Fetish Ball Relishes in Sexual Liberation Celebration

CW: sexual themes

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When asked to attend the 2nd annual Seattle Fetish Ball and write about it, I only had one question at first: What do you even wear to fetish balls? I’m the type of person that needs to look at menus, check parking, and figure out how long a walk from place to place is. I like being informed, but mostly I have a fear of being or looking out of place. Luckily, they had guidelines.

Fetish wear required; it was clearly intended to be a safe space for the fetish/kink/alternative communities. “Seattle Fetish Ball offers guests a chance to let loose, dress daringly, and embrace their inner kink in a safe, consensual, and respectful environment.”-first page of their website.

Fit for Seattle Fetish Ball

Jordan Ballard-Gennrich

A comprehensive dress code with photos from the previous ball made it easy to know what to aim for. But fetish and kink are so personal, it was hard to determine what would work for me. I wanted to be scantily clad but not take it too far (I would later discover that I had nothing to worry about in this regard). I also wanted to be appropriate enough for photos for this article. With my outfit purchased, I was feeling a bit uneasy. Uneasy with myself and the idea of being intentionally dressed for eroticism in public. 

Like a lot of people, I always feel some way about how clothes look on models compared to how they look on me. And I look at myself every day so I’m more likely to see the “flaws” rather than the whole of me. But I added my personal style in accessories, and after much hyping from my husband (who has the sexiest vampire outfit and looked so good, it made me stress about my outfit moderately worse), we made it to the event. 

Arriving at Showbox SoDo made my worries all but disappear. I was in line with my people. I say that because as we all lined up in platforms, black, and latex and leather, the jokes about “I must be in the right place” or “looks like everyone got the memo” reminded me that I wasn’t here to be judged. I was here to be free. And the final point of entry made sure of that—an outfit check, to make sure you meet the dress code. Two stylish individuals barring the way scanned my outfit. I was wearing a giant faux fur coat over my lacy little slip dress and got to unbutton my coat and whip it open. I was once again hyped up and let inside. 

The coat check was free, so we stopped there first, then the bathroom (where I immediately fell trying to wash my hands and twisted my ankle). We got a drink for the tiniest bit of liquid courage. Walking around there were different stalls, leather and latex shine, boot black, corsets and paddles and chokers (oh my!). 

A long line led to a professional photographer, who guided us in posing after asking what our relationship was to each other. They also had a video booth, prize table, VIP section, DJ, live music from the band Night Club and a fetish fashion show. Most of the night was spent dancing, feeling hot, and admiring all of the other attendees. 

• Fetish Ball Photos

  Photo Gallery, 9-10pm

I’m sure it goes without saying but the Fetish community is creative as hell! I didn’t take pictures of anyone but myself to preserve the safe space for sexual expression, but the gallery is available on the Fetish Ball site. I was very impressed by the outfits, styles, and combination of different communities intersecting in the kink/fetish world.

The night was amazing, but the aftermath feels worthy of a conversation as well. In (US) society, sex and sexual imagery are used in a variety of ways—mostly to sell things—but despite that, conversations about sex and sexuality are taboo. Despite sex being the No. 1 way that humans (and most other creatures) enter this world, we carry on as if it’s some sort of secret that shouldn’t be acknowledged. Many intellectuals before me have studied this topic in far greater detail than I have, so I’m going to steer this in a more personal direction.

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To be continued in Part 2, an Op-Ed regarding sexual liberation.