Leatherati

*Live MLT Coverage on Leatherati Live

Check out the Mr Leatherman Toronto coverage at Leatherati Live

Kinky = Fetish = Mainstream?

Here's a fun look at the "mainstreaming" of fetish by Jen in Psychology Today
 
 The mere mention of the word "fetish" usually makes people squirm and feel really uncomfortable--like they just wet their pants. It's not pleasant, which is why I only feel safe discussing this taboo topic behind a protective 15-inch screen.

But you know what? Fetishism isn't hiding anymore.

Gary Brooks writes in The Centerfold Syndrome (1995):

"The difference between the sexual fetishist and the mainstream American man may not be as extreme as we have wanted to think. American boys, adolescents, and men are being taught, classically conditioned if you will, to become sexually obsessed with constant, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, and to make their sexual arousal more dependent upon use of sexualized images of nonliving objects than on real women with whom they are in relationships."

News to Abuse: Auto Erotic = No Death Benefit? - Inner Pigs in Las Vegas - Atlanta Police Chief Out

Yet another reason to learn how to play safe

This from the Mirror.co.uk

 A widow whose husband died in a bizarre solo sex act is not due his £150,000 life insurance, a judge has ruled.

Dad-of-two Heinz Wacker, 55, dressed in a PVC mask, high heel latex boots and a body stocking before winding a dog lead around his neck.

He then tied the end to the electric bed he usually shared with wife Renate but strangled himself when a faulty remote control kept raising it.

Judge Baack yesterday said insurers were right not to pay up in Cologne, Germany. He said: "This was an auto-erotic accident and wasn't covered."

It seems to us than an accident is an accident regardless of whether it happens in PVC or on a ladder.

Find yourself in Las Vegas?  Squeal on down to the Fun Hog Ranch

 Fun Hog Ranch is party central for the retrosexual, iconic man looking to let his "inner pig" loose. Dress code including leather, uniform and fetish is strongly encouraged but street wear can be sexy and fun also, so all are welcome.Their moto: Good Boys go to Heaven, Bad Boys go to Fun Hog Ranch. Fun Hog is a Las Vegas' newest bars and has since it's opening become a big hit. We think that is due to the friendly owners and bartenders.

Related to the Atlanta Eagle raid?  

 Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington announced last spring that he would be retiring at the end of Mayor Shirley Franklin’s tenure. That would be in January. But, Pennington took a slightly early out today along with his second-in-command Assistant Chief Alan Dreher.

Pennington and Dreher put in their notice this afternoon at the end of a City Hall financial update meeting facilitated by Mayor Shirley Franklin and CFO Jim Glass. Pennington will depart at the end of December. Dreher will leave Dec. 8.

Pennington leaves a police department that is mired in lawsuits and losing officers to retirement or other departments at twice the rate of the rest of the metro area. Lambda Legal, a gay legal assistance group, filed a lawsuit against the APD today for the handling of a raid on the gay leather bar, The Atlanta Eagle in September. 

YARD Gear/Fetish Party in Los Angeles

Gear Up - Get Off

Welcome to YARD, the men's gear/fetish event of 2009!  Get ready for a night your mother wouldn’t approve of.

Bring anything you want to wear or play with.  There's a coat/clothes check so you can change when you get there. There’ll be plenty to drink – it’s included with your ticket to the night in L.A.’s biggest, hottest, best-equipped dungeon play space.  But leave your camera at home, and your cell phone on vibrate.

Follow this link for more info: YARD-09

This party is produced by the LA Band of Brothers as a way of raising cash for the 2010 Mr. LA Leather winner so he doesn't go broke during his title year. 

For you, it will simply be a night of men, gear, and fun!

The Seattle Eagle Sells Out?

Poster child of bar demise (and re-birth)

 This posting from Adrian Ryan on The Stranger speaks directly to the angst many of us are feeling in the leather/kink community.  What the f**k happened to our leather bars?  Every city we visit the story is repeated almost verbatim, ie, our bars are "leather" in name only.  Go to an Eagle in almost any city (at least in the US) and you're more likely to see tennis shoes and cargo pants than leather.  And forget about full leather.  The only time we see leather of any quantity is for specialty gear nights and even then we have to tolerate cotton (ewwwww!) sliding against our leathers.  

To be fair the bar owners are just doing what they have to to keep the doors open.  We, the so-called leather people, can't get off our collective ass to get our gear on and get out.  When will the backlash start?  When, and how, do we take back our spaces?  Open for suggestions here...

