Self-doubt, self-hatred, and self-deception; loneliness, isolation and stigma can never be good for anyone. If our lives are to contain any meaning or happiness, we must find each other, find partners and friends … who can understand our poetry, our erotic longings, our fantasies. We need allies and accomplices. We need a place where we belong.
                                                            —Pat Califia, author, S&M activist