Leather Lens: The Atons Holiday Fundraiser

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #250, December 24, 2004)

PHOTO CREDIT: All photos The Atons 32nd annual Holiday Fundraiser, held at The Bolt Underground on Dec. 5, included both silent and live auctions, food provided by the Rooster Bar & Grill, on-site leather barber and bootblack, and photographer Paul Nixdorf taking photos of people sitting on Leather Santa’s knee.

The evening raised over $4,000 for beneficiaries The Aliveness Project and Open Arms of Minnesota. In addition, 591 pounds of food was collected for The Aliveness Project’s food shelf.

PHOTOS:

01.jpg: Greeting people at the door were Atons Associate Rex Gaskill, Atons Treasurer Paul Rozendaal, Atons President B.D. Chambers and Atons Associate Paul Nicholson.

02.jpg: The auction merchandise was hung in the dungeon with care.

03.jpg: A sling, a frame and a Vikings rug, all up for silent auction.

04.jpg, 05.jpg and 06.jpg: Atons Associate and barber Brian Preston gives Toby Trevis a trim.

07.jpg: Atons Associate David Page does a bootshine.

08.jpg: Leather Santa (and Mr. Mpls. Eagle 2004) Carl Byrd. This is what Santa does to bad boys.

09.jpg: Leather Santa (and Mr. Mpls. Eagle 2004) Carl Byrd. Sitting on Santa’s lap is Jim Randall, Road Captain for Minnesota Storm Patrol.

10.jpg: Andy Gallaher representing the Aliveness Project.

11.jpg: Kevin Winge, Executive Director of Open Arms of Minnesota.

12.jpg: Bill Hudack, manager of the Rooster Bar & Grill.

13.jpg: Atons President B.D. Chambers acting at the evening’s auctioneer.

14.jpg: Atons Associates Ron Joki and Jay Pearson.

15.jpg, 16.jpg and 17.jpg: Matt Wambach and Atons Associate Ed Skjaret.

18.jpg: David Coral and Vicki Knight, members of the Knights of Leather.

19.jpg: Mark Pavelka, Thom Trampf and Mark Cady.

20.jpg: Mark Sinclair, Lawrence Lawyer and Vern Mielke.

21.jpg: Michael Damon.

22.jpg: Heine Stanhope, Phil Persons and Tom Tighe.

23.jpg: Paul Amundson (owner of the Gay Black Hills Inn in South Dakota) and Dot Trevis.

24.jpg: Frank Bohlander and Mark Hall.

25.jpg: John Crandall and Thom Johnson.

Leather Christmas Letter: The Sequel

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #249, December 10, 2004)

Last year around this time I wrote a column called “The Christmas Letter I Can’t Send.” I received so many positive comments that—guess what—I’m doing it again. Here’s this year’s Leather Christmas Letter from your humble columnist.

Dear Friends,

It’s been a mixed year, as years always are. Spectacular highs, of which there have been many, have been mixed with crashing disappointments, of which fortunately there have been few. Join me now for a brief look at the past year:

After hibernating in January, it was off to Chicago in February (Valentine’s Day weekend) for the annual Pantheon of Leather Awards, where I was one of the presenters of the President’s Awards. I also had the privilege of standing in for my colleague Robert Davolt, in whose name I presented a $1,000 check to the Leather Archives & Museum; Robert had raised the money at the publication party for his new book, Painfully Obvious: An Irreverent & Unauthorized Manual for Leather/SM (published by Daedalus).

The Mr./Ms. Olympus Leather Contest is a part of the Pantheon weekend. One of the four contestants was Toni Pizanie, a charming woman from New Orleans. Since we were staying at the same motel, we had some nice chats over breakfast. It turns out she’s also a columnist—she writes “Sappho Psalm” for Ambush Magazine in New Orleans. (Check it out at <www.ambushmag.com>.)

In mid-March I helped judge the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2004 contest; the new titleholder, Carl Byrd, was selected from a field of six contestants.

