Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the CSPC’s Board has been working to protect our community from the deadly impact of this virus while continuing to meet our mission to “create spaces to celebrate, develop, and explore sexuality and sensuality among a diverse, supportive community.”

We were among the first to close our doors at the beginning of the pandemic, and we are among the last to shift from mandatory to voluntary masking at in-person events. Throughout this time, we have carefully followed the data and advice from the scientific community and public health officials, making difficult choices in consultation with our membership and our organization’s value of inclusion, especially for marginalized communities.

In August 2022, we determined that mandatory N95/KN95 masking was a stronger preventive measure than requiring vaccination with a formula that had not kept pace with viral mutation, and we changed our policies accordingly, effective October 2022.

We heard from many—former, current, and potential members—that our masking policy prevented their volunteering and participation with the CSPC community. Folx raised valid concerns about mandatory masking: allergic responses to masking materials, increased incidence of asthma and panic attacks, difficulty with communication for hearing impaired folx who read lips, and for neurodivergent folx who need additional non-verbal social cues. Communication challenges also increase the risk of consent violations, as both clear negotiation and response to a safeword may be compromised. At that time, the Board determined that there were other community spaces to welcome those members, and we needed to maintain a space that was safer for our immunocompromised members who had no other options.

When the State of Washington announced that the last masking mandates would be lifted in April 2023, the Board revisited this policy once again. We conducted a month-long survey, hosted a town hall meeting, and reviewed the current data and public policy; the details of that stage of our process are here. The membership’s voice was split, and so was the Board’s vote: 4-3 in favor of keeping mandatory masking, with a statement that we would revisit the policy again in September 2023.

In September, the Board felt that we should wait and see how the fall virus season went before making any changes, and we agreed to reconsider the question in February 2024. While there was an expected spike in respiratory infections of multiple kinds this fall, vaccine boosters formulated to address the most current strain of mutated virus are widely available, rapid and PCR testing is widely available, and our growing knowledge about the virus and proven methods of taking care of ourselves and each other have helped dramatically reduce the intensity and mortality of infections. We also witnessed health care providers briefly reinstate mandatory masking at their facilities during this spike, then return to voluntary masking as the wave of infections diminished, which provided a useful model for potential future response to short-term higher risk conditions.

The Board has continued to hear from members and volunteers who are unhappy with the mandatory masking policy for the reasons shared above and others, including issues with being cast in the role of enforcer as a volunteer and with being interrupted and questioned about masking in-scene as an event attendee. The impossibility of equal enforcement by very different individual volunteers with respect to what constitutes a “scene” in the experience of very different individual members is another concern.

Consequently, the Board reconsidered the mandatory masking policy at the December 2023 Board meeting for potential implementation February 1, 2024. The motion below was shared in the newsletter, on the blog, and on Discord a week prior to the meeting to solicit additional feedback to be considered alongside all the other comments and data gathered to that point.

Motion on Masking Policy Changes:

I move that the CSPC transition from its policy of mandatory masking with a KN95 or equivalent mask except when actively eating, drinking, or using one's mouth in a scene to optional masking in keeping with each individual's risk profile. KN95 masks will continue to be provided for use as desired, but volunteers will no longer enforce the mandatory masking policy. This policy change will be effective as of February 1, 2024, to allow members to purchase tickets with full knowledge of and consent to the new policy prior to implementation; all events prior to that date will still be under the current mandatory masking policy.

This change is aligned with current public health measures in effect in the State of Washington. The Board reserves the right and responsibility to revisit this decision as changing public health conditions require. We continue to recommend vaccination, voluntary masking, and regular hand washing/sanitizing to reduce the spread of infectious diseases including COVID, flu, and RSV. The CSPC is also pursuing options to improve ventilation and air quality at Gallery Erato to further protect our community at our events.

Attendee comment was invited after the motion was made and before the vote took place. Eight members spoke against the motion; six spoke in favor of it at the meeting. Multiple Board members shared their reasoning as well. This motion passed 9-1 to make masking optional in keeping with each individual’s risk profile. The recording of the December 2023 Board meeting is available here. Members and volunteers were also encouraged to contact the Events Director at EventsDirector@theCSPC.org to discuss Championing events with mandatory masking as desired.

There is still a lot that all of us as individual members can do to improve safety and help take care of our community while respecting each others’ autonomy. As of February 1, 2024, the CSPC’s public health mitigation protocols include:

• Highly encouraged: wearing N95/KN95 or equivalent masks at indoor events. Members must use their own risk assessment and consideration for the safety of our community in their decisions about masking. The CSPC will continue to provide N95/KN95 masks free of charge to help prevent the spread of airborne illness.

• Highly encouraged: vaccination (including recent COVID booster, flu, RSV, Mpox, pneumonia, and any other vaccine appropriate for your age and health risks). 

• Highly encouraged: self-screening before attending events (rapid COVID tests, check for fever or other symptoms). Free tests delivered to your home address are available here. We don’t have the space to conduct testing on site, so please test at home. 

• If you aren’t feeling well, stay home or wear a mask even if your test is negative. We are still offering a coupon code for a future party for folx who stay home due to illness if you email us prior to the start of the event.

• Ventilation that pulls fresh outdoor air through the entire venue, and multiple air purification devices (three per floor) that will fully circulate and filter the air in the space once an hour using HEPA filters that trap 99.97% of particles down to 0.1 microns, plus sanitizing UV-C light to further reduce airborne virus, bacteria, and mold spores.

• Cap of 140 tickets sold per event, so that along with event volunteer staffing we stay well within an occupancy of 164, which is the fire code for the venue.

• Laundry professionally washed and sanitized, equipment disinfectant available on site so members can clean equipment before and after use, and sheets required between naked skin and furniture to help prevent contact-spread illness.

• Barrier-method safer sex supplies and lube provided free (and use encouraged!) to help prevent sexually transmitted infection.

• Highly encouraged: exchange full information regarding risk factors during negotiation, so that everybody can consent to activities with the information they need to assess their comfort with the attendant risks. This is the “I” in F.R.I.E.S.

We hope that this will help us all do the right things and keep one another safe. We understand the disappointment and frustration of our immunocompromised members and those with immunocompromised loved ones, and we acknowledge that this change will impact the accessibility of CSPC events for you. We encourage you to work with the Board and our community to create spaces that will continue to meet your needs so that we can provide truly inclusive spaces for ALL our members. The Board cannot do this work alone; we count on our fellow members to create the events and services they would like to see, as we provide guidance and support for your efforts.

We continue to monitor public health conditions, and we will announce any future changes to our protocols before tickets where those protocols would be in force go on sale. It’s important to us that everyone makes their personal health-related decisions with all the information available. Informed consent matters!

With care, we can all help keep our community safer so that we can continue to meet together for sexy good times.

Stay safe, stay sexy,

--The CSPC Board