SAN FRANCISCO, IOWA
Dungeon Owners Mary Trink and George Grabbo have announced that all parties for the the foreseeable future will be “themeless.” The couple, who own the Bastille, one of Iowa’s premiere dungeons and play spaces have been able to come up with a single theme for a party that isn’t offensive to someone.
Sparked by controversy last year when local sex workers picketed their “Pimps and Hos” annual party carrying signed and chanting “Hey Hey Ho Ho, Pimps and Hos has got to go!,” the couple has decided to eliminate the use of themes altogether.
“It was a tough decision,” said Mary Trink, “but we have seen this coming for a while. Over the past two years, every time we have a party someone objects to the title or the theme. Last year when we had a party simply labeled ‘kink’ a group accused us of something called ‘kinknormativity.'” According to Grabbo, when they asked protesters to explain their objections, they were told that “the very act of questioning and defining is what kinknormativity is about.”
The Bastille is also under attack by a number of other groups, who object to the name of the dungeon, claiming that it “appropriates a very painful time for all of French ancestry.” They have also been asked to rename their events, as the word “party” some feel “trivializes and demeans the seriousness of the interactions among participants.”