April started off with another publication party for another book by another friend who’s an author (and a former Lavender colleague), Abigail Garner. Her book, Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is (published by HarperCollins), is fascinating, thought-provoking and myth-exploding. With all the talk of “family values” being bandied about these days, this is a worthwhile read.

The day after Garner’s party I flew to New Orleans for the eighth annual Leather Leadership Conference (LLC), where I co-hosted a presentation on “International Leather Perspectives” with International Mr. Leather 2003 John Pendal. We both stayed in New Orleans an extra day after the conference, and I thoroughly enjoyed being John’s New Orleans tour guide. And I got together with Toni Pizanie again. (Because I was in New Orleans I had to miss the Black Guard’s Black Frost 27 run, which was held the same weekend.)

I was impressed enough with LLC in New Orleans that I came back to the Twin Cities carrying application materials to bring the conference to Minnesota in 2007. A group of amazing people has come together to work on this process; our bid has to be to the LLC board of directors by January 2005. If the bid is accepted there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities for anyone wishing to help with everything involved in putting on the conference. Stay tuned.

Partner Bill and I went to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend for the International Mr. Leather (IML) Contest. This was the eleventh IML I’ve attended and the tenth one I’ve covered for Lavender—and I still enjoy it immensely.

The weekend after IML, the Knights of Leather presented their “Sweet 16” Tournament run. It was a great weekend in the woods, and it was especially enjoyable this year because not once did I need to use mosquito repellent. But roughing it is not what it used to be—an increasing number of campers now use CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machines while they’re sleeping. Next year the Knights might have to rent a generator to power them all.

It’s been a long time since an International Mr. Leather titleholder visited the Twin Cities—and then in June we hosted two of them. On June 10, IML 1998 Tony Mills presented an excellent seminar at The Saloon on men’s sexual health. Then John Pendal, no longer the current IML, visited the Twin Cities for a week during Minnesota Leather Pride.

This year’s Leather Pride celebration was the biggest yet, with well-attended events spread over a week and a half. In addition to Pendal, Cleo Dubois and Fakir Musafar were on hand to conduct several workshops. Leather’s visibility in Loring Park during the Pride Festival has never been higher—the cage next to the leather booth attracted a lot of attention.

In July I wished I could have figured out how to split myself three ways. I attended my sister’s wedding and consequently missed the International Ms. Leather contest in Omaha and the Atons Gopher XVI run. At times like this I remember what J.D. Laufman, my leather mentor, told me when I became a titleholder in 1993: “Just remember, you can’t cut every ribbon at every supermarket.”

This year’s hellos and goodbyes include a big “Hello!” to The Bolt Underground and the adjoining restaurant that opened as the “Rainbow Rooster” and is now simply the “Rooster Bar & Grill.” Two other newcomers I enjoy are Query Booksellers and Wilde Roast Cafe. And in March the community said a heartfelt “Goodbye, and thanks for everything” to Saloon General Manager and DJ Walter McLean.

After I wrote a column called “Give Bush the Boot,” I figured I’d better put my money (and my time) where my mouth was, and much of my autumn was spent doing political volunteering.

While I’m still dealing with the disappointment (putting it mildly) of the election results, there’s another loss to deal with. Add my voice to the chorus of outrage at the sale of WCAL-FM by St. Olaf College in Northfield to Minnesota Public Radio. WCAL was on the radio at our house literally from sun-up to sundown, and it will be impossible to replace. My thanks go to all who tried to save it.

Irons currently in the fire: Continuing to work in the advertising department of the local major national discount retailer; continuing to write this column; finishing a book of collected columns (I actually found some time to work on it this year!); helping to put in the bid to bring the Leather Leadership Conference to Minnesota; and quite probably another project about which I will say only two words now: “Leather Image.”

I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had this past year and for all the people I’ve been privileged to meet and become friends with. I’m grateful for Bill, my loving and supportive partner, and for my wonderful family, both biological and family-by-choice. Thank you to everyone at Lavender for keeping the printing presses running and allowing me to write another column every two weeks.

