Most of us would never have heard of Stellarton, located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, if not for the kinky bed and breakfast that has it in the news lately. Local residents just found out that the Euphoria Kinky B&B existed and they aren’t impressed.

Locals Upset Over Discovery of Kinky B&B

The business had been quietly operating since September of 2015, until last month (March 2016), when the owner had a conversation with local police about permits. It turns out that this home-based business didn’t have the right permits, so the owners agreed to take down their website and advertizing until they could obtain them. They are currently in the application process.

Time to clutch your pearls!

None of this would make news under normal circumstances, but as word of the kinky B&B business spread, entirely predictable rumours and upset residents brought the situation to the fore. There have been numerous “meetings with various families and town officials”. One neighbour expressed concern about the type of people the business would attract to the area.

While town officials confirm that if the business obtains it’s permit and passes a fire inspection, there is little they can do to keep the kinky B&B closed. Euphoria B&B would also have to comply with a local covenant, which applies to all the businesses on Poplar Street, where they are located. The covenant states that no business or professional activity is permitted on the street.

It never ceases to amaze me what many people think that kinky people do. While they always seem to be a bit vauge on the details, they know that it’s bad for the children! Well, I think we can agree, at least in principle, on that one. I don’t think kids – or any non-concenting person – should be exposed to kinky practice, which is why I do my BDSM at home (no kids) or at adult only parties specifically for kinky activities.

Reading the article and the comment section is eye opening. One commenter declared that the business was a ‘bawdy house’. I suppose it could be, since the legal definition of bawdy house is incredibly vauge, but then all B&Bs, hotels, etc. would also fall into that classification. Yes, people who rent a room at Euphoria are likely going to have sex at some point during their stay, just like many people who rent a regular hotel room will have sex (and may even bring their own kinky toys).

This is the double edged sword of books/movies like 50 Shades. While it does bring kink into the public eye, it presents an inaccurate picture. By showing unhealthy ‘BDSM’ relationships, it reinforces the idea that kinky people are sexual deviants, abusive and undesireable neighbours. The vast majority of kinky people that I know (and that’s a lot of people after 20 years in the scene), are normal people. They have jobs, houses, car payments and families, just like anyone else. I’m positive that their neighbours have no idea about the dungeon room in their homes or what they do at parties on the weekend.

It’s why I believe in education about kink. My teaching people about what we do, it helps demystify it. Hopefully, the stigma will be lessened. While we may not win over the small towns of Canada, we can at least hope for tolerance of our lifestyle.

What do you think? Should we just keep quiet and try to fly under the radar? Should we be more vocal about who we are? Will vanilla society always have these ideas about us?