An Open Letter to Senator Larry Craig

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #322, September 28, 2007)

Dear Senator Craig:

You’ve been having a bit of a rough patch lately, haven’t you? My condolences. I, for one, believe you when you say you’re not gay, and I applaud your decision to fight to clear your name.

It’s all so ironic, though, isn’t it? You, a stalwart spokesman for traditional family and moral values and against sexual lewdness and perversion, get very publicly trapped in a men’s room sting operation at the Minneapolis airport. If President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky caused eight-year-olds to ask questions about oral sex, you now have introduced them to the subject of tearoom trade. And all because of a perfect storm of misunderstanding.

That men’s room was known, in certain circles, to be cruisy. But, since you’re not gay, you wouldn’t know that. So you walked, blithely unaware, into this den of iniquity. You just needed to relieve yourself—and not in the sexual sense.

You saw a stall, but the door was closed. You really wanted to use that one, though, and it might have been vacant. It couldn’t hurt to see if it happened to be empty.

You peered through the crack between the door and the partition. You peered for several minutes. Maybe you were waiting for the other guy to finish.

Finally you gave up, went into the adjacent stall, and sat down. You put your suitcase in front of you in the stall, because where else were you going to put it? Sadly, you didn’t know how incriminating a place that was to put a suitcase.

You had just heard a rather catchy melody over the airport’s background-music system, one of those melodies you just can’t get out of your head. You unconsciously started to tap your toe to it.

As you have stated, you are a big guy and have a rather wide stance. And, like airplane seats, those stalls seem to get narrower and narrower. You inadvertently touched the foot of the gentleman in the next stall. You probably didn’t even notice.

Then, all of a sudden, your reverie was interrupted when you spied a renegade piece of paper on the floor. You didn’t put it there, and technically it may not even have been in your stall. But you knew the world would be a better, neater place if you picked it up.

So you put your hand down to pick it up. You put your hand down several times—you haven’t explained whether there were several pieces of paper or whether you repeatedly missed picking it up. Perhaps you couldn’t reach it because it was too far into the other stall.

Your heart must have sunk when the policeman showed you his badge. What was happening? What do you mean, I’m under arrest? Soliciting? For what? Officer, this is all a horrible misunderstanding. I’m not gay. I don’t do that sort of thing.

An brief aside, Senator: I’m gay, and I don’t do “that sort of thing.” I’m attracted to black leather, not white porcelain.

But “that sort of thing” works for many men because it’s the only outlet available to them as they anxiously live their double lives—straight, but occasionally needing a little covert man-to-man action. But since you “don’t do that sort of thing,” you wouldn’t know what that kind of desperation feels like.

Perhaps, however, you are beginning to understand the agony these men go through when they’re finally found out.

Maybe, Senator, some good can yet come of this. As I said, I hope you clear your name. But I also hope that, whether in the Senate or out of it, through this experience you will have gained some sympathy and  compassion for men trying to tamp down secret desires, and occasionally failing.

Perhaps in the future you will be less quick to criticize gay men now that you’ve been misidentified as one of them. Now that you’ve tasted anti-gay harassment, maybe you’ll be moved to help put a stop to it. For years men have been having sexual encounters in men’s rooms. For years police have been trying to stop it. Lives have been ruined in the process.

If you, Senator, really want to make a difference, introduce legislation to make sex clubs legal. That way, men who crave anonymous sex with other men will have a controlled, safe place in which to play, and the nation’s public restrooms can be returned to their original purpose. That would be a win for everyone.

Now, Senator, one last thing. If this were anyone else, I would urge them to get tested for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Sadly, men who engage in covert sex tend to be less informed about the health risks involved, and hence often don’t take proper safety precautions. One of the things that might lead to their cover being blown is when they pick something up—anything from crabs to AIDS—and pass it on to their wives. I’m sure this doesn’t apply to you, though, so never mind.

In closing, good luck in the battles ahead, Senator.

Sincerely,

Your humble columnist

Designer Clothes, Designer Sheets, Designer Dungeons

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #321, September 14, 2007)

ILLUSTRATIONS: will be forwarded to Lavender. I currently have pictures of the “modern” designer dungeon referred to in the column, and several photos of Inseam Clothing items. I’m still working on getting illustrations from MindFetish.