And a big thanks as always to you, my readers. Whatever you celebrate this time of year, here’s wishing you a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.

Recommended Reading: Books for reading and giving

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #248, November 26, 2004)

From the many excellent books on leather and/or BDSM that have been published over the years, here is a very arbitrary selection—many of them taken directly from your humble columnist’s bookshelf—that only scratches the surface (so to speak) of what’s available.

Almost any of these books would make excellent reading for those curious about, or just starting to explore, leather and/or BDSM.

Even if you’ve been in the scene awhile—whatever your age, gender, orientation, preference or experience level, you’ll find something appropriate and worthwhile among the following.

Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leathersexuality by Geoff Mains (Daedalus)—A trail-blazing mid-80’s look at the development and then-current state of the gay men’s leather community. Also includes still-timely discussions of leather spirituality and explanations of leather’s appeal. Mains, who had a Ph.D. in biochemistry, introduced the notion of endorphins as a component of SM sexuality and was among the first to draw parallels between leather and other tribal cultures throughout history. Brilliant and timeless.

The Leatherman’s Handbook and The Leatherman’s Handbook II by Larry Townsend (L T Publications)—The first Handbook dates from the pre-AIDS 1970s; Handbook II is a mid-80s sequel incorporating safer-sex information (and is the first book that your humble columnist read when he was getting into leather). Both books alternate between fact-sharing and storytelling (Townsend is a master at writing erotic fiction), which for some will heighten the reading experience. The tone of both books is rawer and more macho than the other books discussed here; Handbook II, especially, describes some heavy scenes and practices in unflinching detail.

Leathersex: A Guide for the Curious Outsider and the Serious Player and Leathersex Q&A: Questions about Leathersex and the Leather Lifestyle Answered by Joseph W. Bean (Daedalus)—Bean is one of leather’s best and most prolific writers. Leathersex is a well-organized, straightforward introduction to leather sexuality; in the sequel, Leathersex Q&A, Bean responds to actual letters he has received over the years. His sensitivity, wisdom, and caring shine through both books.

SM101: A Realistic Introduction by Jay Wiseman (Greenery Press)—True to its name, this is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a textbook on SM—thorough, non-judgmental, suitable for all genders and all orientations. Many drawings and diagrams. Bonus: witty aphorisms (example: “That’s the thing I like about rope: One size fits all.”) that will have you thumbing through the entire book because you don’t want to miss any.

Chainmale 3SM: a unique view of leather culture by Don Bastian (Daedalus)—Totally unlike any other book discussed here, Bastian’s autobiographical masterpiece is risky, impressionistic, poetic, hot, intensely personal and eminently readable. An excellent right-brain introduction to leather.

Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics and Practice, Mark Thompson, Editor (Daedalus)—For beginners or for anyone interested in leather/SM spirituality, this is the ultimate compilation of essays on the topic by 25 brilliant writers.

Painfully Obvious: An Irreverent & Unauthorized Manual for Leather/SM by Robert Davolt (Daedalus)—A curmudgeon’s view of leather, this book is packed with priceless social and sociological commentary on how the leather community and its institutions work (or sometimes don’t). It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think—what more can one ask?

The Toybag Guide to Dungeon Emergencies and Supplies by Jay Wiseman (Greenery Press)—Wiseman, a former ambulance paramedic, has packed a wealth of emergency medical knowledge and common sense into a very small, very portable book without which no toy bag should be considered complete. Useful when emergencies rise, it’s even better if you’ve read it before you need it.

International Mr. Leather: 25 Years of Champions, compiled, edited and written by Joseph W. Bean (Leather Archives & Museum)—Don’t buy it just because it will look great on your coffee table. Packed with rare photos and fascinating interviews and memoirs, this epic book is not just a history of the International Mr. Leather Contest, it documents the last quarter-century of the leather community in general. Twenty-five years in the making, I doubt we’ll see its like for at least another 25.

