By
Lesley Gabriel
Birmingham
My name is Lesley and I am a PhD student at Birmingham City University. My research concerns the history and development of the BDSM* community in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands. I am really passionate about this research, and am making great progress in the early stages!
*BDSM = Bondage & Discipline / Domination & Submission / Sadism & Masochism, colloquially known as 'Kink' :D
I am raising money to pay for my airfare to San Francisco. I will be presenting a paper on my research at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) in March 2016.
Not only is this an amazing opportunity for me to connect with the great and good in my research field, but there will also be a 'field trip' to the headquarters of www.kink.com at the Armoury. In addition to this I will be making arrangements to attend events run by the Society of Janus to network and see how BDSM social events in San Francisco are organised and managed. I will also be visiting the LGBT Museum, known as "San Francisco's queer Smithsonian" for further information and inspiration.
This is an amazing opportunity for me to be able to visit the community and the locations I've read so much about, and it will give my studies a huge boost as I will be able to compare the Birmingham and San Francisco scenes.
I am raising money to pay for my air fare to San Francisco - any money I raise will be put towards this aim. If I am lucky enough to raise more than my target amount this will go towards paying for my hotel cost (I'll be staying at a wonderfully boho 2-star hotel).
Apart from my unending gratitude, there will also be a number of rewards available to those folks who support my project. There will also be a number of updates throughout the course of the project, as well as interesting info from related media at my PhD Twitter account @muckybooksblog
You don't need to give money to help me to succeed! Please share this project with everyone you know as the more people who know about it, the more likely it is to succeed! Thank you so much!
Select this reward if you just want to donate to the project without receiving a reward.
6 claimed
I will send you a handwritten thank you card or letter to express my appreciation for your support. I will also thank you within the acknowledgements of my final PhD.
2 claimed
Estimated delivery: 1 April 2017
A handwritten postcard from San Francisco to say thank you for supporting me. I will also thank you within the acknowledgements of my final PhD.
6 claimed of 20
Estimated delivery: 1 April 2016
A handwritten postcard from San Francisco to say thank you for supporting me. I will also thank you within the acknowledgements of my final PhD. Supporters who choose this reward will receive a pack of 4 handmade greetings cards which can be used for a number of occasions.
2 claimed of 20
Estimated delivery: 1 May 2016
A handwritten postcard from San Francisco to say thank you for supporting me.I will also thank you within the acknowledgements of my final PhD. Supporters who choose this reward will receive a pack of 10 handmade greetings cards which can be used for a number of occasions. I will also send you a bound copy of my final PhD thesis.
4 claimed of 10
Estimated delivery: 1 May 2016