Every year, San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair draws a massive crowd, so much so that depending on the time of day, it’s almost as packed as Mardi Gras.
What I didn’t know, despite the fact that I’ve been living in the city for several years, is that I’d find people lined up to be spanked, naked men jerking off in the middle of the street and clotheless women tied up to a street posts with rope.
I have to admit, I really thought I was walking down to a street fair with camera in hand to shoot a street full of food and arts and crafts stalls. “How long have you lived here?” a friend later asked.
Okay, so I didn’t know. What I did discover however, was indeed art, just not the kind I expected. After passing my first naked man, I realized I wasn’t in Kansas anymore, and had entered a different world, one which isn’t public on Folsom Street every day.
While San Francisco welcomes the kinky, the folks in my circles tend to only dabble in all things kinky and naked at Burning Man once a year and that is in a wide open desert, not a street in your hood. Bare skin, tons of color, kissing, cold beer and creative garb – what’s not to entice you?
Writes the Chronicle: “Step right up!” exhorted a man in the cadence of a carnival barker. “We’ve got the regular spanking bench, we’ve got the big chair, and of course, we’ve got the stocks.” Photos from SF Gate here although I took a ton of my own. Even more can be found in my We Blog the World arhives.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