Here are some other time-tested leather/BDSM books to consider:

The Lesbian S/m Safety Manual by Pat (now Patrick) Califia (Lace Publications). Out of print, but you still might find a copy if you search.

Ties That Bind: SM/Leather/Fetish Erotic Style: Issues, Commentaries and Advice by Guy Baldwin (Daedalus)

Learning the Ropes by Race Bannon (Daedalus).

The Topping Book and The Bottoming Book by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt (Greenery Press)

The New Topping Book and The New Bottoming Book by Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy (Greenery Press)

Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns by Philip Miller and Molly Devon (Mystic Rose Books)

Different Loving: A Complete Exploration of the World of Sexual Dominance and Submission by William Brame, Gloria Brame and Jon Jacobs (Villard).

The Master’s Manual and The Compleat Slave by Jack Rinella (Daedalus).

Publisher and Shopping Information

Publishers of books listed above:

Daedalus Publishing Company: www.daedaluspublishing.com

Greenery Press: www.greenerypress.com

L T Publications: www.larrytownsend.com

Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M): www.leatherarchives.org (Support the Leather Archives and Museum! Visit their online gift shop for books and other merchandise suitable for holiday gift-giving.)

Mystic Rose Books: www.mysticrose.com

Villard, an imprint of Random House: www.randomhouse.com

Twin Cities Shopping Information

Many of these titles are either in stock or can be ordered at Dreamhaven Books in Minneapolis (www.dreamhavenbooks.com) or Query Booksellers (www.querybooks.com).

You might also find some of these titles, and many more holiday gift items, at MSDB’s Bizarre Bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 11, noon to 7 PM at Trikkx Bar, 490 N. Robert St., St. Paul (free admission).

Time Capsule: The Prescient Susie Shepherd

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #247, November 12, 2004)

Fifteen years ago, in October 1989, the men’s and women’s leather communities in Minnesota gathered together for the first Minnesota Leather Encounter (MLE) weekend. Part of the weekend was the first Mr. Minnesota Leather contest.

One of the judges of that contest was International Ms Leather 1989 Susie Shepherd. The following is an excerpt from the speech she gave that weekend. I present it here to show that fifteen years later, some things have changed but many have not. Shepherd’s message still resonates today.

Never when I won the International Ms Leather contest last year did I think I was going to the Twin Cities and have both my tits pierced and play bingo, all on the same day!” (Jim Ward, master piercer from The Gauntlet, was another judge for the weekend.)

I was real involved in politics for a long time, and because of that I kept myself in the leather closet.

I figured, if I’m busy lining up testimony—people to go over to the state legislature and people to come with me and talk to groups of psychiatrists and convince them that gay people are like everybody else— if I let them know I got all these kinky fantasies, they’re gonna think I’m really weird, and it’s gonna undo all the work I’m doing.

So I didn’t do that, and for a long time I found myself dying in this closet.

What I want to tell you is, if there’s anybody here who doesn’t know—and I think everybody does to some degree—closets kill!

And if there’s anybody here tonight who’s in any kind of a closet—take the fuckin’ knob off, kick the door out, and come out and be who you are!

I almost died in the leather closet even though I was the best little lesbian in the state of Oregon.

It doesn’t matter what kind of a closet it is, it’s gonna kill you. It’s gonna stifle you. It’s gonna suffocate you. It’s gonna be a long, slow, painful death.

We were trying to get a civil rights bill for gay people through the state of Oregon. I was behind a table with another lesbian at the University of Oregon in Eugene having people sign postcards to send to their state legislators.

This one man came up to us, and he had an umbrella in his hand, and he said, “You know what I think they ought to do with all those gay people? I think we ought to take them all, and line them up against a wall . . . .” and then he picks up his umbrella and uses it like a machine gun.

And I said, “Well, that really bothers me because I’m gay, and I don’t like that idea.”

And he said, “Well, I didn’t mean anything personal.”

There’s a Supreme Court out there that wants to tell low-income women what to do with their bodies. If those people want to tell heterosexual procreative women what to do with their bodies, imagine what they want to tell a bunch of kinky gay people!