“Designer” apparel and household goods once were limited-edition luxury items purchased only by a few. Then retailers like Target, Gap and Design Within Reach saw that good design could be good business—and suddenly all manner of designer apparel and household items are available to the masses.

Following this trend, some leather designers are building businesses offering high-design products and services to the leather/BDSM/fetish community.

Why is design important? After years of making do with makeshift dungeon space in a dark corner of the basement, many community members want something better—and find they’re in a position to afford it. This is a metaphor for the leather part of our lives: we no longer want to hide it, we want to celebrate it in style. Whether it’s play spaces, apparel or domestic items, we no longer are willing to settle for the second-class and the thrown-together.

And there are designers out there who are only too happy to create something wonderful for us. I recently talked to some of them, designing in the fields of apparel, home accessories and interior spaces.

Designer clothes

John Robb and Jeff Diaz have been life partners for seven years and business partners for six. Robb is a master pattern maker and fabric cutter, and Diaz formerly owned a garment screen-printing and embroidery business. Since they both love clothes—especially masculine, well-fitting pants—they decided to form a clothing company. They named it Inseam Clothing Co. because, as Diaz says, “What else would you call a company that makes pants?”

But these are not your average pair of khakis. One of the company’s mottos is “Clothing for a more uniform world,” and the company’s uniform-inspired cotton twill trousers are, in Diaz’ words, “well constructed, have really great fit, and are easy to wear year-round.” They are designed to be multifunctional—they can go from workday to dinner to a bar or a club, and they’re also practical for travel.

Robb makes the patterns and hand-cuts each piece of fabric. (He cuts with contours and curves, unlike many clothing manufacturers who cut pieces with only straight lines.) The company employs two seamstresses to help with the sewing, but Robb hand-finishes each pair of pants himself. The end result is a pair of pants with, according to Diaz, “style and a bit of an edge, without being over the top.”

Inseam also offers a line of T-shirts based on an exclusive pattern by Robb. The shirts offer excellent fit, graphics appropriate to a leather aesthetic, and good coordination with Inseam’s pants. T-shirts and trousers are both designed in line with the company’s other promotional motto, “Sexy at any age.” (And what’s not to like about that?) Inseam Clothing items are available at retailers in Provincetown, New York, San Francisco, Wilton Manors (Fla.) and at <www.inseamclothing.com>.

Designer sheets

Bed, bath and butch? Aiming to “incorporate a fetish lifestyle into the home,” MindFetish Bedding Co. offers an ever-expanding line of linens, apparel and other domestic items with a uniquely masculine attitude.

MindFetish founder Quincy Russell graduated with a BFA in fashion from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. He became a menswear designer with Rampage, Kenneth Cole, Bob Marley Music, Rocwear and Van’s. Then his career took an unexpected turn.

“One day I was at home and I realized my rooms didn’t reflect me at all. So I decided to find stuff that did. I went to department stores—nothing. I went to leather stores—nothing.”

One of the things Russell wanted but couldn’t find was a leather duvet cover. Because of his contacts in the menswear business, he knew a factory that could make one. “So I designed it and sent them the plans. Then it occurred to me that if I want this and can’t find it, how many other people want one?”

Thanks to MindFetish, not only can shoppers now choose from several styles of leather (or latex) duvet covers, they can also find fetish-inspired sheets, throw pillows, shower curtains, bathrobes and more. See the entire mind-boggling MindFetish line at <www.mindfetish.com>.

Designer dungeons

Twin Cities native Linda Ophoenix has studied both art and interior design. Her ambition now is to combine her two loves—art/design and BDSM—by designing dungeons, playspaces, bedrooms, and commercial spaces for leather/BDSM/fetish community members.

On her website (<www.ophoenixdesign.com>) are concepts for a classic dungeon, a modern dungeon, a Master’s bedroom, a combination kinky candle shop and community meeting space, and several themed rooms. She’s currently working on a femme-domme dungeon in pink and black.

