Thursday, August 29, 2013
Hardy Haberman Discusses Leather Traditions and Protocols
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Thursday, August 1, 2013
Pride in Pictures
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #474, August 1, 2013)
Issue 474 was the 2013 Pride in Pictures edition. I submitted some photos but no captions or cutlines.
Issue 474 was the 2013 Pride in Pictures edition. I submitted some photos but no captions or cutlines.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Knights of Leather Celebrate 25th-Anniversary Tournament
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #472, July 4, 2013)
The Knights of Leather recently held their silver-anniversary Tournament 25 run. In keeping with this anniversary the theme of the run was, simply, “Silver.”
The Knights Tournament run is modeled on medieval tournaments, a weekend of games, rituals, camaraderie, a formal banquet—and rustic, rough-hewn, candle-lit dungeons in the woods. This year’s run was held the weekend of May 31-June 2 and was sold out, with more than 100 people in attendance. Those 100 people included representatives of 10 clubs, organizations, and groups. In addition to Minnesota, attendees came from North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Texas.
Many members of another Twin Cities club, the Atons of Minneapolis, attended this year’s Tournament as a show of support and solidarity with the Knights. The Atons, who last year celebrated their 40th anniversary, played a part years ago in helping the Knights of Leather form as a club.
Founded in 1985 in the Twin Cities as a club exclusively for leatherwomen, the Knights were reconstituted in 2000 as a pansexual leather club. Although there were clubs for leatherwomen on both coasts, The Knights of Leather was the first club for leatherwomen in the Midwest.
In attendance at Tournament 25 was PJ Knight, the club’s first pledge (or “squire”) and now the most senior member of the club. On Friday evening Knight hosted “Tournament 101,” an orientation session and tour of the grounds for those who had never before attended Tournament. Later on Friday evening, the traditional ceremony of remembrance was held around the campfire.
On Saturday afternoon PJ Knight and your humble columnist were two members of a five-member panel sharing their memories concerning local and national leather history. In addition, available all weekend in the main lodge were notebooks, photo albums, and scrapbooks documenting the history of both the Knights of Leather and Minnesota’s GLBT and leather communities.
Eight other educational seminars and workshops were presented on Saturday as well. Topics included switching, tops playing with tops, slave positions, pet play and “rope scenes for all.”
In keeping with the weekend’s “Silver” theme, both decor and guest attire for Saturday evening’s formal banquet were filled with glittery, shiny, silvery, sparkly things. The pre-banquet cocktail hour was hosted by The Atons of Minneapolis.
So what comes after 25? Next year the Knights will present Tournament 26, the theme of which was announced during the Tournament 25 weekend as “Alphabet Soup: Kink from A to Z.” For more information about Tournament 26 and the Knights of Leather, visit <http://www.knightsofleather.com>.
 |
| Members of the Knights of Leather. |
The Knights Tournament run is modeled on medieval tournaments, a weekend of games, rituals, camaraderie, a formal banquet—and rustic, rough-hewn, candle-lit dungeons in the woods. This year’s run was held the weekend of May 31-June 2 and was sold out, with more than 100 people in attendance. Those 100 people included representatives of 10 clubs, organizations, and groups. In addition to Minnesota, attendees came from North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Texas.
Many members of another Twin Cities club, the Atons of Minneapolis, attended this year’s Tournament as a show of support and solidarity with the Knights. The Atons, who last year celebrated their 40th anniversary, played a part years ago in helping the Knights of Leather form as a club.
Founded in 1985 in the Twin Cities as a club exclusively for leatherwomen, the Knights were reconstituted in 2000 as a pansexual leather club. Although there were clubs for leatherwomen on both coasts, The Knights of Leather was the first club for leatherwomen in the Midwest.
In attendance at Tournament 25 was PJ Knight, the club’s first pledge (or “squire”) and now the most senior member of the club. On Friday evening Knight hosted “Tournament 101,” an orientation session and tour of the grounds for those who had never before attended Tournament. Later on Friday evening, the traditional ceremony of remembrance was held around the campfire.
On Saturday afternoon PJ Knight and your humble columnist were two members of a five-member panel sharing their memories concerning local and national leather history. In addition, available all weekend in the main lodge were notebooks, photo albums, and scrapbooks documenting the history of both the Knights of Leather and Minnesota’s GLBT and leather communities.
Eight other educational seminars and workshops were presented on Saturday as well. Topics included switching, tops playing with tops, slave positions, pet play and “rope scenes for all.”
