Letter from the Editor, Vol. 3
Updated: Oct 24, 2022
BY PENELOPE DARIO
Bee hives birth new queens when a portion of the population decides to secede.
The one in charge only holds their position by virtue of their subjects’ loyalty, and therefore the “leader” is an equal party in the dance of tension between being in charge and being of service.
Total freedom is not for the faint of heart.
Most of us claim to want this but have yet to scratch the surface of what freedom really means. Often what we mean by freedom is more options. Yet, choice itself can become a burden. What a lot of us are seeking is the power to choose what rules us.
Our world is composed of dominant and submissive dynamics. Some are consensual and chosen, while most are inherited through blood, institution, or country.
Why do we play this game of cat and mouse?
The terror management theory states that we as humans are only superficially at the top of the food chain. We are incredibly vulnerable in the face of natural disasters, and real apex predators—even tiny microbes—threaten to dismantle our civilization. Deep down, we know this. Our ability to work together to create tools and structures that protect us is our only advantage.
How do we, as animals with complex cognitive function—so aware, yet fundamentally so weak against the forces that be—distract ourselves from the inevitable? How do we gain a sense of control over our emotions in regards to our mortality?
We create games as intricate as our wildest fears. Labyrinths to explore our most profound contemplations disguised as pleasure or pain, right and wrong. What is the difference between a kink space and a house of god? What is the difference between town hall and the timeline?
We subscribe to the structures that console us.
When we feel cosmic pressure, we seek a higher power to guide us. Some find it in spirituality, some find it in subspace.
Executives and Monarchs still seek guidance and in some ways answer to their priests, astrologers, dom/mes, and courtesans.
There is so much power in an untold story. Whispers behind curtains of illusion, when drawn back, open portals to entire universes of perception.
This season we have had the honor of stepping into very intimate spaces and publishing narratives that may reveal to you as much about yourself as they do about our features.
PHOTO BY BLACK SATIN VENUS