“Many many men don’t feel empowered or have enough knowledge about their ass . . . it’s nothing that’s taught in school,” says Phillip Coupal, counsellor, coach and body worker. Coupal runs a series of workshops for men that deal with various aspects of sex and sexuality. “In San Francisco there are ‘sexological body workers’ and there are ‘sacred intimates’ . . . all these people who will take you on an erotic voyage. There’s very little of that [in Toronto],” he says. A recent workshop dealt with genital touch, and one in December will focus on being multiorgasmic, but his upcoming workshop plunges into the tight but receptive void of anal touch. “There is a lot of shame and mythology about the ass, and this workshop will help people gain a more conscious knowledge of it,” he says.

Coupal conducts an initial consultation with prospective attendees, making sure they are suited to this type of group situation. The workshop itself begins on Friday, with experimentation and discussion to dispel performance anxiety; Saturday involves introspective exercises and conversation; and on Sunday, attendees are paired off with random partners (this particular workshop is not for couples) for some caressing, fingering and maybe some play with toys. While Coupal occasionally holds workshops that involve trans men, this particular event is only for men who were born with male bodies.

Coupal stresses that while the workshop is very sexual in nature, it is not a free-for-all sex fest. He says that often “an orgy’s energy level will go up really high and might not be as consensual or personal as this workshop will be.” —Jeremy Willard

Experiential Embodied Erotic Exploration is Fri, Oct 26–Sun, Oct 28 at Awaken Studio, 270 Carlaw Ave. $250 for the three-day workshop.