Minnesota Leather Pride: “100% Leather”

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #288, June 9, 2006)

PHOTO: Supplied now: Graphic of 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride Dog Tag art. Available on Wednesday, if that’s not too late: Photo of 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride Dog Tag on neck chain.

ART OR It’s June—time again for Minnesota Leather Pride. Dovetailing with this year’s Twin Cities GLBT Pride theme (“100% Pride, 0% Prejudice”), this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride theme is “100% Leather.”

The collectible 2006 edition of the Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag boldly proclaims this year’s theme, and it also gets you reduced admission prices at certain 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride events. Get yours for $5, while supplies last, at Cockpit Project, Dreamhaven Books, Gray’s Leather, Query Booksellers, Rainbow Road or Smitten Kitten (ask merchants about 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride discounts). Or buy your dog tag from members of the Minnesota Leather Pride committee at upcoming meetings and munches and at all 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride events.

Or maybe you’d like a free dog tag? During June, purchase a $99 early-bird registration package for next year’s Minnesota-hosted Leather Leadership Conference XI (April 20-22, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis) and get a free 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag. You’ll also get free admission to the Leather Smorgasbord on June 17 and the Temporary Piercing Workshop on June 18. All told, that’s a $22 value free when you register now for next year’s Leather Leadership Conference XI. Registration forms will be available at meetings, munches and all Minnesota Leather Pride events; visit <www.leatherleadership.org/LLC11> for more details.

This year’s Minnesota Leather Pride events are listed below. Information was current at my deadline but is subject to change. Updates will be posted at <www.MNLeatherPride.org>.

Saturday, June 10: 100% Ready! This year’s Minnesota Leather Pride kicks off with the Minnesota Storm Patrol Beer Bust at The Minneapolis Eagle, 5-8 P.M. Free admission, $5 for beer/soda bust. Designated charity is Camp Heartland.

Friday, June 16: Leather Roundtable Discussion: What Gets You High? A discussion of positive energy forces in the leather community—and those that should not be there. Over the Rainbow Bar, St. Paul, 7-9:30 P.M. Free admission. After this event, head to Atons Fetish Night at The Minneapolis Eagle. Fetish-of-the-month: Biker gear. 10 P.M. to midnight. Free admission.

Saturday, June 17: Leather Smorgasbord, an afternoon of workshops on humiliation, water sports and positions of submission—a little something for everybody. Patrick’s Cabaret, Noon-4 P.M. $10 admission (or $7 with your 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag).

Sunday, June 18: Temporary Piercing Workshop led by Dr. Fiendish. Patrick’s Cabaret, 1-3 P.M. $7 admission (or $5 with your 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag).

Monday, June 19: Fifth Annual Kinky Poetry Reading at Smitten Kitten. 7-9 P.M. Free admission.

Thursday, June 22: Leather/Fetish Swap Meet. Clean out your closet, then fill it up again! Plans also call for entertainment, in the form of demonstrations, while you shop. Over the Rainbow Bar, St. Paul, 7-10 P.M. Free admission.

Friday, June 23: Fetish Ball. Wear your best leather/fetish gear. Featuring the ever-popular Floggapalooza and introducing the new and exciting Cane-o-rama! Saloon, 9-11 P.M. Free admission.

Saturday, June 24: GLBT Pride in Loring Park. Visit (or hang out at) the Leather Pride booth. 9 A.M.-6 P.M. Free admission. Or, for something 100% Sensible, and a bargain as well: MSDB CPR/First Aid Classes are kink-friendly and include Red Cross certification. 9 A.M.-6 P.M. (CPR 9 A.M.-1 P.M., First Aid 2-6 P.M.) $50 tuition (or $30 for MSDB members or with your 2006 Minnesota Leather Pride dog tag). Classes are also available separately. Advance reservation required, visit <www.MSDB-MN.org> for full details. (Payment must be received by June 15.)

Sunday, June 25: Pride March. March with the Leather Pride flag. Meet at 3rd St. and Hennepin Ave. at 10 A.M.—parade steps off at 11 A.M. Then spend the day in Loring Park, and be sure to drop by the Leather Pride booth. Free admission.

Organizational sponsors for this year’s Minnesota Leather Pride celebration are Athenor, Atons of Minneapolis, Erotic Deviance, Knights of Leather, Leather Leadership Conference XI, MiN-KY (Minnesota Kinky Youth), Minnesota Bondage, Minnesota Storm Patrol, MPX (Minnesota Power Exchange), MSDB (Minnesota Stocks, Debentures & Bonds), NSGRA (North Star Gay Rodeo Association), TIES and Whipsters.

