NUS student group cancels online event on consensual rope bondage, condemns doxxing
SINGAPORE — Organisers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) behind an online session educating participants on consensual rope bondage said on Monday (31 August) that they have cancelled the event after alleging their personal details were exposed in a petition accusing them of encouraging violent sexual fantasies.
TFreedom, a student-led group in the university’s Tembusu College, had engaged a couple representing 0101 Studio to share their experiences with the practice, which involves the use of rope to restrict movement, wrap, suspend, or restrain a person in a 90-minute Zoom session on Wednesday.
The practice is often considered a subset of BDSM – a variety of erotic roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism – but is not always sexual in nature.
The online talk was to be a one-off event, part of the group’s weekly programme titled Let's Talk About Sex, where previous topics include masturbation and first-time sexual encounters were discussed.
“The intention was to provide the students a safe space to learn more about a lesser-known practice from a studio that values communication, respect, and consent. The event was in no way aimed at encouraging or promoting the practice,” said the group.
The event was to be held online with “zero physical contact”, and the sign-up process was on a voluntary basis, it added.
The Change.org petition – titled Stop Promoting Violent Sex at NUS – had “mischaracterised the event” and provided misinformation about the group, it said.
“We are alarmed that the petition has exposed the personal details of our members and the members of the studio, leaving them vulnerable to harassment. We condemn the unauthorised sharing of personal information and significant distress it has caused students,” the group added.
That has led the event to be cancelled to protect the privacy and mental health of those who are affected, it said, stressing for members of the public to refrain from harassing members of 0101 Studio. The group also said that it has no prior relations with the studio.
Websites and social media pages belonging to members of the studio are no longer available to view online, according to checks by Yahoo News Singapore.
TFreedom acknowledged that the poster for the event, which depicts a woman being bounded by rope, could have been “better designed” to “more clearly communicate the discourse-driven aspect” of the event.
“We regret that this lack of clarity has caused people to mistake the nature and intention of the event, and caused anxiety as a result. We also regret that we failed to consider how the image might have brought distress to victims to sexual assault, and sincerely apologise for any distress caused,” it said.
Associate Professor Kelvin Pang, Master of Tembusu College, said in a separate note addressing students that tFreedom’s operations would be put on a hiatus, with the school looking into the alignment of the group’s activities with the Code of Gender and Sexual Respect and “the educational value we must bring as a college of learning”.
He also noted that the college prides itself on its culture of care and inclusivity and the group is an avenue for students to discuss a wide range of topics, including topics relating to gender and sexuality.
“As a community of learning, we have created safe spaces for (students) to ask uncomfortable questions, and learn from discussing complex and multifaceted issues, in a respectful and responsible manner. We will continue to do so,” Assoc Prof Pang said.
“Our goal is to strike a better balance between enabling student-initiated activities and discussions, while ensuring that these events are still educationally sound and contribute to the positive growth of our community.”
In response to media queries on whether the group would file a police report for the unauthorised sharing of their members’ personal information, tFreedom said, “We are of the view that it should be up to each individual who has had their personal details exposed to decide if they would like to seek any recourse. We respect their choice.”
Some 7,500 signatures, ‘counter-petition’ created
The petition, which was created by user Hope Loew last Saturday and has some 7,500 signatories to date, claimed that the discussion “glamorised creative bondage sex”.
“Such dangerous fetishes should never be promoted in an educational institute. Such content should be ‘restricted’ because it facilitates violent sexual fantasies among students,” a description in the petition read.
Loew also noted that there is no “educational value” for such weekly dialogues and called it “deeply troubling” that “an official interest group mentored by professors should even conceive such an immoral practices (sic)”.
In response to the group’s statement, Leow stressed that there was no intention to harass students or members of the studio and called for such behaviour to stop.
Concerning the allegations that the petition has exposed personal details, Leow said that tFreedom Telegram channel is public and accessible to any user.
“Only information that is publicly available was accessible from the petition. The petition did not mention any names nor encourage harassment in any form,” Leow added.
A separate Change.org petition, created by user Singapore Public on Sunday and titled Stop Censoring Sexual Discourse at NUS, called for “the concerned institutions to protect their students and their space to be comfortable and not be harassed”.
“Screenshots of the Let's Talk About Sex chat with the names of the people in the group are being circulated. We cannot tolerate opening up them to harassment by the public. Doxxing is wrong – the affected students need to be protected,” the petition, which has over 1,840 signatories to date, read.
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