In keeping with the weekend’s “Silver” theme, both decor and guest attire for Saturday evening’s formal banquet were filled with glittery, shiny, silvery, sparkly things. The pre-banquet cocktail hour was hosted by The Atons of Minneapolis.
So what comes after 25? Next year the Knights will present Tournament 26, the theme of which was announced during the Tournament 25 weekend as “Alphabet Soup: Kink from A to Z.” For more information about Tournament 26 and the Knights of Leather, visit <http://www.knightsofleather.com>.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Andy Cross is International Mr. Leather 2013
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #471, June 20, 2013)
Fifty-one contestants from six countries competed in the 2013 International Mr. Leather (IML) contest held Memorial Day weekend in Chicago. Branded as “IML XXX5,” this year was the 35th annual contest (and the twentieth year your humble columnist has attended). This year’s IML contest and related events were attended by an estimated 18,000 guests.
This year’s IML weekend had a new host hotel in a new neighborhood: the Chicago Marriott Downtown/Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue. Because the host hotel sold out quickly, IML also made arrangements with three other adjacent hotels.
But it appeared that most of the weekend’s socializing revolved around the host hotel’s lobby bar, ironically named “Rush.” (Yes, “Rush” is the street outside the hotel, but it’s also a famous brand of poppers—I mean, room odorizer.) The Twin Cities’ own Miss Richfield made an appearance on the bar’s video screens, courtesy of travel website Orbitz.com.
The weekend-long IML Leather Market featured 120 leather and fetish vendors, clubs and organizations. The market was on both the fifth and seventh floors of the host hotel, and there was express escalator service between the two floors. With up to 6,000 visitors every day, the Market was packed.
Friday evening’s Opening Ceremonies and Saturday evening’s Physique Prejudging (also known as the “Pecs & Personality” event) were held at The Vic Theatre, which was the venue for the IML contest several times in the late 1980s (and which reminded old-timers of The Congress Theater, the contest’s venue from 1994 to 2004 and again in 2010). Sunday evening’s Contest and Show event returned to The Harris Theater in Millennium Park, a venue also used for the Contest and Show in 2011.
(Bus transportation, a formidable responsibility with so many events not at the host hotel as in some previous years, was ably coordinated this year by Twin Cities resident Jason Bribitzer-Stull.)
Master of ceremonies for all three weekend events was Lenny Broberg, the IML titleholder from 1992. Also seen during the weekend were previous IML titleholders from 1994, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010 and, of course, Woody Woodruff, the outgoing International Mr. Leather 2012.
Chuck Renslow, IML founder and Executive Producer, was around during the weekend in spite of some recent health challenges. Renslow had triple-bypass heart surgery in January; while recovering from that he fell out of bed, broke three ribs, and subsequently developed pneumonia. IML coordinator Jon Krongaard handled Renslow’s speaking duties at the Friday and Saturday evening events, but on Sunday evening Renslow both welcomed the crowd to the Contest and Show and announced the winners at the end of the contest.
Competing this year from Minnesota were Ryan Brown, Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2013 (who placed as a top-20 semifinalist), and Kyle Truss, Mr. Twin Cities Leather 2013. Also competing from Minnesota in the 21st annual International Mr. Bootblack Competition (held concurrently with the International Mr. Leather Contest) was Bootblack Mike, who finished the bootblack contest as First Runner-up.
Entertainment at Sunday evening’s Contest and Show was a one-woman performance by singer Beverly McClellan, as seen on NBC’s “The Voice”—and boy, does she have one (a voice, that is). Combine Janis Joplin, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, and Melissa Etheridge—and then multiply by ten. She plays a mean guitar and a soulful piano, too.
After McClellan’s performance it was time to announce the outcome of the contest: Andy Cross, Mr. San Francisco Leather 2013, was named International Mr. Leather 2013. First runner-up was Thib Guicherd-Callin, Mr. Santa Clara County Leather 2012; second runner-up was Robert Miller, Mr. Leatherman Toronto 2013.
(Cross becomes the sixth IML titleholder from San Francisco and the second with the title of Mr. San Francisco Leather. The first? Well, that would be this year’s master of ceremonies, Lenny Broberg—Mr. San Francisco Leather 1992, who became IML 1992.)
Named as the new International Mr. Bootblack was Sammy, from Portland, Oregon. The Jeffrey Payne Lifetime Achievement Award, a relatively new addition to the IML weekend, was presented this year to Rick Storer, Executive Director of the Leather Archives & Museum.
Next year’s IML weekend will be held May 23-26, 2014, and the Chicago Marriott Downtown/Magnificent Mile will again be the host hotel. Rooms may be reserved starting on June 20, 2013—book early by visiting <imrl.com>.
