerally angry. After a few days of yelling along to exclusively all-female feminist punk music, I came down looking forward to Smutathon more than ever.
Because although this is arguably a lot of fun, it’s not all smut and games around here. What we’re doing is important.
My summer months went on to yield more abortion stories, from a few important women in my life. From planned pregnancies that showed potentially threatening abnormalities, to unplanned pregnancies due to contraception failure, and even an emotional conversation with my sister about her abortion experience a couple of years ago, it was a heavy year for this particular topic of conversation.
I guarantee you that there are more people in your day-to-day than you realize who has had to contemplate and/or have an abortion. Most of us won’t tell you what we’re going through at the time. Even fewer will say anything after the fact. Even if we are otherwise quite close.
And if it’s illegal where we live, we’re almost definitely not going to tell you, or anyone else.
Safe, legal access to abortion services saves lives. Point final. Which is why initiatives like the National Network of Abortion Funds are more important than ever.
That’s why we’re here leading our charge on International Safe Abortion Day!
Okay, full disclaimer: we didn’t know it was International Safe Abortion Day when we set the date for this event. However, it doesn’t surprise me at all that it worked out this way. A lot of magic has come to light as this thing has taken shape. I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. At the time of writing this, we’ve nearly hit the halfway mark on our fundraising goal. So, thank you to everyone who has donated so far and will head to the donation link and so so after reading this post!
But the fun isn’t over yet. These writer fingers will keep on flying over our keyboards until 9 pm EST tonight. Like, share, support as you can, drop some virtual coin in our cap for the National Network of Abortion Funds and urge your friends, family, lovers, ex-lovers, mortal enemies to do the same.
Because whether you realize it or not, someone you know will need an abortion one day (if they haven’t already). Your generosity now is tantamount to ensuring every one of us gets the access and treatment we deserve in the case of an unplanned and/or potentially life-threatening pregnancy.
*And just for you, dear benevolent Readers, Bellesa is offering you another way to support this cause while giving yourself a little much-deserved love too.
Use promo code SMUT20 at checkout to get 20% anything and everything in our B Boutique your purchase. From top-grade sex toys to your favourite in feminist merch, 10% of all those sales will go right back to the charity pot.
Talk about coming for a cause, amirite 😉
