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Sir: I was absolutely amazed by the article written by Tabitha Troughton (`The smack of firm governesses', 9 October), about her visit to the Torture Garden club.
Why should Ms Troughton actually go to a fetish club if she has no sexual inclination to fetishism herself? A fetish event is a meeting of open minds, fun, dressing-up, feeling free to express yourself in a safe environment with like-minded people. I have been attending such events for the past ten years, all walks of life attend, including those who are in high-powered jobs seeking a moment of fantasy from their pressured lives.
I attended the Torture Garden on the night about which Ms Troughton writes so obnoxiously. She completely missed the point that it was also a `Cyberpunk' night. She missed the amazing costuming of out- rageous eroto-robotic women. She missed mentioning the portrait photographer, she missed the art exhibits, the market area, the
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little friendly cafeteria, the energy on the dance floor, the discreet way in which the club was run, and overall the sheer friendli- ness of the people.
Isn't it great that an old-age pensioner can get up and cavort on a dance floor, or is he supposed to be in council care by his age? And as for the two Japanese girls, I have seen them at many fetish events, and they behave in the same coquettish way every time — it's their game. It must also be stated that everyone at the Torture Gar- den is over 18, and has to give proof and sign a declaration, so where Ms Troughton saw her teenagers beats me. And as for hearing screams, well, the industrial techno house music is pretty loud enough on its own, and as for hearing yells out in the street . . . well, I guess she had to invent something.
Above all, the Torture Garden is about the right to choose. It is a subjective matter as to what is pleasure and what is pain, who is sexually attractive and who is not. Ms Troughton may not like getting into her rubber dress, but then she had the choice whether to attend the event or not. I feel she displayed some interesting behaviour by forcing herself to do something she obvi- ously didn't like: looking at sexuality in the face. I would have thought that instead of forming a biased opinion before even attending the event, it would have been best to go with an open mind, and actually ask people why they attend, and try to get some facts out of the situation. But allow- ing such trivia as Ms Troughton's article to be published is a shame. Why is sexuality so shunned and damned in the time when its freedoms and its dangers must be discussed in an intelligent, unbiased and open man- ner? Ms Troughton, you could have written a better article than that, and as for The Spectator I'm amazed that you bothered to publish it.
T. Barber
Fetish Times, BCM Box 6883 London WC1
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