Fifty-one contestants from six countries competed in the 2013 International Mr. Leather (IML) contest held Memorial Day weekend in Chicago. Branded as “IML XXX5,” this year was the 35th annual contest (and the twentieth year your humble columnist has attended). This year’s IML contest and related events were attended by an estimated 18,000 guests.
This year’s IML weekend had a new host hotel in a new neighborhood: the Chicago Marriott Downtown/Magnificent Mile on North Michigan Avenue. Because the host hotel sold out quickly, IML also made arrangements with three other adjacent hotels.
But it appeared that most of the weekend’s socializing revolved around the host hotel’s lobby bar, ironically named “Rush.” (Yes, “Rush” is the street outside the hotel, but it’s also a famous brand of poppers—I mean, room odorizer.) The Twin Cities’ own Miss Richfield made an appearance on the bar’s video screens, courtesy of travel website Orbitz.com.
The weekend-long IML Leather Market featured 120 leather and fetish vendors, clubs and organizations. The market was on both the fifth and seventh floors of the host hotel, and there was express escalator service between the two floors. With up to 6,000 visitors every day, the Market was packed.
Friday evening’s Opening Ceremonies and Saturday evening’s Physique Prejudging (also known as the “Pecs & Personality” event) were held at The Vic Theatre, which was the venue for the IML contest several times in the late 1980s (and which reminded old-timers of The Congress Theater, the contest’s venue from 1994 to 2004 and again in 2010). Sunday evening’s Contest and Show event returned to The Harris Theater in Millennium Park, a venue also used for the Contest and Show in 2011.
(Bus transportation, a formidable responsibility with so many events not at the host hotel as in some previous years, was ably coordinated this year by Twin Cities resident Jason Bribitzer-Stull.)
Master of ceremonies for all three weekend events was Lenny Broberg, the IML titleholder from 1992. Also seen during the weekend were previous IML titleholders from 1994, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010 and, of course, Woody Woodruff, the outgoing International Mr. Leather 2012.
Chuck Renslow, IML founder and Executive Producer, was around during the weekend in spite of some recent health challenges. Renslow had triple-bypass heart surgery in January; while recovering from that he fell out of bed, broke three ribs, and subsequently developed pneumonia. IML coordinator Jon Krongaard handled Renslow’s speaking duties at the Friday and Saturday evening events, but on Sunday evening Renslow both welcomed the crowd to the Contest and Show and announced the winners at the end of the contest.
Competing this year from Minnesota were Ryan Brown, Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2013 (who placed as a top-20 semifinalist), and Kyle Truss, Mr. Twin Cities Leather 2013. Also competing from Minnesota in the 21st annual International Mr. Bootblack Competition (held concurrently with the International Mr. Leather Contest) was Bootblack Mike, who finished the bootblack contest as First Runner-up.
Entertainment at Sunday evening’s Contest and Show was a one-woman performance by singer Beverly McClellan, as seen on NBC’s “The Voice”—and boy, does she have one (a voice, that is). Combine Janis Joplin, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, and Melissa Etheridge—and then multiply by ten. She plays a mean guitar and a soulful piano, too.
After McClellan’s performance it was time to announce the outcome of the contest: Andy Cross, Mr. San Francisco Leather 2013, was named International Mr. Leather 2013. First runner-up was Thib Guicherd-Callin, Mr. Santa Clara County Leather 2012; second runner-up was Robert Miller, Mr. Leatherman Toronto 2013.
(Cross becomes the sixth IML titleholder from San Francisco and the second with the title of Mr. San Francisco Leather. The first? Well, that would be this year’s master of ceremonies, Lenny Broberg—Mr. San Francisco Leather 1992, who became IML 1992.)
Named as the new International Mr. Bootblack was Sammy, from Portland, Oregon. The Jeffrey Payne Lifetime Achievement Award, a relatively new addition to the IML weekend, was presented this year to Rick Storer, Executive Director of the Leather Archives & Museum.
Next year’s IML weekend will be held May 23-26, 2014, and the Chicago Marriott Downtown/Magnificent Mile will again be the host hotel. Rooms may be reserved starting on June 20, 2013—book early by visiting <imrl.com>.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Minnesota Leather Pride 2013 features appearance by Hardy Haberman
This year’s theme: “Perfect Union/Coming Together”
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #470, June 6, 2013)
Internationally known author, filmmaker, leatherman and gay activist Hardy Haberman will be making a speaking appearance in the Twin Cities as part of this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride celebration. Haberman’s appearance is just one of many events taking place June 14-30, 2013.