Is the community ready to embrace the concept of a professionally-designed dungeon? Ophoenix said she doesn’t know, but “I’ve always heard you should do what you love, so I thought, why not go for it?” Based on the enthusiastic reception her designs received when she exhibited some of them at the recent Leather Leadership Conference in Minneapolis, we may be ready for an end to do-it-yourself dungeons as we entrust the design of our community’s spaces and surroundings to a pro.

Return to Rosemont Manor: Look, Ma! I’m a Zoning Violation!

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #320, August 31, 2007)

For those narrow-minded types wondering how to deal with GLBT folk, leather folk, kinky folk and other undesirables who are ruining neighborhoods across this great nation, a judge in Hancock County, West Virginia, has a solution: zone them into oblivion.

When we last discussed (in Lavender issue 308) the continuing saga of Rosemont Manor, a bed-and-breakfast in Weirton, W. Va., things were not looking good. The city of Weirton had refused to renew owner Rose Susko’s business license and had revoked the property’s zoning variance allowing commercial use of the mansion. This effectively put Susko out of business. It also threw out on the street the various alternative-lifestyle groups that had made the mansion a popular venue for a variety of events.

The city took this action after a local TV station, WTOV9 (the NBC affiliate in Steubenville, Ohio and Wheeling, W. Va.), heard about a leather event being held at the mansion and broadcast a series of inflammatory “investigative” reports. (“One day it’s a place for weddings, the next day it can transform into a place for alternative living—including a place for nudists!”)

Susko appealed to the circuit court of Hancock County, W. Va. over the loss of her zoning variance and business license. On July 16, 2007, Judge Arthur M. Recht issued an Order in which the court stated it needed more information before it could make a final determination in the matter. Until then, the Court decided the most equitable thing for all concerned was to return to the status quo “as of the time petitioner [Susko] received her zoning permit.”

Unfortunately, the Court went along with the City of Weirton’s opinion that Susko was approved to operate a “Bed and Breakfast and Wedding/Reception Center.” In the opinion of the city, and the interim opinion of the court, those are the only functions for which the mansion may be used. The alternative-lifestyle events that had been held at the mansion somehow fell outside those parameters and were consequently forbidden. Neither the city nor the judge explained why receptions, i.e. parties after a wedding, are permitted but other kinds of parties are not.

The Court ordered the city to restore Susko’s zoning variance and to re-issue her business license. But the Court handed Susko a lengthy and discriminatory list of events, activities and people she was forbidden to host. The list puts many, if not most, of Lavender’s readers in the “prohibited” category.

Susko had promoted the mansion to the alternative-lifestyle community using a separate website called “OurHouseOnTheHill.com” (now inactive). The Court compiled its list of prohibitions simply by forbidding anything mentioned on that site. Thus, “Petitioner [Susko] shall not carry on, allow, invite, or advertise for others to carry on [at the property] activities known as ‘BDSM, Fetish, Master/Slave, Lesbian/Gay Trans-gender, Fem-Dom, Leather, Swingers, Nudists, CFNM [clothed female-nude male], Barbeques, Munches, Parties, Meet-and-Greets, Play Space, Lectures, Seminars, Demonstrations, School, CFNM Parties’ or any other activity referred to in any version of any of the internet websites advertising any aspect of ‘Our House on the Hill.’ ”

Nosiree, none of that “alternative-living” carrying-on stuff here! Put out that grill—you’re not zoned for barbequeing. Tell that guest to take off that leather jacket—it’s against the rules. No gays, lesbians or transgender customers allowed—you could lose your license. All guests must remain fully clothed at all times—and that goes double for the men. Women may not act in a dominant fashion. And when anyone is eating they may chew but may not munch.

The Court also directed that websites promoting any of the above-mentioned activities at the mansion “shall be withdrawn and removed from the internet forthwith and shall not appear on the internet again unless authorized by this Court.” Never mind the freedom of speech, prior restraint and censorship issues—just take the site down.

Susko wonders why she is being singled out while every other lodging facility in the area is able to operate without such restrictions on clientele and activities. She also wonders how, if someone were to ask to rent a room for the night, she would be able to determine who they were and what they were going to do once they were in the room, so as not to violate this court order and her zoning.

After a summer of not being able to conduct business, Susko is once again open for bed-and-breakfast guests. The story isn’t over yet, and she soldiers on. She has visited area munches and lifestyle groups to tell her story and drum up support, saying “We can’t let them do this to us.”

