Neurodivergent Workshop: Pleasure and Our Bodies as Territories of Resistance

What is this workshop about?
This workshop proposes tools for the exploration, reflection, and collective conversation about our bodies, our eroticism, our desire, and our pleasure. We believe the best toy is you: your own body, your own sensations, your own curiosity. We want to review the beliefs about desire that we carry, how social norms shape them, and what other possibilities we can imagine based on our lived experiences.

IMPORTANT: With reccomendations from the Berlin Neurodivergent Community organizers, this workshop is open exclusively to FLINTA (women, lesbians, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender) and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) people. Thank you for respecting it.

How to RSVP?

1. Read the event description below.
2. Fill in this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfg_PYZRQpJoQrMcL04HPUjAY7jWZKFsKvQ-gyP-kWYetZZrA/viewform

This will be the first time we will be offering this workshop to a group made up exclusively of neurodivergent people. We have made some adjustments with different ways of sensing, communicating, moving, and participating in mind. This is also part of our learning process as workshop facilitators: we are exploring how to open up this space in the best way we can, within our current possibilities, and we know there will certainly be things we can continue learning and adjusting along the way.

Who will be facilitating the workshop?
My name is Ilok Inti. I am a trans, non-binary, agender, autistic person with ADHD. I have worked as an educator and workshop facilitator for several years, and I am also an activist for the rights of trans and non-binary people.
I am a co-founder of La Juguetería TRANSensual, a collective through which we explore the relationships between bodies, desire, eroticism, and pleasure, while questioning the norms that tell us what our bodies and experiences should look like. Drawing on my own experiences and my pedagogical and political work, I am interested in creating spaces where we can ask questions, share perspectives, and imagine other ways of inhabiting our bodies and desires.

What can you expect from this gathering, and what not?

• There will be no sexual acts, nudity, or physical contact between participants. This will be a space for reflection, individual body exploration, and conversation.
• We will have a few moments to connect with our sensations and explore movement. One of these moments will include soft music for a short period.
• Sensory toys will be available for anyone who would like to explore them. Using them is entirely optional.
• You will not be expected to share sexual experiences, talk about your intimate life, or answer questions you would rather keep private.
• There are no right answers and no particular way you are expected to experience the workshop. You do not need any prior knowledge of eroticism, desire, or pleasure.

How can we participate?
There will be different ways to participate: speaking, writing, drawing, reflecting silently, or choosing not to answer a question. You will not be required to make eye contact, speak in front of the whole group, or explain why you would rather pass.

During one of the body exploration moments, we will invite everyone to close their eyes or direct their gaze towards a fixed point. The intention is to help us focus on our own sensations and movements without feeling that we are being watched or that we need to watch other people. Everyone can choose how to participate: moving, remaining still, or resting.

We will not have scheduled group breaks, as the workshop lasts two hours. However, you can change position, rest, step out for a while, or attend to your needs whenever necessary, within the possibilities of the venue. You do not need to ask permission or explain yourself.

How will registration and participant selection work?
To participate, you will need to complete a registration form with a few questions that will help us learn more about the people interested in joining and put the group together.

We will select 10 participants because we want to create an intimate space where we can talk at a comfortable pace and build an environment in which we can feel comfortable with one another.
When putting the group together, we will aim to bring together as wide a range of experiences, backgrounds, and ways of inhabiting the world as possible.

We hope to bring together people with different life experiences and experiences of neurodivergence, ages, gender identities, places of origin, and life contexts, among other dimensions. We believe this diversity can enrich our conversations and make room for different perspectives to emerge.

The selection process is not about deciding which experiences are more valid or representative. Instead, our aim is to bring together a diverse group and create opportunities for different voices and experiences to be present.

What can you ecpect from the space?

• The space we have secured is unfortunately not accessible for people with reduced mobility.
• It is a calm place with a main room for the workshop, and another room for resting or taking a break. We will do our best to keep the lighting as gentle as possible and the music soft (it will only be played briefly at one point during the workshop).
• We will share the agenda in advance so you can familiarise yourself with the structure of the gathering. Although we have a planned structure and schedule, these may shift slightly depending on the group's needs.
• I recommend arriving around 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. We intend to start on time, so arriving a little early will give us a chance to settle in, find our place, say hello, and become familiar with the space before we begin.

If you have any questions, there is something you would like to know in advance, or you need to share any considerations that might help you participate more comfortably, please feel free to message ilok.inti@gmail.com before the workshop. I will do my best to answer clearly and take your needs into account within our possibilities.

I’m really glad we’ll have the chance to meet and explore together!