Now, we’ve got the power to undo a lot of what they can do. Number one, organizing at the local level, we can get involved in judicial campaigns and we can help elect judges who are going to make the kinds of decisions that stand up when they go before the Supreme Court.

We also have the power in this room to hold fundraisers like what’s going on tonigh. so that if cases involving our people get to the court, we can hire good attorneys who can defend our people, so that if it does go to the Supreme Court we can be well represented, and have a much better chance of convincing the law of who’s right.

We are only as powerless as we let ourselves be. And as an SM leather dyke, I’m a botto, but the way that I do that is, I consensually exchange my power with whoever is topping me.

Out there in the political realm, that can be a real non-consensual exchange of power.

But if I get myself involved politically, then I’ve got the power to negotiate. And by doing that, I’m getting consensually involved in the exchange of power that guarantees me, as the American citizen, my right to be here on this earth.

Get Your Stocking Stuffed With Leather

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Barebacking, BDSM, and Bicycle Helmets

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #245, October 15, 2004)

It seems there are so many things lately I don’t understand.

I don’t understand why anyone would want to see George Bush re-elected president.

I don’t understand reality TV.

I don’t understand rap music.

And I don’t understand why anyone in their right mind would bareback.

Please understand that your humble columnist is an excellent example of someone who in financial circles is known as “risk-averse.” Given the choice between a high-risk mutual fund with the potential of big returns and a low-risk money market fund that pays a pittance, I’ll take the money-market fund every time. (I drive my broker crazy.)

I always wear my seat belt when I drive.

I look both ways when crossing the street—even on one-way streets.

And I was using condoms even before they were fashionable, because even before AIDS there were plenty of other venereal diseases I didn’t want to catch.

“So, Mr. Risk-Averse,” I hear you saying, “How does that square with writing a leather column? Here you are, writing about high-risk activities like SM sex and riding motorcycles.”

Yes, you’re right. And the contradictions get worse: I don’t ride a motorcycle, but I do ride a bicycle. And when I ride it, Mr. Risk-Averse doesn’t wear a helmet.

And why don’t I wear a helmet? Not because it’s too hot or too uncomfortable—not even because it might mess my hair. I don’t wear a bicycle helmet because I think bicycle helmets look dorky. I refuse to look like I’m wearing Darth Vader’s face mask, upside down and backwards, on top of my head.

And when I get on my bike without a helmet, do I get a rebel thrill because I’m cheating death? No. On the contrary, I try not to think about the risk. When I’m on my bike I’m in denial.

Sound familiar? “I don’t want to wear this condom. It’s uncomfortable. It’s confining. It interrupts the action while I put it on.” Or “I don’t want him to wear a condom. I don’t want to feel latex, I want to feel the intimacy of his skin.” How many people, all the while they’re having unprotected sex, are in denial that they’re doing anything risky?

Wearing a helmet, of course, has no effect on whether or not I will encounter an unsafe situation. I may encounter one or I may not. But if I do encounter an unsafe situation, I will be safer if I am wearing a helmet. Except for very rare, fluke occurrences, I will not be less safe with protection than without it.

There’s more to safety than simply wearing a helmet, however. Whether for biking, motorcycling or SM, another big safety factor is education and training: knowing safe ways to operate a bike, a motorcycle or a flogger simultaneously increases enjoyment and reduces risk.

Unprotected sex, or barebacking, is different from these other activities. It is inherently risky, and no amount of education, training or technique can mitigate that risk. The best way to make it less risky is just the same as with bicycles and motorcycles: Wear A Helmet.

But then, of course, it isn’t barebacking anymore. Barebacking’s aficionados would say that this advice is tantamount to saying the safest way to own a motorcycle is not to ride it.

There are only two circumstances of which I am aware in which barebacking can be considered to meet the definition of “safe” in the sense of the BDSM community’s “Safe, Sane, Consensual” mantra: a) two HIV-negative partners who are monogamous; or b) two HIV-positive partners who undergo medical testing, determine that they are both infected with the same strain of the HIV virus, and are thereafter monogamous.