You can show your support, if you’re in the Pittsburgh/eastern Ohio/northern West Virginia area, by stopping and spending some time at Rosemont Manor (<www.rosemontmanor.com>). I’ll bet the view from the hill is lovely this time of year.

MinKY: The Young and the Kinky

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #319, August 17, 2007)

In last issue’s column I suggested a partial answer to questions asked by many members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community: “Where are the young people in the leather community? Where’s the new blood? Where’s the next generation?” In that column I made the point that “new blood” is not necessarily limited to “young blood.”

In this column I’ll suggest another answer to those questions: MinKY, which stands for Minnesota Kinky Youth. (“Youth” in this instance means people between the ages of 18 and 35.)

Founded in 2003, MinKY builds community among younger kinky folk by maintaining an e-mail list/Yahoo group (currently with about 300 members) and by hosting monthly munches and parties. MinKY also hosts demos and social events such as game nights. The largest share of attendees at MinKY events are drawn from a core group of 50-60 people, of whom approximately one-third are “Friends of MinKY,” about which more in a moment.

MinKY is a prime example of what is known in leather circles as a TNG (“The Next Generation”) group. Those who like to play devil’s advocate might ask: Why is a group for young kinky folks necessary? Isn’t that age discrimination? Why would the young folks want to isolate themselves from more mature and experienced community members?

Why is a group like MinKY necessary? For starters, minors aren’t allowed in bars or at many typical kink events. And even for those over legal age, sometimes it’s more comfortable to hang with people who share a common generational culture—issues ranging from being at the same stage in life (and perhaps at the same general income level) to preferring the same style of music.

Some younger kinky folks may not mind always being the youngest, or one of the youngest, people at a munch or other event. But others might find it uncomfortable to talk about BDSM or sexual issues with people the same age as their parents. The discomfort sometimes goes the other way, too, with older community members feeling uncomfortable talking about kink with people who are young enough to be their children.

For someone who’s young and just discovering their kinky side, being one of the younger people at a kinky social function can be worse than uncomfortable—it can be intimidating and unsettling. For a moment, imagine yourself in their position experiencing either or both of two opposing attitudes: a) you are young, therefore you will be repeatedly hit on by “chicken hawks” (older people who prefer younger play partners), or b) you are young, therefore no one will take you seriously. Some people will be overly eager to play with you, while others won’t want to play with you because they think you’re young and inexperienced.

Experiences like that can be enough to make a young person forsake the organized community. In the words of Jae Januze, Ms World Leather 2006 and a crusader for outreach to younger kinky folks, “You get somebody who’s younger who shows up to a meeting, freaks out because most of the people there are older, and they don’t show up again. Instead they go hang out at the goth nightclub, or go to some fetish event where they’re not learning anything, it’s just about the look. And they’re still doing dangerous practices at home.”

For younger folks, it can be a relief to have a group like MinKY. It can be less intimidating for those new to kink to ask questions of someone closer to their age, and it can be easier for more experienced folks to mentor someone closer to their own age as well. Another advantage to groups like MinKY is that younger people who wouldn’t feel comfortable going to mainstream events by themselves might feel more comfortable attending such events as part of their TNG group.

MinKY goes to great lengths not to be isolationist. Many MinKY members are involved in other area leather/BDSM/fetish organizations. They’re visible at many mainstream munches and parties. Actually, they often have helped to plan, organize and staff these events. Another way MinKY integrates itself into the local community is by allowing people over 35 (or members who have “aged out” of regular MinKY membership) to apply for “Friends of MinKY” status, equivalent to some other area club’s associate memberships.

In the relatively short time MinKY has been in existence its members have demonstrated again and again the contributions younger kinky folks can make. They are happy to share their energy, enthusiasm and intelligence with the larger community. They have demonstrated that they are eager to learn and willing to be involved, lend a hand and help out. With MinKY on the local scene, the future of Minnesota’s leather/BDSM/fetish community looks bright indeed.

Leather’s Next Generation

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #318, August 3, 2007)

“Where are the young people in the leather community? Where’s the new blood? Where’s the next generation?” Over the last few years I’ve participated in many discussions centering around these questions, and I’ve written at least a few columns that touched on them. I thought they were good and worthwhile questions to ponder, and ponder them I did. But did I have an answer? Nope.

