Written by Sarah Tuttle-Singer. Sarah is Jewrotica’s social media guru.
Every Thursday night during my last two years at UC Berkeley, my friends and I would drive across the Bay Bridge from Berkeley to San Francisco for a night of revelry and bacchanalian experimentation at Cat Club. The venue was renowned in the area for playing the best assortment of ’80’s music, and for attracting a goody bag of club-hoppers including the Euro-Fabulous, the Body-Modified, the Hells Angels, the Boys-into-Boys and Girls-into-Girls, the prerequisite college students, and even a few folks who danced to ’80’s music before it became kitsch — you know, back in the actual ’80’s. I loved Thursday nights: I would shimmy into black pleather pants so tight they squeaked when I tried to sit down in them, and line my eyes with heavy kohl.
I fell madly in love with ’80’s music during my time at Cat Club. The perky, upbeat songs were addictive, and unlike most clubs, which take themselves way too seriously, Cat Club was always fun. And, given the close proximity of the youth hostels to the club, there was a true international flavor on the dance floor: When “Come on Eileen” began to play, the Irish would whoop and holler. When the first few bars of ‘Land Down Under’ filled the club, the Australians bulldozed their way into the center of the action. And as soon as ’99 Luft Balons’ came on, a gaggle of screaming Germans would flock to the middle of the dance floor.
My girlfriend, K, knowledgeable in all things alcoholic, introduced me to the best club drink, “Bull in a China Shop,” a concoction of Red Bull, Grenadine, raspberry-flavoured Vodka, and lots of those sweet red cherries. As soon as we got to Cat Club, I would saunter up to the bar, flirt with the incredibly beautiful tattooed bartender, and order my new signature drink. Warmed by the vodka and fueled by the Red Bull, I’d get up to dance, and usually, after another Bull in a China Shop chased by a few free beers, I would end up with my girlfriends in the cage, bumping and grinding and attracting a lot of attention.
Jewrotica is awesome. It expands the mind and for people who were raised with narrow views on sexuality. Whether you are Jewish or not, or in different sects of Judaism like Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, no matter what your background or where you’re from, Jewrotica gets you to see Judaism and how it relates to sexuality in new ways. I really appreciate Ayo being here and helping us learn different ways to connect with our sexuality.
Such an amazing experience! The Sarah Lawrence Jewrotica workshop was more than I could have ever expected – a comfortable, safe, sultry environment where participants clearly felt good about sharing or listening to each other’s intimate experiences and relating them to sexy stories from the Torah. From the moment the workshop began, Ayo had a sweet presence that was kinetic and spread around the room; her storytelling abilities had everyone enraptured and made the conversation topics relata…
I had a great time deejaying at the Jewrotica event at Columbia University. The live readings were hilarious, informative, and in some cases, deeply moving. I know that I, along with many of my AEPi fraternity brothers, loved being able to connect our Judaism and our sexuality in a way that made all of us feel comfortable and welcome. I look forward to being a part of this again in the future!
The Jewrotica event “Evening of Jewrotica: Bedside Reading” was awesome. As Master of Confessions, I got to read the deepest, darkest secrets of people in the room out loud… It was scintillating, titillating, and – yes – even educational!
Learning about sex and what’s right and wrong when it comes to sex from a Biblical standpoint was an eye opening experience. I completely enjoyed it and think something like this could be a very cool thing to bring to even high school aged Jewish youth groups.
I attended and participated in last month’s Jewrotica event. The engaging performers and Ayo, our inviting host, inspired the audience to feel like one big community. What a great way to inspire our community to embrace sex as a beautiful thing that can be fun, exciting, sacred, sensual, ridiculous, scary and everything in between!
I stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of this. I was glad to open up the topic of sexuality in my community. We are trying to build a safe space to talk about sex. The result I am most happy about coming from this event is that hopefully now my friends know they can come and talk to me, that I can be their ‘safe space’.
What an incredible night Jewrotica was!!!! There was this fantastic moment, in a sea of Jews of all sexualities, ages, backgrounds and denominations, that I realized we were all in this together! I hope that there are many more events coming to Austin soon!
Jewrotica is a great way to ask interesting questions about the interplay between sensuality and Jewish wisdom. Check it out.
I love the inclusiveness – there is something for everyone, in and out of the Jewish community.
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