F.A.Q.s (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is The Intimate Revolution?
The Intimate Revolution is a community project by the Vienna based non-profit association Academy for Intimacy and Awareness, organizing festivals in Europe (Vienna & Berlin) inviting you to explore intimacy and connection. The festival was founded in 2018 by Dr Jana Studnicka. It is inspired by the values of the sex-positive movement, emphasizing consent, awareness regarding sexual health and cherishing sexuality as an empowering force in our life. The Intimate Revolution goal is to end loneliness and bad sex by nurturing connection and intimacy.
What happens at the festival? What do we actually do?
On the first day, we will explore intimacy on a rational basis – with lectures, in the style of TedX, at a local university or similar educational institute – the Intimacy Symposium.The following days are filled with sex-positive workshops during the day about consent, emotion, relationship dynamics, massage, queer & kinky topics, sensuality and more. At night, we have music (Ecstatic Dance, Live Music, and open sex-positive spaces) . You can also check out our past events, like our festival in BERLIN 2019 or VIENNA 2019 for further details on what happens, or simply send us an email with all your questions – we are happy to help.
How can I participate?
There are many ways to participate. For example, you can apply for one of our events, answer the question – “what is consent to you?” and join the next festival. Or you can like our facebook group and become part of our online community. Or maybe you can hug a friend, a partner or yourself, today. Intimacy starts when we authentically connect with others or ourselves, and it is right there, even in the most ordinary moments of our daily lifes.
What is the goal of The Intimate Revolution?
We want to end loneliness and bad sex. We believe that these issues are rooted in our culture´s disability to connect authentically, and we want to create spaces where conenction can thrive and grow. Our goal is a world rich in connection, intimacy, sensuality and pleasure fueled by empathy and consent.
I’m curious, but also shy/afraid/nervous. Do I need any specific knowledge or experience to join the festival?
For a fact, for many, The Intimate Revolution is a first experience of the sex-positive realm. In this way, there is no specific experience needed beforehand, however we encourage everyone to educate themselves on consent and get familiar with our code of conduct before attending the festival. Also we always offer beginner workshops, where the pace is rather easy and relaxing, as much as advanced workshops for those who are a bit more experienced. We also have the Soul Angel Team to support all of us on our journey. If any (more) questions or doubts come up, always feel free to reach out to us – we love to support you!
What is a sex-positive space/ festival?
Sex-positive describes a positive or neutral attitude towards sexuality. For us, sex-positive further includes the values of consent, awareness regarding sexual health and an open mind regarding its many expressions and identidies. We believe a sex-positive space is a space where sexuality is considered okay and an healthy, normal part of human existence, a space where sex is a possibility, but never an obligation.
Is the event in English or German?
Most of our guests come from German speaking countries, however we invite many top-notch international workshop facilitators and always have some participants from far corners of the world, who are not fluent in German. To build a bridge between people who speak only German or English, we have translators assisting in the workshops and during the festival, and so far this has worked out quite well.
Is the event for couples or singles or.. ?
The event is for people in all different relationships forms – singles, couples, ménage à trois, polycules.. the possibilties are only limited by the capacity of your heart (and time, probably). There will be a few workshops where a partner is recommended, (like for back massage or advanced bondage) but often you can find one at the festival and just partner up before. So whether you bring your partner(s) or you experience this revolution on your own – Choose what makes you happy.
How queer is The Intimate Revolution? Is it a queer festival?
Yes, we want to support the uninhibited expression of all genders, identidies and sexualiety and strive to be as queer friendly as possible. Many of our participants are queer. However we are not a 100% queer festival – if you are on the part of your journey where you long for100% queer spaces, maybe check out WHOLE – United Queer Festival in Berlin or the Festival of Sensantions in Vienna. But if you are good with a mix of queers with hetero, cis people and a good dash of at least bicuriosity than this is your festival.
What are the values of The Intimate Revolution?
We are really, really interested in.. Consent. We believe it is the basis, the fundament for any intimate encounter. Our festival is aimed to create a consent-aware space, a spcae in which all participants are able to express and give consent. To ensure that, all our first workshop on the first day are mandatory consent workshops, where you can choose between a more talk-based, sensual or playful introduction to consent.
Apart from Consent, check out our other values in our code of conduct – we also really care about (sexual) health, sobriety (coz consent is not possible if you are intoxicated), leaving the earth as green as possible aka sustainability and we strive for, last but not least, for diversity & revolution.
Is the Intimate Revolution a nudity-friendly space? How about body-neutrality?
At the Intimate Revolution we believe in the unapologetic expression of our bodies. We encourage nudity during our festivals, especially in the Sauna or when skinny-dipping in the lake, but it is not a must. You can wear, or not wear, what feels good for you at that given moment. However we encourage you to check in with your surroundings and maybe wait until going fully naked after the first days, to give others a chance to also relax into the space.
We think all our bodies should be celebrated – feel free to dive into accepting your body with us. And yes, we have some workshops anrd some facilitators who are really good at making us feel like home within our bodies.
How inclusive is the festival for humans with disabilities?
We strive to be as inclusive as possible, however our locations are not fully accessible. It really depends on the individual needs for accessability. Best simply contact us via email so we can try to find a solution together. We have Anne in our team who is also working as an assistant and has a lot of knowledge about the location and how to create accessible spaces.
Why is sobriety a value of The Intimate Revolution?
There are many reasons why we decided to create the festival, and our community around the value of sobriety. First and foremost, it is a question of being able to consent. Intoxication changes a human’s ability to consent, many consent experts actually teach that in a non-sober state consent is impossible.
Beyond that, we have seen that a festival without intoxicating substances makes the experience far more.. vulnerable and authentic. And thats what we are all about. Often we use substances to mask how we feel, or to cope with intense emotions. At the Intimate Revolution we strive to encourage authentic expression and try to find better ways to regulate our emotions.
Last but not least, after a few days a fact, for many, the rush of the bodies happy hormones sets in, stuff like Oxytocin, Serotonin and Dopamin, which get released by all the stuff we do in workshops – consensual touch, cuddles, maybe even intimacy, expressing emotions, experiencing new sensations.. So after a few days, many already feel like they are super high on their bodies own happy-makers, a high that doesn’t leave a hangover and is as natural, sustainable and authentic as it can be. Disclaimer – of course that doesnt work for everyone all the time (if it would, we’d be rich) but for many it works. Just come by and try it yourself.
What vegeterian and vegan food options do you have at the festival?
All tickets includes three vegeterian meals with vegan options every day – plus all-day snacks – as much as you want to eat. All foods are as organically sourced, fresh and regional as possible, which makes for a great taste. If you have any special dietary needs or allergies, after purchasing your ticket you receive a form where you can fill in your requirements, and we will do the best to meet them so everyone can have a great nourishing experience. We believe that food should be tasty, abundant and nourishing – and thats the goal we strive for at the festival, and the food is definitely one of the things that humans love about the festival.
What sleeping options exist at the festival?
The default option is always to sleep in your own tent or to come with your own camper van. There are also indoor sleeping options, to get acess to those, there will be a link after you have purchased your ticket to dircetly book your room/bed at the location.
What emotional support exists at the festival?
To support you with whatever arises, we have a Soul Angel team at the Intimate Revolution, led by Alpha and Fio (check out our team page for more info). As a back-up for deeper conflicts, we also have the Conflict Solution Team (CST) to help out when a conflict needs mediation. The Soul Angels are there hold space and empower you whenever things get too intense, and also to support the festival as an Awareness Team. We are always at least 2 on shift and we wear flower crowns to be visible even from afar. Dont be afraid to approach us! We are here to help!