Other than in these two rare and tenuous circumstances, barebacking is worse than riding without a helmet. It’s skydiving without a parachute.

The ethic of the leather/BDSM community is that we all look out for, and take care of, each other. If an activity is not safe, sane and consensual, it is abusive and should not be tolerated. Even in a situation where barebacking might unfortunately and perversely meet the consensuality test, it still fails the test of safety and, I would argue, sanity.

Why would anyone consent to an activity that will probably be (eventually) lethal, and will at the very least make life much more complicated and much less pleasant?

I suppose there are as many reasons to bareback as there are barebackers. Some think it’s romantic to be Mimi in “La Boheme.” Some think that becoming positive will bestow on them a life of sympathy and insurance benefits. Some think it’s intimate and romantic to share the virus with the one you love or to have them share the virus with you. Some are angry at being infected and want to infect as many other people as they can before they check out.

Some are fatalistic and figure it will happen to them eventually, so they might as well get it over with. Some take the opposite tack—AIDS will never happen to them because they are somehow invulnerable. (I would note here that there’s a great difference between saying, “It will never happen to me because I won’t let it—I will take action, every time, to protect myself” and saying “It won’t happen to me because I’m magically immune, and therefore I can do whatever I want and don’t have to worry about protection.” And yes, I know, that second instance is what I’m saying to myself as I ride my bike without a helmet.)

That’s what some people who bareback may be thinking. But the reality is that once someone seroconverts, there’s no going back. Life will either be very short or else will be filled with doctor visits, strict treatment schedules and an ongoing regimen of expensive drugs with major and unpleasant side effects.

There was a time when we didn’t know what caused AIDS and didn’t know how to stop it from spreading. An unconscionable number of people died as a result, and that was tragic. Now we know how to stop the spread of the virus, but in spite of this some people are intentionally helping to spread it. That’s still tragic, but it’s also perverse.

There are plenty of other, safer ways one can still enjoy sex—and perhaps even enjoy it more because one’s horizons have been widened. Be adventurous! Try something new (and, incidentally, safer).

I have no illusions that I can singlehandedly stop people from barebacking, any more than anyone can make me wear a helmet when I ride my bike. But I can at least say, “Stop and think about what you’re doing if you bareback. Realize the consequences.”

It’s all fun and games until someone gets infected.

Barebacking: Just Don’t Do It.

Hot for Teacher

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #244, October 1, 2004)

Graphic: MSDB patch

Minnesota Stocks, Debentures and Bonds (MSDB)—the name makes it sound like a financial services company. It isn’t—read the initials backwards and you’ll understand.

MSDB is “a Minnesota-based organization for people who are actively involved or seriously interested in BDSM lifestyles and activities.” It was started in 1999 and currently has about 120 dues-paying members. Membership is open to adults 18 or older, regardless of sexual or gender orientation or identification, religious belief, ethnic origin, or physical ability. The organization has become Minnesota’s leading presenter of BDSM education seminars and events.

MSDB’s educational offerings have included BDSM etiquette panel discussions; fireplay demonstrations; erotic writing seminars hosted by San Francisco-based writer and editor M. Christian; knife-play workshops led by noted knife expert Cristo; and several workshops on a variety of topics led by Cleo Dubois and/or Fakir Musafar. Also popular are MSDB’s kink-friendly first-aid and CPR classes (see below).

MSDB’s social offerings include monthly munches in Minneapolis and Rochester, Minn. and a Twin Cities-area Newbie munch for those new to BDSM, or involved in BDSM but new to the Twin Cities. (In BDSM parlance, a munch is a non-play social event, usually in a public place, at which kinky folks eat, drink and converse.)

The Minneapolis munch is the second Thursday of each month (the next one will be October 14) starting at 5:30 P.M. at Kieran’s Irish Pub, 330 2nd Ave. S. For more information e-mail <info@msdb-mn.org>.

