Leatherati

Teaching Extreme BDSM Play

Master John Weal is a very accomplished BDSM educator and we recently approached him about the issue of teaching extreme BDSM.  There are some factions in our community that think we shouldn't be in the business of educating on topics like hook pulls or breath play.  We asked Master John for his opinion on the topic.

WHY should we teach extreme classes to our lifestyle you ask?  Well if we don’t several things will happen, none of which are positive.  In this time where people are lear  ning things through the Internet and through watching videos, many of these educational venues don’t talk about the techniques or pitfalls behind edge play.  People are getting seriously hurt and even dying because of the lack of education in extreme BDSM.  

First off,  I am a teacher of extreme BDSM and teach everything from blood sports to crucifixion and more, including breath play.  It is my opinion and I've seen others teach simple classes and not be properly educated and teach such things like telling people to use 90 percent isopropyl alcohol instead of 70 percent in fire play.  The difference is night and day.  

My dear friend Lamalani, IMSL 2009,  and I were just talking about a class where someone was teaching fire play and didn’t mention using only cotton thread, string or whatever you need to make the fire wand they used nylon thread and caused burns in a fire class.  Oh my god that teacher should never teach again!  If good teachers are teaching, then extreme BDSM should be taught so everyone can get good correct information.  

Sexology Seminar - How Cool Is That!

Isadora Alman, MFT, reports in a blog on Psychology Today about a recent Sexology Seminar.  Really interesting stuff in here.

The very first sexual science symposium I attended was  more than twenty years ago.  It has remained memorable to me for the following event: The room was  filled to capacity.  A dignitary from a related field was presenting to the rapt audience of fellow professionals his research on the estrus cycles of apes, their influence on the apes’ mating habits, and its relevance to human sexual choices.  “Early every morning,” he began, “I would approach the cages of the female bonobos and, with a very long cotton swab, I would collect a sample of their vaginal secretions…”  From behind me a loud whisper interrupted with the comment “For this he went to graduate school?”

The Sexology Symposium for the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Western Region took place in Palm Springs mid April 2010. Here is a smattering of  tidbits I garnered from various presentations, none of which involved the vaginal secretions of apes but struck me as interesting nonetheless.

Interview With Producer Extraordinaire Audrey Joseph

Leatherati contributor West sat down with longtime community member Audrey Joseph for a look at where we've been and where we're going.

Intro:  

As an active member of the LGBT community, Audrey Joseph became involved with AIDS activism during the height of the AIDS crisis. She organized the first International Ms. Leather and Ms. San Francisco Leather contests and has produced various incarnations of International Mr. Drummer, International Mr. Leather, and Mr. San Francisco Leather. She also contributed to the construction of the Pleasuredome dance stage at the Folsom Street Fair. Over the years, Joseph has helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support local charities in San Francisco, California. 

We sat down recently with Audrey to get her opinion on some current events in our community. 

 

Random Web Search

How many words can we find with one web search that contain "sexual"

ambisexual
antisexual
asexual
bisexual
desexualized
heterosexual
homosexual
hypersexual
intersexual
nonhomosexual
nonsexual
pansexual
parasexual
psychosexual
sexuality
sexually
sexualized
sexualizing
sociosexual
unsexual
unisexual
transsexual

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!

Top, bottom or versatile

Ah, that age-old question

We've all been at the contest when the question pops up, "Top or bottom?"  The answer is generally irrelevant since the question is merely a gambit allowing the emcee to label the erstwhile contender a bottom because he a) took too long to answer or b) answered "versatile".  In case you haven't picked up on it, top = good, bottom = less than top, and versatile = bad.  Apparently playing both sides of the fence is problematic.  

Michael Kimmel, in this article from the San Diego Gay and Lesbian TImes, explores the label issue.

News to Abuse: Spanking Art - Guitars and Gear - The Sistory Channel

Spanking is finally an art form, really.

Matthew Hays of Xtra.ca profiles Montreal photographer Evergon who has long had a fascination with gender. Since gaining notoriety in the '70s, when his entirely brazen depictions of sexual subjects raised controversy, Evergon has become a darling of the international art gallery set. 

By his own admittance, the man has never been tepid. A great bit of Evergon lore dates back to 1972, when he was interviewed fo r a possible teaching job at the University of Ottawa. "I actually really felt like I didn't want the job," he recalls now. "So my mother gave me some advice: just wear drag to the interview. They'll never hire you then." 
 
Evergon's photography often involves nude (or scantily-clad) subjects, including himself. His latest show, titled "Passion Plays," now on display in Laval, Quebec, includes a series of shots of him posing with models. The inspiration, he says, came from various internet porn sites, where he found a number of suggestive shots looked a great deal like poses found in classic art. One of Evergon's images has the artist holding a young man over his lap, apparently in the act of spanking him. Another, titled "Pieta," has the artist holding a young man in his arms.   Continue reading...

Here's your chance to win a guitar hot enough to to put a glam rocker to shame.

Here's your chance to turn your love of kink and storytelling in to a fab prize package.  Stockroom.com is teaming up with rocker Lita Ford in a contest guaranteed to warm the cockles of your heart.  All you need for entry is a 500 word or less story, poem or essay all about your ideal "Wicked Wonderland".  Both the story and the title must reference at least one of the 4000+ kinky products featured at Stockroom.com.  

The prize package?  Nothing less than a kickass B.C. Rich Warlock Guitar autographed by hot rocker Lita Ford.  Plus kinky goodies for 2nd and 3rd place.  Get writing!  But first check out the complete rules at Stockroom.com

A Sistory Blow by Blow

You apparently live under a rock if you're not at least passingly familiar with The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.  It's unbelievably difficult to not be aware of a 6 foot 4 inch man in white face wearing half of a Michael's Crafts store and and probably sporting a sequined mustache.

Where did they come from?  What's the "sistory" of the Sisters?  Check it out here at the official (and apparently blessed) sisterly archives.  

SM Safely

Still one of the best out there

The SM Safely booklet from the San Francisco based STOP AIDS Project has been around for a number of years and is in its 3rd printing. Despite the passage of time the primer is still one of the best overall resources that we've encountered for BDSM play.

It's not just a how to for the usual activities like fisting and flogging, this book goes beyond damage and disease and gets in to related ares such as how to hook up safely and how to take care of your gear.