TOPS’ SCHOOL — SM Class

with Laura Stanszus and Tobias Wieland

In this session, we will explore the intellectual, somatic, and psychodynamic dimensions of sadism and masochism. How is masochism linked to anticipation? How do pain and pleasure interplay and how can we intensify the experience of both? What role do fantasy and fetishism play? What is the relation between consent and submission?

In this format, we practice conscious kink as an intentional, symbolic, and ritualized experience. We start with the intellectual side and then gradually transition into the body, allowing participants to embody what first emerged mentally. This creates a very clear frame and leaves plenty of room for impact play, ritual, symbolism, and exploration, while still feeling safe and structured, because there is an intellectual framework as well as embodiment practices woven throughout to return to. The container of philosophy in combination with somatic excercises supports intense role play and power dynamics.

The first part will consist of reading and discussing the theoretical text by Gilles Deleuze Coldness and Cruelty, which focuses on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. In Coldness and Cruelty, Deleuze argues that masochism cannot be reduced to the simple inversion of sadism, because it has its own formal structure. He emphasizes that masochism is defined by waiting, suspension, and fantasy: the masochist does not merely seek pain, but stages a scenario in which pain is delayed, anticipated, and linked to the arrival of pleasure. We will discuss this framework and combine it with guided somatic exercises for awareness and (co-)regulation.

The second part will begin with an embodiment practice. From there, a group exercise follows, in which a scene is created, first rehearsed within groups and then performed for the entire audience, involving consent practices, pre-scene negotiation, and boundaries. Afterwards, we will transition into free play without guidance. The hosts will be present if needed, and will also participate in the play by offering somatic support and co-regulation, to intensify participants capacity for staying present in their SM experience. 

Participation in either part is possible. If you are considering attending only the Impossible Play Party, please check in with yourself about whether you can embody dominance safely and feel comfortable with SM. We will trust you, so be honest with yourself. There will be time for an opening briefing for play-only attendees.

Session structure

18:00–20:30 Philosophical readings, followed by discussion and somatic exercises

Break

21:00–01:00 The Impossible Play Party — tops only (co-tops, top-curious participants, and switchers welcome)

No prior reading is required. We will read key passages of the philosophical text together, discuss their implications, and then bring them to life through movement and play in ways that are intellectually engaging and physically exploratory. For those who would like to prepare, I will provide the texts in advance (German and English).

Das IKSK-Seminar ist ein zweisprachiger Raum. Alle Varianten von Deutsch und Englisch sind willkommen. Das passive Verständnis beider Sprachen reicht aus.

Sliding scale: €20–60, drop-in.

If you have any questions or would like to receive the text beforehand, please get in touch via:

tobiwieland@icloud.com

Telegram: tobi_berlin

Instagram: wieland.tobi

About the hosts. The seminar is co-hosted.

Dr. Laura Stanszus has spent nearly two decades researching what people need to live and express themselves the way they want to — but don’t seem to manage. As a scientist, coach, and doula. Her favorite playground: sexuality as an expression of creative life force — where intensity, for her, is something to cultivate inward rather than only outward.

Tobias Wieland, an academic philosopher based in Berlin. His work focuses on contemporary critical theory, feminist thought, and the (un)doing of gender and sexuality. He is currently writing a book exploring a critical theory of erotic expressivity.