Last night I attended the latest edition of Tell Me Something Good, Toronto’s smutty storytelling monthly. It was just my second time there and I am already in love with the atmosphere and the stories.
My previous time there I was one of the judges, so I was listening with different ears. It was also a more playful theme, that of voyeurism. This time I was just a face in the crowd and the theme was more considerate. We gathered to hear thoughtful tales of sexual empowerment.
I didn’t plan on telling a story and honestly, I didn’t think I’d stay that long (late night, long trip home, early morning), but I was immediately drawn in by the vibe. The hosts and judges told their stories first, imbuing their own empowering instances with some humour, some gravitas. So I threw my name in the hat and told a story of my own.
I don’t mean to be a tease, but what I spoke of is actually irrelevant. As luck would have it, I was up first and I happily shared. Given all of my experience on radio, interviews, reading erotica and generally talking my face off to anyone who will listen, telling a story, even a very personal one, is no big deal to me.
But just to me.
I can talk about my sex life because of all of that experience. It is actually easier for me to adopt my speaking persona and talk than it has ever been to flirt or try to meet new people. Because I have already found my empowered voice.
So, my time on stage was such a minor part of my night. What captivated me was watching other people find their empowered voices.
People shared many different stories of how they’ve come to accept and embrace different aspects of their sexual selves. The stories were powerful, meaningful—they resonated throughout the room.
But what really got me, what made me nod in silent affirmation was that so many of the storytellers declared how nervous or frightened they were when they took the stage. However, as their stories unfolded for us, drew us in…those storytellers blossomed. We could see confidence emerge. We could see comfort. We could see acceptance and a whole new level of empowerment.
These storytellers found their voices. They became empowered to tell. Empowerment through stories of empowerment.
I can only remember a few of the actual stories. I don’t mean to saw that the others weren’t memorable, but my take away from the event just was not the past. It was the present, the here and now.
It was their shared empowerment that they chose to share with us.
And I have to wonder if, when they consider the idea of sexual empowerment sometime in the future, if they will look back on this night…