The Rochester munch is the third Thursday of each month (the next one will be October 21) starting at 7 P.M. at Beetles Bar and Grill on 2nd St. S.W. E-mail <info@msdb-mn.org> for more information.

The Newbie munch is held at various Twin City locations on the second Saturday of each month and usually starts at 1 P.M. For more information e-mail <allisonwondrland@yahoo.com>.

Appropriate attire for all munches is street clothing (not fetishwear). There is no charge for any of the munches other than your own food and drink purchases (and a reasonable tip, of course). Everyone age 18 and older is welcome.

In addition to the activities it does on its own, MSDB has combined forces with other area leather/BDSM clubs and organizations for larger events like Minnesota’s annual Leather Pride celebration; it is also participating in efforts now underway to attract the annual Leather Leadership Conference to Minnesota in 2007.

For several years MSDB has been instrumental in coordinating a kink-friendly hotel floor in conjunction with the annual CONvergence Science Fiction Convention. At the present time it is working on becoming a partner organization with the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF).

The MDSB website (<www.mdsb-mn.org>) continues the organization’s educational theme by including a wealth of BDSM-related information, including a BDSM glossary, a FAQ (frequently-asked questions) list, an “Alphabet Soup” guide to BDSM- and internet-specific acronyms, and a link to a “Deviant’s Dictionary” of BDSM-related terms (also referred to as an “encyclopervia”). There also are tips for newcomers to BDSM and for submissives, and information about BDSM etiquette, safer sex, and other health and safety topics.

On the social side of things, the MSDB website contains comprehensive listings of both MSDB and non-MSDB events such as munches and gatherings, links to other leather/BDSM groups and vendors, and a “scrapbook” list of events the organization has presented.

One of MSDB’s goals for the future is to continue growing in order to be able to do even more. It currently has three to four education presentations a year but eventually would like to offer monthly educational seminars. At present MSDB has events planned for October, November and December.

The October MSDB offering will be a seminar on “Predicament Bondage” presented by Mistress Amanda Wildefyre (of “Confessions of a Lesbian Dominatrix” fame). According to Wildefyre, “In predicament bondage, the subject is tied so that any movement on his part increases the restriction on intimate parts of his body—which is amusing to me, and quite frustrating to my victim. Fun for masochists and bondagers alike! And what could be more erotic than a slave who tortures himself? Your own subjects will find out just exactly how they can become their own worst enemy.”

The seminar, which will be a mixture of instruction and live demonstrations, will take place at Patrick’s Cabaret (3010 Minnehaha Ave. S., Minneapolis) on Saturday, Oct. 23, 1-4 P.M. Advance tickets are $12 for MSDB members or $20 for non-members; tickets at the door are $25 for both members and non-members. Ticket purchase information is available on MSDB’s website.

On Saturday, Nov. 13, MSDB will be sponsoring its eleventh semi-annual safety class. In the class, participants receive instruction from a certified teacher from the American Red Cross. The morning class will be CPR for adults and the afternoon class will be general First Aid. The instructor is kink-friendly. Upon completion of the two classes, participants will receive certification from the Minnesota Chapter of the Red Cross.

The classes run from 9 A.M.-6 P.M. (CPR, 9 A.M.-1 P.M.; Lunch break, 1-2 P.M.; First Aid, 2-6 P.M.) Cost for both classes is $30 for MSDB members and $50 for non-members. Those who need to be recertified on only CPR can attend just the morning session, and those who need recertification on only First Aid can attend just the afternoon session; single-session fees are $20 for MSDB members and $30 for non-members.

An application form for the CPR/First Aid classes is available on MSDB’s website. Paid reservations must be received by Friday, Oct. 29.

This year’s version of MSDB’s Bizarre Bazaar is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 11. Plans are to bring back many of last year’s vendors as well as some new ones. The Bizarre Bazaar is a great place to do your holiday shopping for the kinky folks on your list. More details will be forthcoming.