This blog is an online compilation and archive of the Leather Life column, written by your humble columnist (and now your humble blogger) Steve Lenius. The column has been appearing in Lavender Magazine—the magazine for the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender communities, and their allies, in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and the Upper Midwest—since the magazine’s first issue in June, 1995.
Lavender is published every two weeks. For many years the Leather Life column appeared in every issue. Starting in November, 2009, the column was published quarterly. Effective March, 2011, the column is now published at least monthly (every other issue), and sometimes more often.
Articles are presented as originally published in Lavender—more or less. Most of the addresses and telephone numbers, especially in the event listings of the early columns, have been deleted. Email addresses and website URLs have been left intact, mostly as a matter of historical interest.
All of the text of the columns as originally published has been added to this blog. Photos that were originally published with the columns will be added in the weeks ahead.
Because all content in this blog was originally published in Lavender, and Lavender is considered a family magazine, this blog is not restricted to readers over the age of 18. If you’re looking for porn, therefore, you will need to look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you’re looking for information and entertaining reading about the life, history and culture of the gay, lesbian and pansexual leather/BDSM/fetish community, I hope you will be happy with what you find in this blog.
Finally, the inevitable shameless self-promotion: In your humble columnist’s first book, Life, Leather and the Pursuit of Happiness, you can find some of these columns in expanded form, with updates, cross-references and even footnotes. And a second book is in the works: full-length versions of all the interviews that were published in shortened form in the Leather Life column, as well as some interviews that have never before been published.
