Letter From the Editor

Welcome to the re-launch of Kink-e-Zine, a wide-ranging resource for kink. It's exciting for us to start the new year with a new look and reinvigorated publication. We hope you have as much fun reading the articles as we've had putting them together. Before I get too far ahead of myself, I want to thank the staff of Kink-e-Zine for all their hard work over the past few months as we've worked to get to this point. I also want to thank our contributors and columnists, who helped us put our best foot forward. We literally couldn't have done any of this without you.

It was in thinking about all the different people involved that I decided to use this space to speak briefly about the idea of community, and why we think Kink-e-Zine is important. A lot of us talk about community, because it's often a core construct of our kink journey. We want to belong. We want to know that we aren't alone in the things we value. This desire for togetherness is evident in all walks of life, whether professional or personal. And it is especially true in kink. Validation is important. Encouragement and support are necessary. Teaching and growth are vital. And we rely on our community for these things and more.

However, the very idea of "community" is individual in its definition. Some treat the idea of community as a second family, knitting themselves into the fabric of kink. Others view community as a tangential safety net, or support network. The community is gay, straight, and bi-sexual. It identifies as male, female, and gender neutral. It is sex. It is asexual. It can be the most important aspect of a person's experience, or it can be barely an afterthought. And writing to that disparate and wide-reaching idea of "community" is what we at Kink-e-Zine strive to do.

We are just one platform for our community. The sense of belonging extends far beyond the brick and mortar of a physical space. It is more than a web site filled with pretty pictures. We want to speak to the core of our experience, whatever that experience might be. We want Kink-e-Zine to be a source of credible information. We want to help people grow. We want the virtual doors of our magazine to feel like the entrance to a comfortable room where all are welcome.

Consider this an invitation, then, to come in and explore, and to contribute. We're purposely starting small right now, wanting to keep the scope of our endeavors to a manageable size. But we'll be growing steadily as we move forward. Our hope is that the community will fully participate in our growth and progress. There is no better way to shape this space than being an active contributor in its coverage.

This magazine is yours. It only succeeds with you. And we look forward to getting to know you all better, and being a bright spot in the world of Kink.

Robert F. James
Editor-in-Chief