Minnesota’s Leather Pride celebration has been bringing Minnesota’s leather/BDSM/fetish community together since the mid-1990s. The celebration started as a single-afternoon, post-Pride Parade get-together at the Gay 90s in Minneapolis. Within a few years, however, it had grown to its present form: a multi-event celebration spread over several weeks in June, culminating in the annual Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade up Hennepin Avenue and the Twin Cities Pride Festival in Loring Park.
This year’s Minnesota Leather Pride celebration mixes perennial favorite events like Floggapalooza with new events including rope and electrical play demonstrations and a Leather Pride bicycle ride to complement the traditional Leather Pride motorcycle ride. Also new this year is a Recovery in the Lifestyle twelve-step meeting and an “Adventures in Fetish” leather/fetish fashion show (followed by “FUNdRaver! 2,” a rave dance party).
One of the goals of this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride (MNLP) planning committee is to encourage more involvement by local leather/BDSM/fetish community members in planning the theme and events for this year’s celebration. MNLP representatives attended many community events, parties and meetings last December and January to gather community input. Community members were given a chance to vote for one of three proposed themes, either with a paper ballot or online, and were asked to suggest ideas for new MNLP events.
Besides new events, the board also has added new venues for Minnesota Leather Pride events. New venues The Southern Theater, In The Heart of the Beast Theater and Clare House join returning venues Camp Bar, Patrick’s Cabaret, Smitten Kitten, The Minneapolis Eagle/Bolt/Bolt Underground complex, and Loring Park.
The Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag for 2013, the latest in a long and distinguished line, looks great and also provides discounts at certain Minnesota Leather Pride events (see sidebar). Get yours while supplies last at participating businesses (see MNLeatherPride.org for details) and at Minnesota Leather Pride events.
The theme of this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride celebration, “Perfect Union/Coming Together,” was chosen to show Minnesota Leather Pride’s support for marriage equality in Minnesota. Now that marriage equality is the law in Minnesota, this year’s theme can signify celebration of that fact.
Minnesota Leather Pride 2013 Events
Reminder: Visit <MNLeatherPride.org> for full details and the latest updates.
Friday, June 14: Electrical play demonstration presented by the Electrical Play Group. 8-10 P.M. Camp Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul.
Saturday, June 15: Recovery in the Lifestyle (RITL) meeting. Open to anyone living the leather/BDSM/fetish lifestyle in any Twelve-Step Recovery program. 7-9 P.M. Clare House, 3105 23rd Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Sunday, June 16: Unity Through Rope demonstration presented by MSDB. 2-5 P.M. Patrick’s Cabaret, 3010 Minnehaha Ave. S., Minneapolis. $10; discounts with 2013 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag and for MSDB members. If desired, BYOR (bring your own rope).
Friday, June 21: Twin Cities Leather “Adventures in Fetish” fashion show and bootblack party. 7:30-9:30 P.M. Followed by FUNdRaver! 2 rave dance party, 10 P.M.-2 A.M. Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis. $10 for each event; discount with 2013 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag or with combination admission to both events.
Saturday, June 22: Guest speaker Hardy Haberman presented by Leather Journey. 1-4 P.M. In The Heart of the Beast Theater, 1500 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. $10; discount with 2013 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag.
Sunday, June 23: Leather Pride Motorcycle Ride presented by Knights of Leather. 10 A.M. departure; meet at 1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis.
Sunday, June 23: Leather Pride Bicycle Ride presented by PEPRMNT. 10 A.M. departure; meet on Midtown Greenway in front of Freewheel Bike/Midtown Bike Center, 2834 10th Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Monday, June 24: BDSM Creative Collective presents readings from its 2013 Leather Pride Anthology of Art, Poetry, Photography, and Short Fiction. 7-9 P.M. Smitten Kitten, 3010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Tuesday, June 25: Leather Pride Swap Meet presented by MAsT Twin Cities. 6:30-9:30 P.M. Camp Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul. No charge to shop; $5 to vend.
Thursday, June 27: Cigar and Pipe Smoker presented by Atons of Minneapolis. 8-11 P.M. On the patio of the Minneapolis Eagle/Bolt/Bolt Underground complex, 515 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Friday, June 28: Floggapalooza presented by Knights of Leather. 9-11 P.M. Camp Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul.
Saturday, June 29: Visit the Minnesota Leather Pride booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival. 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Loring Park, Minneapolis.
Sunday, June 30: March with the Minnesota leather/BDSM/fetish community contingent, and help carry the giant leather pride flag, in the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade. Meet at 10 A.M. at 3rd St. and Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Parade steps off at 11 A.M. Also, visit the Minnesota Leather Pride booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival. 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Loring Park, Minneapolis.