Now I think I might, at least partially. But the answer I think I’ve discovered isn’t what I would have expected.

The series of questions above are presented as three aspects of the same question, But they really aren’t as related as they seem. If we as a community assume they are, we will not be doing ourselves any favors.

Since the beginning of the year I have been quite pleased to see several new faces at leather events. I have talked to many of these individuals, asking who they are and what brought them to that particular event. After hearing several similar stories I have come to realize a few things about the future of our community.

I’m happy to report I don’t think leather is in danger of dying out anytime soon, any more than the GLBT community will be disappearing. In both instances, every day more community members discover and claim their membership. The process has been going on for some time now in both communities, and I believe it will continue.

But while the age at which people identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender seems to be getting younger, it appears to me this is not what’s happening with leather. If anything, judging solely from the new faces I’ve seen in leather recently, many people are finding leather later in life. That’s not what I personally would have expected, but that seems to be what I’m encountering.

Now that I’ve noticed this, I guess it stands to reason. Major life changes offer people opportunities for reassessing their personal history—where they’ve been, what they’ve done, where it’s gotten them—and perhaps making some course corrections. The kids are grown; a job disappears; a relationship ends; suddenly there’s a freedom and an opportunity to explore parts of oneself that formerly, for one reason or another, couldn’t be explored. The start of my leather journey was triggered by just such a major life change, and I’ve talked to many others who can say the same thing.

But these kinds of life changes don’t—can’t—happen to people in their twenties. People in their twenties can’t be empty-nesters. They can’t end a decades-long relationship because they haven’t lived long enough to have one.

Many, many years ago, your humble columnist came out as a gay man at age 19. I didn’t get into leather until I was 37. Getting into leather took me almost twice as long as coming to terms with my gayness.

People discover leather when they’re ready to discover it. Some people do it early, others do it later. Fortunately, there’s no rush—leather is one of the few communities where “sexy” is not necessarily linked to “young.”

But even though our community prides itself on not being age-discriminatory, when we expect and assume our community’s “new blood” and “next generation” will be young people—isn’t that being a bit ageist? While we’re busy wondering where the younger folks are, and worrying about reaching them and bringing them into the fold, we might be overlooking many, many people who may not be young but are certainly interested and enthusiastic.

Perhaps it’s time we realized that “new blood” can be any age, and started to think a bit differently about the future of the community and how we reach out to leather’s next generation.

For many years, one of the guiding principles of twelve-step recovery programs has been “attraction, not promotion.” Noted leather author and speaker Guy Baldwin has suggested that this same principle be applied to leather, and I second the motion. Rather than trying to figure out how to get a younger crowd interested in leather, wouldn’t our community be better served by simply 1) being who we are, and 2) being visible? If we do those two things, we will attract people—of all ages—who like what they see in us and want to join us.

At that point it doesn’t really matter what mileage is on someone’s odometer. Once they realize they’re interested in leather—when they’re 20 years old, 40, 60, whatever—what they need and want is someone willing to welcome them, show them the ropes and explain how leather works. If they are provided with that, they will be part of the future of leather.

If Everybody’s Kinky . . . Nobody’s Kinky

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #317, July 20, 2007)

“Your Kink Is OK/My Kink Is OK” is nothing less than the beginning of world peace.

Someone, somewhere thinks you’re kinky. And they think you’re evil because of it.

They think Your Kink Is Not OK. They even have an acronym for it: YKINOK.

They may be a right-wing conservative extremist. They may be a “vanilla” member of the GLBT community. They even may be a member of the leather/BDSM/fetish community playing the MKIOK/YKINOK game (“My Kink Is OK/Your Kink Is Not OK”).

You may think their judgment of you is not fair, and you’d be right. But are you doing the same thing?

What exactly does “kinky” mean, anyway? Who gets to define what’s kinky and what’s not?

Everybody does. That’s the problem.

“Kinky” is a relative term. Many people define as “kinky” what they don’t like, don’t identify with, don’t feel comfortable with, or don’t understand. Kinky is the opposite of “normal,” whatever that is.

