Coitus Interruptus: Phillial Weighs in on Club Kama Sutra’s Shutdown

If you’re a swinger, you’ve heard of it by now. If you’re not, you’re probably wondering what happened to Señor Rattler’s Cantina.

Club Kama Sutra, the consensual-sex club for adventurous adults and their partners (and, to outsiders, ostensibly the aforementioned poorly named Mexican restaurant), was shut down two weeks ago by the Department of Licenses and Inspections after a surprise midnight raid that yielded a few minor “business code” violations. According to Kama Sutra’s owner, Alan Tizer, the club, “has been operating for five years… with the full knowledge and approval” of the authorities. The Club’s web site claims that it’s shutdown is “temporary,” and if Tizer’s claims are correct, we certainly hope that the shutdown is indeed impermanent.

But frankly, Phillial readers, we wonder why the Department of Licenses and Inspections gives a damn. We wonder what kind of minor “business code” violations within Kama Sutra’s kinky walls warrant a covert midnight raid. And we’re also very suspicious of the role of CBS 3, the news station that aired a sensationalistic “gotcha!” expose about the club’s sex parties, concocting the premise that no one knew what was shaking inside of “Señor Rattler’s” (it’s very tempting to make comparisons to Family Guy’s “Asian correspondent” Trisha Takanawa, but we’ll decline.) If Tizer is right and the L&I has always had full documentation of CKS’s activities, why did the midnight raid commence just days after CBS 3’s expose? We wager that the shutdown had less to do with a business code, and far more to do with Philly law enforcement’s public image.

Other press sources document CKS’ public legitimacy - and negate the CBS 3 premise that "no one knew" what was going on inside "Señor Rattler's. City Paper, one of Philly’s alternative weeklies, said in February 2004 that the club has never been cited for any violation in its five year history – meaning that, even if KS had minor code violations, it was never made aware of them to redress the problems. Dominic Verdi, the L&I Deputy Commissioner, verifies that Club Kama Sutra has been inspected during non-business hours, and has always passed. We at Phillial are a little confused. Is the Department of Licenses and Inspections filming an episode of Law and Order, or are they managing a city? We’re not sure.

Let’s be clear. Club Kama Sutra, to our knowledge, was never a prostitution front. It was a place for couples (and, recently, singles) to explore their sexuality in a consensual, non-threatening manner; a safe space for ordinary-but-kinky folks to sexually experiment and push the envelope. There’s nothing illegal about spicing up your sex life - even in a private club, even if it has a cheesy neon sign in the front. Kama Sutra existed as a place for people to explore their fantasies safely and anonymously. We at Phillial don’t know the entire story (and perhaps we never will!), but we’re upset that CBS 3’s shock “journalism”- which sought to manipulate the widely prevailing sex-negative attitudes of our society – has the power to influence the course of a damn good business. To be sure, there are other swingers clubs in Philadelphia. But Philly swingers should have choices – that’s the standard of any business.

We at Phillial acknowledge that every relationship is different. Swinging might not be your thing (and to some of us, it evokes far too familiar images of our mom and dad’s 1970’s “sex parties"), but let’s admit it - CKS’ patrons were doing what they liked, discreetly. They weren’t proselytizing, pushing, or putting their lifestyle in your face. It’s sad that the tide of public disapproval can sometimes replace the letter of the law. We expect better of you, Philadelphia.