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #470, June 6, 2013)
 |
| Hardy Haberman |
Minnesota’s Leather Pride celebration has been bringing Minnesota’s leather/BDSM/fetish community together since the mid-1990s. The celebration started as a single-afternoon, post-Pride Parade get-together at the Gay 90s in Minneapolis. Within a few years, however, it had grown to its present form: a multi-event celebration spread over several weeks in June, culminating in the annual Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade up Hennepin Avenue and the Twin Cities Pride Festival in Loring Park.
This year’s Minnesota Leather Pride celebration mixes perennial favorite events like Floggapalooza with new events including rope and electrical play demonstrations and a Leather Pride bicycle ride to complement the traditional Leather Pride motorcycle ride. Also new this year is a Recovery in the Lifestyle twelve-step meeting and an “Adventures in Fetish” leather/fetish fashion show (followed by “FUNdRaver! 2,” a rave dance party).
One of the goals of this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride (MNLP) planning committee is to encourage more involvement by local leather/BDSM/fetish community members in planning the theme and events for this year’s celebration. MNLP representatives attended many community events, parties and meetings last December and January to gather community input. Community members were given a chance to vote for one of three proposed themes, either with a paper ballot or online, and were asked to suggest ideas for new MNLP events.
Besides new events, the board also has added new venues for Minnesota Leather Pride events. New venues The Southern Theater, In The Heart of the Beast Theater and Clare House join returning venues Camp Bar, Patrick’s Cabaret, Smitten Kitten, The Minneapolis Eagle/Bolt/Bolt Underground complex, and Loring Park.
The theme of this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride celebration, “Perfect Union/Coming Together,” was chosen to show Minnesota Leather Pride’s support for marriage equality in Minnesota. Now that marriage equality is the law in Minnesota, this year’s theme can signify celebration of that fact.
Minnesota Leather Pride 2013 Events
Reminder: Visit <MNLeatherPride.org> for full details and the latest updates.
Friday, June 14: Electrical play demonstration presented by the Electrical Play Group. 8-10 P.M. Camp Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul.
Saturday, June 15: Recovery in the Lifestyle (RITL) meeting. Open to anyone living the leather/BDSM/fetish lifestyle in any Twelve-Step Recovery program. 7-9 P.M. Clare House, 3105 23rd Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Sunday, June 16: Unity Through Rope demonstration presented by MSDB. 2-5 P.M. Patrick’s Cabaret, 3010 Minnehaha Ave. S., Minneapolis. $10; discounts with 2013 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag and for MSDB members. If desired, BYOR (bring your own rope).
Friday, June 21: Twin Cities Leather “Adventures in Fetish” fashion show and bootblack party. 7:30-9:30 P.M. Followed by FUNdRaver! 2 rave dance party, 10 P.M.-2 A.M. Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis. $10 for each event; discount with 2013 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag or with combination admission to both events.
Saturday, June 22: Guest speaker Hardy Haberman presented by Leather Journey. 1-4 P.M. In The Heart of the Beast Theater, 1500 E. Lake St., Minneapolis. $10; discount with 2013 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag.
Sunday, June 23: Leather Pride Motorcycle Ride presented by Knights of Leather. 10 A.M. departure; meet at 1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis.
Sunday, June 23: Leather Pride Bicycle Ride presented by PEPRMNT. 10 A.M. departure; meet on Midtown Greenway in front of Freewheel Bike/Midtown Bike Center, 2834 10th Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Monday, June 24: BDSM Creative Collective presents readings from its 2013 Leather Pride Anthology of Art, Poetry, Photography, and Short Fiction. 7-9 P.M. Smitten Kitten, 3010 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Tuesday, June 25: Leather Pride Swap Meet presented by MAsT Twin Cities. 6:30-9:30 P.M. Camp Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul. No charge to shop; $5 to vend.
Thursday, June 27: Cigar and Pipe Smoker presented by Atons of Minneapolis. 8-11 P.M. On the patio of the Minneapolis Eagle/Bolt/Bolt Underground complex, 515 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Friday, June 28: Floggapalooza presented by Knights of Leather. 9-11 P.M. Camp Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul.
Saturday, June 29: Visit the Minnesota Leather Pride booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival. 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Loring Park, Minneapolis.