Many members of the leather/BDSM/fetish community self-identify as kinky individuals. They are the opposite of what they call “vanilla,” which to them means conventional, “usual” sex—not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that. Sometimes even self-proclaimed kinky people are in the mood for vanilla sex.

At its most extreme, though, “vanilla” is fundamentalist: one man, one woman, missionary position, for the purpose of procreation. Anything outside that small, supposedly moral, scope is fair game for the disapproving “kinky” designation. (Of course, some of the fundamentalist types who berate these “unnatural” sexualities are speaking most loudly to themselves, trying first and foremost to convince themselves of the evil nature of these practices.)

In this context, there are people who classify all kinds of things as kinky: gay or lesbian sex, bisexuality, anything connected with transgender issues, polyamory, swinging, vibrators and other sex toys, and even sexually suggestive clothing. So if you’ve ever been associated with anything of these, someone thinks you’re kinky.

But there’s good, clean, morally approved “vanilla,” and then there’s reality. And the reality tent is a lot bigger than the fundamentalists like to admit.

When I am introduced to people as a leather columnist, I often wind up finding out a lot about them. Often they tell me, “Well, I’m not kinky, but . . .” and then they name their predilection: “I like to be spanked.” “I like to get tied up sometimes.” “I like to have my nipples played with.”

Who’s kinky? Almost everybody, in some way or other. But if everybody’s kinky, nobody’s kinky. The concept of “kink” loses its meaning when the normality of many and varied forms of human sexual expression is recognized and even celebrated.

One man, one woman and the missionary position is not the one true way. Other societies have organized things differently: ancient matriarchies; multiple wives (in the Bible throughout the Old Testament, in many Middle-Eastern societies today and historically among otherwise-conservative Mormons); the “walking marriages” of the Mosuo people in central China, a matrilineal society in which families of biological brothers and sisters raise the sisters’ children, often without knowing or caring who their father was.

So could we all just lighten up a bit? Could we cut each other some slack? If I don’t get off on something but you do, why should I deny you your right to the pursuit of happiness? Wouldn’t it be better if I respected your rights and preferences, and in return you respected mine? There’s an acronym for that, too: YKIOK/MKIOK (“Your Kink Is OK/My Kink Is OK”).

That is nothing less than the beginning of world peace. Maybe if we can agree on that, we can agree on some other things as well. And, to paraphrase what an IML contestant a few years ago proclaimed during his speech: “World peace has to come from somewhere. What better place than this community?”

Leaders of the GLBT community have been saying for a long time that discrimination based on affectional preference or gender expression makes no sense. And it doesn’t, any more than discrimination based on skin color, race or ethnicity. And discrimination on the basis of kink preference or disapproval also makes no more sense than, say, discrimination over ice cream preference:

“Well, I’ve often dreamed of trying the triple-mocha caramel, but I never actually would. What would people say if they found out? It’s just not respectable. (But, oh, I bet it’s delicious!)”

Or how about, “Watch out for that one—I hear he goes for tutti-frutti.”

Or maybe, “She’s so staid—she only ever eats vanilla.” To which she answers, “Yes, I prefer vanilla—but only REALLY GOOD vanilla!”

As I sit here at the completely homosexual end of the sexual-preference bell curve, I clearly see the artificial and limiting nature of our society’s current “vanilla” sexual paradigm. But what would a less enforced, less rigid, less vanilla world look like? Would kinksters lose that outlaw thrill? Would we be just like everyone else? Could we stand it?

No, we wouldn’t be like everyone else, because our preferences are not everyone’s. But we’d be like everyone else as far as human rights and human dignity were concerned. Wouldn’t that be a good change?

We crusade for sexual freedom as a fundamental human right for everyone. That means freedom to consensually enjoy any sexual flavor du jour. Yes, even the freedom to be monogamously vanilla—which some of us think is the ultimate kink.

All Together Now: “Thank You, Hilton, for Not Discriminating!”

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #316, July 6, 2007)

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF), and this columnist, want you to write a short note of support to the Palmer House Hilton, host hotel for the International Mr. Leather contest weekend. In your note, thank them for not discriminating against any guests or groups. According to NCSF, “The Palmer House Hilton has been a staunch supporter of the Fair Accommodations Act in working with alternative lifestyle groups, particularly IML.”

