To the editor:

I would like to respond to the letter printed July 15 in the Public Forum referring to Contra Naturam’s Fetish Nights as debasing toward Christianity, amoral and pornographic.

In our performances we do indeed use a cross on our stage. If Mr. Parker were better informed, he would know that this ancient torture device has been used for centuries and is a staple of a modern sadomasochist’s playroom and is not meant to be an ideological statement.

In response to our performances being pornographic, pornography would require nudity and sexual acts. Even if Kansas law allowed it, you will never see a member of Contra Naturam nude on stage.

But what of Mr. Ray Parker’s subjective accusations? Whether Contra Naturam is perverted or amoral is a matter of opinion, and you are entitled to yours as much as I am to mine. Our Fetish Nights celebrate eroticism, imagination and deviance among consenting adults. The sadomasochistic lifestyle is as valid, empowering, legitimate and worthy of tolerance as any other lifestyle: gay, lesbian, straight, Christian, atheist and so on.

Contra Naturam entertains and performs and offers a haven for people of alternative lifestyles to express themselves in a safe environment. Everything that takes place there is seen and participated in by consenting adults. You don’t understand, Mr. Parker. Fine. Don’t come. Those who do, will.

Jericho van de Velde,

owner and founder,

Contra Naturam,

Lawrence