Leatherati

Is the Men's Community Dead?

On July 27th, the San Francisco-based Leatherman's Discussion Group is hosting a panel discussion on the topic "Is Leather Dead? Does it Need to Die?".  The participants on the panel are Guy Baldwin, Race Bannon, Gayle Rubin and Michael Thorn. 

On the heels of that panel discussion, the LDG has been asked to host a discussion on the future of the men’s leather/fetish/kink community.

Does a men’s community exist? With the passing of “leather” as our umbrella term, is there still a critical mass of men engaging in radical sex with other men who acknowledge and value our commonality, irrespective of our differences? Or do we now identify foremost with others who share our fetishes – latex, leather, M/s or D/s, animal play – regardless of gender and orientation? If that's the case, then our institutions (like LDG) may have to accept that they can serve men into leather or sportsgear or puppy play, but not a “men’s community” that isn’t there anymore.

News to Abuse: SCLG - OMG! Leathergate? - Eagle NYC Raid Update

SCLG (aka Southern California Leather Gathering)

Well over 200 people attended the largest kinky picnic around in SoCal this past weekend.  Congrats Pug on 10 years!

Leathergate?

Christine Lagarde, France's Finance Minister who is assuming directorship at the International Monetary Fund, is looking more and more like our kind of leader.  Or should that be leder?

Turns out she turned her law firm on its collective ear when she graced one the firm's cocktails parties in ....shocking!...leather pants.

The first woman to head the IMF and she looks hot in a pair of leather pants?  Love her!  And love that conservative wags the world over are collectively sucking (in their breath).

Full story after the jump

Eagle NYC Update

Well, a raid on the Eagle NYC on Pride weekend AND only minutes after a marriage equality bill was passed in NY State, did seem to have a certain, shall we say...stench.

NYPD claim their justification for raiding the bar was based in part on "frequent complaints" to the city's 311 hotline.  Hmmm...really?  UnicornBooty.com reports that the city's own 311 complaint map shows that the Eagle hasn't received a single complaint in the past year.

Do over NYPD?

Full story after the jump

News to Abuse: Down Under, Leather Love, "Beat Me" Controversy

Melbourne Leather Pride Returns

After being postponed twice in 2010, Melbourne Leather Pride(MLP) opens today and is set to excite Melbourne from 8 to 26 April with both barrels blazing. MLP is Australia’s premier Leather festival, celebrating and showcasing the culture and diversity of Australia’s leather and fetish communities.

Compete story after the jump

Leather love, compassion: mentorship

Sir Mike expounds on the hierarchy of our leather community.  

Full article in the LGBT Times after the jump

Anonymous Flyer Outs Fetish Weekend

Looks like the mayor of Fairview, IL is under fire for "allowing" the Beat Me In St Louis event to take place, or so an anonymous flyer claims.  The rub is that the event is long ove and none of the horrified busybodies were the wiser until they found out they had a "porn convention" in their midst.  Geez.

Read more after the jump

 

Diversity...a la 1998

Here's a fantastic re-post of an article on LeatherWeb by Phil Ross from 1998.  Great reading and thanks to Phil for letting us share it again here.

During the transit of the Sun through Aquarius this year of 1998 which \also happens to have been Black History Month. I have had the opportunity to serve my community and tribe as best I am able. I am pleased that I could place trust in others to come forth and give their best as well. The thrust of Black History Month this year has been that the emphasis should not be only a Black one. The rest of us are important characters in the making of all history that is America.

This year Black people have come to the fore on national television to openly dialogue about it's own community - the best and the worst. As gay/lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and challenged peoples are assimilating into mainstream culture they must also realize that the price of inclusion is self examination. The LeatherFetish Community must also begin this process towards greater inclusion.. We are on the threshold of not only a new century; but a new generation of LeatherAti as well. That generation must and will include all peoples on the planet who consider themselves kinky and who accept and believe in save, sane and consensual practices of their expressions. A truly Global Leather Village.

An injustice appeared in the guise of cancellation of the People of Color panel at the forthcoming LeatherFest X in San Diego. That panel has now been revived to a broader inclusion of 'Minorities in SM', and then still again to be titled 'Diversity'. This would imply, and include, not only race, but transgender and challenged peoples as well. In fact, two years ago when the first panel of this kind was initiated at LeatherFest, it included a heterosexual female who qualified herself because she was a woman.

I'm Not Goofy!

aka...the invasion of the BFFs

Loren Berthelsen, Editor in Chief

I was holding up a post at the Stompers Boots open house BBQ at Dore Alley this weekend, chatting with a friend and former IML titleholder (and major hottie), when I heard him say, "I'm not Goofy!"  Context is probably called for.  

Topics of conversation depend largely on context of course.  In Palm Springs, leather men talk about the real estate market and individual happiness levels depends largely on when you bought.  At festivals like Dore and Folsom, conversations eventually get around to the topic of "the others", ie tourists, stroller people and the gawkers.  