Please email your note of appreciation to:

• Stephen Bollenback, CEO, Hilton Hotels Corporation (stephen_bollenbach@hilton.com)

• Trina Owens, Hilton Hotels Corporation (trina_owens@hilton.com), and

• Peter Lynn, General Manager, Palmer House Hilton (peter_lynn@hilton.com).

Why is this necessary? Because an anti-gay group called Americans for Truth has posted an action alert calling for people to protest the “homosexual orgies” that take place at the “sadistic sexual perversion-fest known as International Mr. Leather.” You can view the Americans for Truth article about IML, complete with pictures, at <http://tinyurl.com/3atcsg>.

“Americans for Truth About Homosexuality” (AFTAH) was founded by Peter LaBarbera in 1996, but was dormant for many years. Previously LaBarbera was involved with other right-wing organizations including Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America. He recently resigned from his position with the Illinois Family Institute to work full-time at re-launching AFTAH (now listed in the organization’s web site masthead as simply “Americans for Truth”) as a group devoted solely to countering what LaBarbera calls “the homosexual activist agenda.” Obviously LaBarbera feels a lot of passion for this issue and sees it as worthy of his full devotion.

One of LaBarbera’s stated goals for the organization is to “send reporters to ‘gay’ events and publish first-hand information about the lifestyle and radical ‘gay’ activism that the media routinely ignore or cover up.” To that end, LaBarbera himself has attended IML repeatedly and has taken many photographs to catalog the goings-on at the event he describes as “one of the most purely evil perversion-fests ever invented by mankind.”

His organization’s web site recently published seventeen photos taken at the 2006 and 2007 IML Leather Markets. They were prefaced with “WARNING: ***NOT FOR CHILDREN***/Graphic photos below with offensive depictions of real-life homosexual depravities.” (Interestingly, however, the web page is not protected by NetNanny or any other service or technology to ensure that minors cannot see the images.)

The photos cover many bases: bondage, slavery, water sports, tattoos, rubber hoods, electrical play, paddles, jockstraps and kilts, bathhouses, and even fisting (well, actually it was just a photo of a St. Andrew’s cross, but he managed to work an explanation of fisting into the caption below it). Referring to the photos, LaBarbera breathlessly noted “there are others that we could not publish” (leaving one to wonder if the rest of that sentence is, “so we’ll just save them for our private collection”).

On another page of the website LaBarbera calls Chicago “Sodom-by-the-Lake” and says the city is having a “moral meltdown.” As an example, he discusses Chicago’s Leather Archives & Museum: “I visited this ‘museum’ last year and was stunned by its audacious chronicling of the most repulsive perversions, e.g. ‘fisting.’ The sheer horror and weirdness of the place makes it difficult to describe to a normal audience.” Americans for Truth is headquartered in Naperville, Ill., making it convenient for LaBarbera to get to both the Leather Archives & Museum and The Palmer House for research purposes.

LaBarbera encourages visitors to his organization’s web site to take contact Hilton Hotels CEO Stephen Bollenback and “politely express your dismay” that Hilton is associated with International Mr. Leather. “If you feel so led, tell them that you will certainly never stay at the Palmer House Hilton—who would knowing that disgusting homosexual orgies have gone on in their rooms?—and you also will not be staying at other Hilton hotels while this deviant association continues.”

LaBarbera’s second step: Contact Palmer House Hilton General Manager Peter Lynn to “ask him how they sterilize their rooms after the perverse IML orgies” and express outrage over The Palmer House’s hosting of IML. Step 3 is, in the future, to book hotel rooms through a website offering “porn-free” hotels “so you can rest easy knowing that you are not rewarding the pornography industry through your stay.”

There has been much speculation, in the blogosphere and elsewhere, about whether or not Mr. LaBarbera is himself a closeted gay man. But while such gossip may be tantalizing in the short run, ultimately the question of what motivates and drives anti-gay activists such as LaBarbera is a red herring and a distraction. The real issue is that voices like his are out there, and they must be countered strongly, eloquently and in great numbers. So let’s get those e-mails going, okay? Thanks!