While Seattle’s freshborn queer nightscene frets and scrambles over the relatively timely, yet still infinitely regrettable, demise of the War Room(formerly Blu, previously Mr. Paddywacks, nee The Brass Connection, AKAThe Brass Rail) and everything she stood for (like Hard Times, God dammit—Cover her face, mine eyes dazzle, she died young), some fascinating nightlifey things seem to be brewing at, um, The Eagle.

Yes, The Eagle.

But really, no. The Eagle.

Upcoming 15 Association Events

Our pervy play pals at the 15 Association have the right way to work off your post-Thanksgiving turkey binge.

Get your butt, and your gear, over to the November Play Party at the SF Citadel on Saturday, November 28th, 2009.  Doors open at 8 PM and close at 11 PM.

SF Citadel
1277 Mission St (at 9th st), San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 626-1746 
http://www.sfcitadel.org/

Then on Sunday November 29th, it's the Beer Bust at SF Eagle. 

SF Eagle
398 12th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 626-0880
http://www.sfeagle.com/

News to Abuse - Fetish Books For Bent Readers - SoVo Rise From The Dead? - New Mr Leather Ottawa

Author Tim Brough has his hand on...

 ...the pulse of kinky readers.  What did you think I was going to say.  But knowing Tim I can understand you going right there!

Tim has been deep in the scene for a helluva long time and has successfully merged his kink with his skill as a write to turn out some of the best fetish books on the market. 

He's also written over the years for some of the hottest pubs around, including Fetish, Leather Journal, Eagle, Cuir, Frontiers, Bunkhouse, Mach, Powerplay and two of his own major magazines, the groundbreaking Rubber Rebel and Vulcan America.

Check out the goods at timbrough.com

The story may not be over

 TPM Live Wire reports that the staff of the Southern Voice, a gay weekly in Atlanta and one of the handful of publications shut down abruptly by parent company Window Media last week, have received a $12,000 matching grant to start a new publication.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Lloyd E. Russell Foundation, which provides grants to organizations in the LGBQT and leather communities, will provide the matching grant to the Voice's founder and former owner, Chris Cash, and editor, Laura Douglas-Brown.

Cash and Douglas-Brown have been raising money through a new web site, SaveSoVo.com. Their yet-to-be-named publication will have both print and online editions.

Southern Voice's parent company, Window Media, closed down all its publications last week without warning. The Voice's staff came to work to find the locks changed and a note on the door. Window filed for bankruptcy on Friday.

Another of Window's casualties, the Washington Blade, is also launching anew. After the closure, the Blade's staff continued working on a volunteer basis, putting out the first issue of their new D.C. Agenda on Friday.

MLO produces a winner

 Mr Leather Ottawa celebrated its 17th year, Nov 13 -15 in downtown Ottawa. 

The event brought together members of the leather and fetish communities. The weekend was packed with seminars, play events and the competition for Mr Leather Ottawa 2010.

This year three competitors were in the running for Mr Leather Ottawa 2010 — Mikey Adam Scott Loucks, Christopher Davidson and Mike Tattersall.

Over three days each competitor went through a series of leather-inspired interviews. Saturday's main event culminated in a fantasy scene.

Mr Leather Ottawa 2009, Brendan James McGovern, preformed his final fantasy scene as the current leather titleholder and, in order to raise funds for the MLO travel fund, shaved off his colourful mohawk.

The winner of the competition was Mike Tattersall, who takes the title of Mr Leather Ottawa 2010.

See the video and pics at xtra.ca

Mr Leatherman Toronto - Official Schedule

We'll be blogging all weekend from MLT on Leatherati Live.  Here's a look at the perv-packed schedule:

Thursday, November 26

Salute! A Tribute Dinner for MLT’s 2009 Titleholders
7 pm – 11 pm at The Best Western Primrose Hotel
Tickets $40. Advance ticket reservation required; contact media@mrlt.com.
Not included in the VIP Pass

Kick OFF Party
11 pm at Black Eagle Toronto
Hot & steamy launch of the MLT weekend

Gear up for the November 26th weekend

You Need This!

Nesting to new heights

Everyone has owned one. You know, one of those layered dolls where you open up one of the dolls only to find a smaller one inside. Julian Murphy designed this BDSM Russian Layered Doll to throw a line of rebellion at the old tradition of clean cut dolls.

The BDSM doll starts as a gimp-like sex slave, clad in leather from head to two. Articles of BDSM wear are slowly discarded layer by layer until the doll is completely naked and then goes on to reveal a dildo and finally a battery.

Perfect!  Except for one small thing, it appears to only be a concept and not actually in production.  Check out this link and encourage the artist to bring us all to fruition.  Oh, and we need a guy version too.