There's a pretty big lifestyler and bdsm scene in Austin but my sense is that these scenes are WAY underground, certainly compared to the west coast or eastern seaboard.  There are no public sex clubs or play spaces in Austin like the Wet Spot in Seattle or p/e in SF.  Naturally Texas politics is to blame, but is that the whole story?  I'd like to hear other opinions about this (maybe I'm wrong?).

This is where I'll fly my own flag, as I tried to raise this subject in an occasional column I write for That Other Paper in Austin. 

RC McCloud also writes at The Safe Word