Sunday, June 30: March with the Minnesota leather/BDSM/fetish community contingent, and help carry the giant leather pride flag, in the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade. Meet at 10 A.M. at 3rd St. and Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Parade steps off at 11 A.M. Also, visit the Minnesota Leather Pride booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival. 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Loring Park, Minneapolis.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Sash Brothers: Joint Interview with Ryan Brown, Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2013 and Kyle Truss, Mr. Twin Cities Leather 2013
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #468, May 9, 2013)
This column is a double interview with the two local titleholders (also known as sash brothers) who will be representing Minnesota at the International Mr. Leather (IML)contest in Chicago, Memorial Day weekend. Ryan Brown is Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2013, and Kyle Truss is Mr. Twin Cities Leather 2013.
Who’s helping each of you prepare for IML?
KT: My club brothers, the Atons, are really stepping forward. Anything I need—I just have to ask. The Knights of Leather are helping out with morale support. They’re a pansexual group, so they’re not tied to IML as closely as the Atons are, but they’re still behind me a hundred percent. The local community has really stepped up and said whatever you need, just ask and we’ll help. It’s been very, very exciting.
RB:I have to agree with exactly what Kyle said. The local community has been awesome. Everyone is willing to help out and be a part of my journey as long as I’m willing to ask.
What do each of you want to accomplish with your title?
KT: The Twin Cities Leather title is owned by Twin Cities Leather, the local fetish shop. Their motto is “Community First,” and that’s kind of what I’ve always embraced with what I do. That’s why I work with Leather Pride—to be a part of the larger community. Part of what I want to do with my title is that there’s always seemed to be this divide between the gay leathermen and the pansexual leather groups. I’d like to pull both communities closer, and see more gay men at pansexual events and more pansexuals at queer events.
RB: One thing I’ve gotten passionate about, based partly on my travels, is seeing other communities and the amount of community-based education they do. I want to see more of that here in the Twin Cities. I had the great opportunity to host a rope event at the Eagle, and I was blown away by the turnout at the event—especially considering how quickly it came together. There was less than a week of advertising for it, yet we had fifty-five guys at the bar. That said to me that there’s a real hunger for more opportunities for knowledge.
How are each of you involved in the local community?
KT: Basically through my work with MN Leather Pride. One of the things Leather Pride is looking at doing is to not focus everything on the week before Twin Cities Pride—to have workshops, demos and classes all throughout the year. I’m also a member of the Atons and an associate member of the Knights, my brothers and sisters.
RB: HIV stigma has been a huge piece of what I’ve been doing, even before becoming Mr. Minneapolis Eagle. I’m involved with the Mr. Friendly project to reduce HIV stigma, and now I’m also on the Community Action Board of the Minnesota AIDS Project. Today I was at the state capitol meeting with legislators, talking about the importance of funding not only for continuing AIDS prevention efforts, but also for the quality of care for people living with HIV. I’ve also done the Red Ribbon Ride. And if Spring ever gets here, softball season will be starting—I play with the Minneapolis Unicorns.
What are your thoughts as you look forward to IML?
KT: Mostly panic. I just want to make sure that I’m not trying to be anything other than who I am, and kind of keep myself in check so that I’m not trying to put on a show when I get there—just remember to be authentic. Yes, to care about what other people think, but not to the point where I’m changing who I am deep down.
RB: In the lead-up to IML, there isn’t a whole lot different than what I’m already doing. There’s a little bit of traveling involved. I’m continuing to learn about the community. I’ve got some fundraising events coming up for the Aliveness Project next week. And I’ll be continuing to chat with people in the community. I agree with what Kyle said—gotta be yourself, there’s no one else to be.
What IML send-off events will each of you be having?
RB: My send-off party will be Saturday, May 11, 9:00 P.M. at the Eagle-Bolt Bar, which coincides with Gear Night at the Eagle.
KT: My send-off party is still being scheduled, so people should check my Facebook page or my blog for details [see below].
Find Ryan Brown on Facebook at <www.Facebook.com/mme2013>; find Kyle Truss on Facebook at <www.Facebook.com/MrTCL2013> or read his blog at <go-boy-go.blogspot.com>.
 |
| Kyle Truss and Ryan Brown. |
Who’s helping each of you prepare for IML?
KT: My club brothers, the Atons, are really stepping forward. Anything I need—I just have to ask. The Knights of Leather are helping out with morale support. They’re a pansexual group, so they’re not tied to IML as closely as the Atons are, but they’re still behind me a hundred percent. The local community has really stepped up and said whatever you need, just ask and we’ll help. It’s been very, very exciting.
RB:I have to agree with exactly what Kyle said. The local community has been awesome. Everyone is willing to help out and be a part of my journey as long as I’m willing to ask.
What do each of you want to accomplish with your title?
