AVA TAUREL ; Then and Now

The great days of SM adventures were the 80’s in NY when the city was buzzing with wonderful clubs and there was a lot of creativity and mystique around BDSM. At the time I was a film student at NYU and I ran into an old girlfriend who was doing an SM show at SHOW WORLD. She and I had been roommates as teenagers in the sixties when we both worked in a chorus line. Now we met again twenty years later.       
  
   
I was shocked to hear that she was seeing a few SM clients who had reached out to her for spanking sessions after seeing her show. I thought this was perverse and I avoided her as a friend. But, when I examined my feelings, I realized I had rejected her because I was very interested in exploring SM fantasies myself, but refused to admit it. Certain fantasies had been buried inside me since I was very young.
         
     
         
   

I finally accepted to join my friend for an outing at the club CHATEAU 19. I was blown away by the SM play I witnessed there, when an attractive British economist approached me. There was an instant physical and spiritual attraction between us and we decided to play that same evening, both inspired by what was happening around us.

       
   

I asked my girlfriend if she would lend me some equipment, and I took my newfound friend home, where we took turns dominating each other. As he was quite experienced he dominated me first. Then we switched roles.

What was great was the beauty and caring mixed with strong pain and mutual submission. We both saw each other as equals, but we were both willing to explore a surrender to the other. My friend was married and left town the next day. I thought of our encounter as a lifetime experience which would not be repeated. I would simply live on the bittersweet memory and eventually forget all about it.

 
             

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As the weeks passed by, I realized I had a deep desire to move further in my explorations. My girlfriend took me to see an SM show at BELLE DE JOUR, and I was both fascinated and repelled. When I learned that behind the stage there was a dungeon where people would come and live out their fantasies, I knew I wanted to work there.
 

I felt safe working there, in a protected environment where I was paid only $30 an hour. But the money didn’t matter as it was only the excuse for me to live out my own fantasies. I worked there twice a week for 4 years and I discovered what I loved and hated.

   

I thought of calling myself Ava Taurel because my sign of zodiac is Taurus, and it wasn’t appropriate to give clients your real name. In 1985 I had found what I enjoyed the most, and I felt ready to start seeing clients in my home.

At this time, I re-visited Europe and worked in the Haague with Monique van Cleef, the first grande dame of domination. I also visited the top mistresses of London, Paris and Hamburg.

    
         
Meanwhile, I had also been working as an associate producer of feature films, but I gave it up because my obsession with fantasies was so strong it took over my life. After hearing photographer Helmut Newton speak about the importance of capitalizing on your obsession, I felt inspired to open my own playground where people could come and explore their fantasies and where they would find guidance.
        
I already had a slave girl as my assistant whom I inherited from writer and former madam, Xaviera Hollander, when visiting Amsterdam.
I was also training a young woman to assist me. She paid for law school with money from her submissive clients and passed the bar in 3 States. Today she is a successful criminal attorney and prosecutor.
        
         
                   

I formed a corporation with the DBA Ava Taurel and Associates, where independent Mistresses, Submissives and Lady Disciplinarians would feel comfortable and work on their own terms. I felt that many establishments in the city didn’t treat their Mistresses with enough respect, and I wanted each woman to set her own guidelines and do what she felt inspired to do.

      
                   
 

As a dominatrix I was invited twice to present my research and lecture at annual conventions for the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SEX EDUCATORS, COUNSELORS AND THERAPISTS (AASECT) and also for the SOCIETY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SEXUALITY (SSSS).
I was encouraged by members of these organizations to get a Masters degree in Human Sexuality and Health Education at NYU.

Today I counsel men, women and couples who wish to get a better understanding of their sexuality and intimacy. On a rare occasion I will still do a session as a Disciplinarian if I feel inspired to do so. I have also finished the course work in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice as I have always been interested in furthering my understanding of the consensual as well as the abusive use of power. I continue to write and lecture on these topics around the world.