Mission Statement

TASHRA is a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, founded in 2012.  TASHRA strives to improve the physical and mental health of adults who engage in consensual and alternative sexual practices including kink, BDSM (bondage/discipline, domination/submission, sadism/masochism), and sexual fetishism.

We propose to accomplish this by:

  • conducting research to accurately describe kinksters unique bio-psycho-social healthcare needs.
  • documenting kinky people’s use of the healthcare system.
  • training medical and mental healthcare providers to deliver culturally competent, non-judgmental, and knowledgeable care.
  • empowering community members to act as effective partners in their own healthcare.
  • advocating for equitable treatment within the healthcare system.
  • promoting consensual and sexually diverse relevant health and social policies.

Since 2012, TASHRA has been engaging in healthcare professional training and healthcare research to explore the interaction between kink and health; specifically to describe the physical and mental health of the kink population, their use of healthcare, and their experiences engaging with the healthcare system.
What is “Kink”?

“Kink or BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism) commonly are used, somewhat interchangeably, as umbrella terms to address a range of atypical pleasurable or arousing behaviors that often overlap with sexuality, but are not synonymous with sex. … Kink practices may include administering or receiving intense sensation (including but not limited to “pain”); eroticizing the expression of power and authority differences between people; being aroused by unusual sensual stimuli including specific non-genital body parts or inanimate objects (“fetish”); engaging in role play or dramatization of erotic scenarios; and engaging in activities that induce shifts and changes in consciousness (called “headspace” in kink subcultures). In addition to behaviors, kink also can denote identities and communities that focus on such pleasurable interests and practices.”  (Williams & Sprott, 2022).

Funding Partners

Thank You to our first institutional donors, the Tides Foundation and Freeman Foundation, whose generous Grant for 2021 and 2022 funds our International Kink Health Study. We hope to honor their missions of social change, human rights, sexual freedom and social justice in our research. Thanks for finding us and giving us hope that we might be The Little Train That Could.

A thank you to our past donors and funding partners.

    • Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc.
    • Cleveland Leather Annual Weekend, Corp.
    • Freeman Foundation / Tides Foundation
    • Russell Stambaugh, PhD
    • Weston Milliken
    • Anna Randall
    • Richard Sprott
    • Steve Ratcliff

Another Thank You goes out to our dear friend Russell Stambaugh, PhD, who is always there; whether with wise counsel, needed financial support or as the Captain, cheering from the sidelines.

Last but not least, Thank You, Charles Moser, MD whose shoulders we stand on and who really, truly, wrote the book on kink health.

TASHRA is a charitable and tax exempt organization 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, and none of its earnings may benefit any private shareholder or individual. We are not a lobbying organization, nor engage in political campaigning. We are a charitable group, advancing efforts in research, and education, and fighting prejudice and discrimination.

Our Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 46-2949471

We received our determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service, effective date May 28, 2013

Our California incorporation number is 3587311