KT: The Twin Cities Leather title is owned by Twin Cities Leather, the local fetish shop. Their motto is “Community First,” and that’s kind of what I’ve always embraced with what I do. That’s why I work with Leather Pride—to be a part of the larger community. Part of what I want to do with my title is that there’s always seemed to be this divide between the gay leathermen and the pansexual leather groups. I’d like to pull both communities closer, and see more gay men at pansexual events and more pansexuals at queer events.
RB: One thing I’ve gotten passionate about, based partly on my travels, is seeing other communities and the amount of community-based education they do. I want to see more of that here in the Twin Cities. I had the great opportunity to host a rope event at the Eagle, and I was blown away by the turnout at the event—especially considering how quickly it came together. There was less than a week of advertising for it, yet we had fifty-five guys at the bar. That said to me that there’s a real hunger for more opportunities for knowledge.
How are each of you involved in the local community?
KT: Basically through my work with MN Leather Pride. One of the things Leather Pride is looking at doing is to not focus everything on the week before Twin Cities Pride—to have workshops, demos and classes all throughout the year. I’m also a member of the Atons and an associate member of the Knights, my brothers and sisters.
RB: HIV stigma has been a huge piece of what I’ve been doing, even before becoming Mr. Minneapolis Eagle. I’m involved with the Mr. Friendly project to reduce HIV stigma, and now I’m also on the Community Action Board of the Minnesota AIDS Project. Today I was at the state capitol meeting with legislators, talking about the importance of funding not only for continuing AIDS prevention efforts, but also for the quality of care for people living with HIV. I’ve also done the Red Ribbon Ride. And if Spring ever gets here, softball season will be starting—I play with the Minneapolis Unicorns.
What are your thoughts as you look forward to IML?
KT: Mostly panic. I just want to make sure that I’m not trying to be anything other than who I am, and kind of keep myself in check so that I’m not trying to put on a show when I get there—just remember to be authentic. Yes, to care about what other people think, but not to the point where I’m changing who I am deep down.
RB: In the lead-up to IML, there isn’t a whole lot different than what I’m already doing. There’s a little bit of traveling involved. I’m continuing to learn about the community. I’ve got some fundraising events coming up for the Aliveness Project next week. And I’ll be continuing to chat with people in the community. I agree with what Kyle said—gotta be yourself, there’s no one else to be.
What IML send-off events will each of you be having?
RB: My send-off party will be Saturday, May 11, 9:00 P.M. at the Eagle-Bolt Bar, which coincides with Gear Night at the Eagle.
KT: My send-off party is still being scheduled, so people should check my Facebook page or my blog for details [see below].
Find Ryan Brown on Facebook at <www.Facebook.com/mme2013>; find Kyle Truss on Facebook at <www.Facebook.com/MrTCL2013> or read his blog at <go-boy-go.blogspot.com>.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Power, Education and Society
(Published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #466, April 11, 2013)
If you haven’t seen your humble columnist out and about lately, it’s because I have gone back to college. I now am enrolled as a degree-seeking student in the College of Individualized Studies at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. My objective is to complete the BA degree I abandoned long ago, back when dinosaurs still walked the earth.
However, even after I abandoned structured higher education, I still continued to learn through experience—and much of that learning has come from my involvement in the leather/BDSM/fetish community. Now that I have returned to higher education, I am discovering the value and importance of our community’s knowledge and cultural values.
One unexpected feature of my college experience so far is that one word seems to suffuse all my classes, and indeed the general learning culture of Metro State. That word is “power.” In many of my classes we discuss how power operates in our society and in other societies. We discuss who has power and who doesn’t. We discuss how power is acquired and lost. We discuss how power is used, misused and abused. We discuss—all together now—dominance and submission.
To me, these discussions about power sound familiar. I already have learned much about the dynamics of power because I am part of a community built around the dynamics of power.
Members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community learn about power. Then they go further—they use the knowledge they have acquired to play with power. Whether we’re talking about a scene in a bedroom or a dungeon, or a dominant/submissive, sir/boy or master/slave relationship, it’s all about who has power, who doesn’t, and how power is used, exchanged and played with.
My studies at Metro State have made me realize there is something paradoxical about the leather/BDSM/fetish community. Within it everyone—dominant, submissive or switch, top or bottom, master, madame, mistress or slave—is accorded an equal measure of personal power if they choose to exercise it. The community’s culture declares that no member of the community has lesser status because of their chosen role. In the rare instance that a community member thinks his or her lofty role as a master or mistress makes it okay to mistreat or abuse submissives, other community members will intervene to tell them that such behavior is not acceptable.
