Have you seen The Breakfast Club and wondered what a Brain, an Athlete, a Basketcase, a Princess, and a Criminal Can Teach Us About BDSM?
Today, the focus is on the best part of The Breakfast Club. This is not how the kids of different backgrounds came together nor the antics they pull during their Saturday detention but the ‘essay’ that they left at the end of the film:
Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. And you see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain…and an athlete…and a basket case…a princess…and a criminal.
Does that answer your question?
Sincerely yours,
The Breakfast Club
How this connects to the lifestyle is that so many people only see others based on what role they have taken for themselves. When people see dominant, submissive, switch, or any other identifier they automatically make assumptions based on that just as Mr. Vernon had judged each of ‘The Breakfast Club’. However, just like each of the members of that club, everyone is unique, and when brought together can discover common ground once the lifestyle labels are set aside. Just like in the film, all of us must invest the time to get to know others and stop judgments based on people’s choice of self-identifiers.
How do I see the people involved in the lifestyle?
I have learned that everyone is original, some a bit wacky (I am), deserving to be treated like royalty, and has made and will make mistakes going forward.
Does that answer the question?
Sincerely yours,
Edward Volkl