In the old days, Dore Alley, which actually started on Ringold Alley and moved to the small, then grimy and industrial Dore Alley a couple of years later, was purely for us leather folk.  It was a one block barely-legal festival with a couple of vendors and a beer booth and lots of cruising and a fair amount of semi-clandestine street sex.  The gear quotient was high and the testosterone higher.

Anti-Gay Right Attempts to Link Maine Shooting Death to Marriage Equality

"...dedicated to promoting the perversion of sadomasochism..."

The anti-gay right has attempted to portray the shooting death of a gay Maine resident by another gay man as relevant to the question of marriage equality--and to tar both family parity and gays in general with charges of "debauchery" and "perversion."

Bruce Lavallee-Davidson, 50, of Skowhegan, Maine, has been an outspoken proponent of marriage equality rights for gay and lesbian families. He has also become the focus of anti-gay pundits in the wake of the April 18, 2009 shooting death of Fred Wilson, also 50. Lavallee-Davidson faces manslaughter charges in the case; he claims that he thought a shotgun he was handling was unloaded when it went off, wounding Wilson in the head and killing him. Though authorities have said that the shooting was accidental, anti-gay online articles have insinuated that the killing somehow sprang from the lifestyles of those involved.

More on Rod Jetton's alleged S&M scandal

This guy is really giving kink a bad name

Rod Jetton, one of the most powerful political figures in Missouri, is denying the allegations that he roughed up a woman during a sexual encounter in mid-November. He's now charged with second-degree felony assault.

Jetton isn't talking. His attorney released a statement with the usual stuff, he's "not guilty" and "will vigorously defend this allegation in court" and he's not going to do it in the media.

The complaint (read the full document here) alleges that Jetton, the former Missouri Speaker of the House,"recklessly caused serious physical injury to" the woman "by hitting her on the head, and choking her resulting in unconsciousness and the loss of the function of part of her body."

There's more than what we reported earlier. A few notes:

• the woman claimed she and Jetton had never dated before or been in a relationship but arranged to have sex earlier in the day.

• the woman claimed she faded in and out of consciousness after drinking a glass of wine poured out of sight by Jetton.

• the woman told police that after Jetton choke her, she woke up and Jetton was having sex with her from behind.

In October, The Kansas City Star wrote a huge story about Jetton, looking at campaign donations to Jetton's clients, especially those coming after controversial votes and allegations that Jetton is more of a lobbyist than a consultant, thus skirting ethics laws. The Star reported that the way Jetton "conducts political business has attracted the scrutiny of the FBI as it probes 'pay for play' allegations in Jefferson City.".

Jetton's current and past clients included senators Jason Crowell, Rob Mayer and Luann Ridgeway, Majority Leader Steven Tilley, Majority Whip Brian Nieves as well as Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

Also listed as clients, Missouri state reps. Sue Allen, Tim Jones, Shelley Keeney, Rob Schaaf, Shane Schoeller and Rick Stream.

via blogs.pitch.com

Former Missouri House Speaker Charged with Assault in S&M Scene

The political blog of the Kansas City Star is reporting that former Missouri House Speaker Rod Jetton, now a Jefferson City political consultant, has been charged with felony assault.

The alleged incident occurred last month in Sikeston, Missouri. The complaint asserts that the Republican power broker "recklessly caused serious physical injury to ------- by hitting her on the head, and choking her resulting in unconsciousness and the loss of the function of part of her body."

via blogs.riverfronttimes.com

Choking I understand...but hitting her on the head? How do you flag caveman left?

Politics do indeed make interesting bedfellows

Yes, dead people do vote in Chicago.

Or at least that's been the running joke at the expense of the Chicago political machine.  But in the campaign currently underway between State Representative Deb Mell (D-40) and her opponent Joe Laiacona (more well known to us by his pen name, Jack Rinella), it appears that living politicians in fact cannot vote.  At least not if they aren't registered to vote in the precinct in which they are running.

Turns out that Mell moved to a new location in her district in 2009 but failed to re-register, making her, at least in theory (well, and that pesky campaign law) ineligible to be on the ballot.

There's been a quiet but ugly smear effort going on in the campaign to represent the 40th with opponents making much ado about Joe's other life as a "leather columnist".  I'm going to guess that "leather" has matching facial expressions to "felon" or "pedophile".  Mr Laiacona has been open about his sexuality and about writing the column and if elected will be first openly kinky elected state representative.  

If the law prevails and Mell is barred from the ballot we can expect the efforts against Laiacona to intensify and get increasingly nasty.  Ah politics...

Check here for a more in-depth analysis of the political maneuverings.  

It's time to broaden the "Marriage Equality" discussion

The discussion to date has been all about whether two men or two women should be allowed to marry.  Increasingly that's a no-brainer "yes" answer as more and more of so called main street folks figure out that there are worse things to worry about than two guys wanting to share a tract house and a mini van.

But do you notice who gets thrown under the bus in every marriage equality discussion?