Yet, to the rest of society, members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community historically have been given less respect and social status than other supposedly “normal” people. Society has given us the label of “perverts” and then told us we should be ashamed of that label. Ironically, society has tried to strip us of our power, the thing around which our community revolves. Once power is taken away it is rarely given back—it must be actively reclaimed.
One way we reclaim that power, individually and as a community, is by educating ourselves and others. Education is important because it is empowering both on a personal level, such as enabling someone to get a better job, and on a public level, such as enabling oppressed communities to cast off labels like “queer” or “pervert.”
The empowering nature of education is why the GLBT community has Creating Change, an annual leadership and activism conference, and why the leather/BDSM/fetish community has the Leather Leadership Conference—and this year, the Kink Lincs Leadership and Community-Building Symposium (April 12-14 in Seattle). These conferences are examples of learning by and for the community.
Another way to reclaim power is by educating the members of the society that is trying to take away that power. Such educational efforts were essential in defeating the Minnesota marriage and voter I.D. amendments last year. The BDSM community’s “Consent Counts” project is an important educational initiative aimed at removing shame and stigma connected with BDSM sexuality.
The more I have studied the dynamics of power, education and social change at Metro State, the more I have become convinced of the correctness of something I wrote in this column in 2008: “So many members of our community have so much to offer the wider society. If politicians professing to be God-fearing Christians have made such a mess of things over the last few decades, it might take a bunch of people formerly known as ‘pervs’ to make things better.”
If you haven’t seen your humble columnist out and about lately, it’s because I have gone back to college. I now am enrolled as a degree-seeking student in the College of Individualized Studies at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. My objective is to complete the BA degree I abandoned long ago, back when dinosaurs still walked the earth.
However, even after I abandoned structured higher education, I still continued to learn through experience—and much of that learning has come from my involvement in the leather/BDSM/fetish community. Now that I have returned to higher education, I am discovering the value and importance of our community’s knowledge and cultural values.
One unexpected feature of my college experience so far is that one word seems to suffuse all my classes, and indeed the general learning culture of Metro State. That word is “power.” In many of my classes we discuss how power operates in our society and in other societies. We discuss who has power and who doesn’t. We discuss how power is acquired and lost. We discuss how power is used, misused and abused. We discuss—all together now—dominance and submission.
To me, these discussions about power sound familiar. I already have learned much about the dynamics of power because I am part of a community built around the dynamics of power.
Members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community learn about power. Then they go further—they use the knowledge they have acquired to play with power. Whether we’re talking about a scene in a bedroom or a dungeon, or a dominant/submissive, sir/boy or master/slave relationship, it’s all about who has power, who doesn’t, and how power is used, exchanged and played with.
My studies at Metro State have made me realize there is something paradoxical about the leather/BDSM/fetish community. Within it everyone—dominant, submissive or switch, top or bottom, master, madame, mistress or slave—is accorded an equal measure of personal power if they choose to exercise it. The community’s culture declares that no member of the community has lesser status because of their chosen role. In the rare instance that a community member thinks his or her lofty role as a master or mistress makes it okay to mistreat or abuse submissives, other community members will intervene to tell them that such behavior is not acceptable.
Yet, to the rest of society, members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community historically have been given less respect and social status than other supposedly “normal” people. Society has given us the label of “perverts” and then told us we should be ashamed of that label. Ironically, society has tried to strip us of our power, the thing around which our community revolves. Once power is taken away it is rarely given back—it must be actively reclaimed.
One way we reclaim that power, individually and as a community, is by educating ourselves and others. Education is important because it is empowering both on a personal level, such as enabling someone to get a better job, and on a public level, such as enabling oppressed communities to cast off labels like “queer” or “pervert.”
The empowering nature of education is why the GLBT community has Creating Change, an annual leadership and activism conference, and why the leather/BDSM/fetish community has the Leather Leadership Conference—and this year, the Kink Lincs Leadership and Community-Building Symposium (April 12-14 in Seattle). These conferences are examples of learning by and for the community.
Another way to reclaim power is by educating the members of the society that is trying to take away that power. Such educational efforts were essential in defeating the Minnesota marriage and voter I.D. amendments last year. The BDSM community’s “Consent Counts” project is an important educational initiative aimed at removing shame and stigma connected with BDSM sexuality.
The more I have studied the dynamics of power, education and social change at Metro State, the more I have become convinced of the correctness of something I wrote in this column in 2008: “So many members of our community have so much to offer the wider society. If politicians professing to be God-fearing Christians have made such a mess of things over the last few decades, it might take a bunch of people formerly known as ‘pervs’ to make things better.”
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