Also during Pride Weekend The Minneapolis Eagle will be presenting Scorch Fireball VII—“Confessions on a Parking Lot.” The beer garden opens on Friday, June 23 and closes at 2 a.m. on Monday, June 26. Pansy Division performs at 8 P.M. Saturday evening. On Sunday evening Brat Pack Radio warms up the audience at 6 P.M., followed by an encore performance by Pansy Division at 8 P.M.

The Last Two Centuries of SM

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #287, May 26, 2006)

The image was arresting. On the screen, in black and white, a naked woman was bent over a fainting couch while a naked man was poised to swing a switch at her buttocks.

What made the image more arresting was the fact that it was from the 1800s. And the man was, as they might have said in the nineteenth century, in full arousal.

Thus began “History of the Development of Sadomasochism in 20th Century America,” one of the final presentations of the tenth annual Leather Leadership Conference (LLC) in New York in April.

One of the presenters was Robert Bienvenu, Ph.D., a sociologist who wrote his doctoral thesis on the development of SM as a cultural style in the nineteenth and twenties centuries. The other presenter was Chuck Renslow, a man who lived (and made) some of the history Bienvenu included in that doctoral thesis.

In the first part of the presentation, Bienvenu described SM practices of the nineteenth century and how SM practices changed in the early twentieth century. Nineteenth-century SM imagery was built around “soft,” essentially feminine materials such as silk, lace and fur. Participants in SM scenes either wore everyday clothes or were nude.

Nineteenth-century SM implements were simple, natural and uncomplicated—canes, switches, whips, or birch rods. SM practices of the time were narrowly focused (on the buttocks, for example), ritualistic and predictable (starting with ritualistically exposing the buttocks), and endlessly repetitive (flagellating the buttocks, then flagellating them some more). Creativity and spontaneity were not the objects of nineteenth-century SM.

By the 1920s, SM had changed to a predominantly “hard,” masculine aesthetic. SM imagery of the time revolved around polished leather, latex and metals. When SM participants in the images wore anything, it tended to be specialized fetish attire, following an aesthetic that came to be known as “bizarre.” Photographic backgrounds were urban and industrial. SM implements and situations showed a broadened focus and increasing creativity, ingenuity, spontaneity, complexity and unpredictability.

Bienvenu discussed three major categories of SM culture in the twentieth century: European Fetish (c. 1928), American Fetish (c. 1934-1938), and Gay Leather (c. 1950).

The European Fetish style, which first became identifiable in 1920s Germany, quickly spread to France and Britain, and then around the globe as far as India and Australia.

The American Fetish style started in New York City in the 1930s and also had outposts in California. Originally an offshoot of European Fetish, it soon developed its own distinctly American look.

Both European and American Fetish were predominantly heterosexual, and the two styles shared many elements: bizarre costumes, uniforms, high-heeled shoes and boots, long black gloves, piercing and tattooing, and every sort of sexual apparatus imaginable. Practices included elaborate role play, cross-dressing, female domination, wrestling girls and human ponies.

Twenty years after the development of the American Fetish style, and with essentially no connection to either European Fetish or American Fetish, Gay Leather developed. It was at this point that Bienvenu turned the presentation over to Renslow, who shared his first-person account of leather’s development and history.

Renslow founded Kris Studios and began photographing and publishing male “physique” or “beefcake” photos in 1950. He and his lover, Dom Orejudos (the leather artist known as Etienne), opened Chicago’s legendary Gold Coast leather bar eight years later. In 1979, they founded the International Mr. Leather Contest, of which Renslow is still Executive Producer (and which is in full swing as this issue of Lavender hits the streets). Following Orejudos’ death, Renslow and former Drummer Magazine publisher Tony DeBlase were co-creators of the Leather Archives & Museum in 1991.

Renslow told of being brought up on obscenity charges, and subsequently acquitted. He told of the original group of Chicago leathermen and their search for a place to hang out. They finally found a club that welcomed them, the Gold Coast Show Lounge. Renslow eventually bought the business, shortening the name to “Gold Coast.” The rest, as they say, is history.

When the presentation was over, I was in awe. We have a history—a history that’s fascinating. But because it has been so hidden over the years, most people don’t know it exists.

There’s strength and power in discovering and uncovering that history. No matter what nasty names mainstream society may call us, we now know there have been other people through the years with the same feelings and interests we have.

Knowing we have a history makes it harder for us to accept being marginalized by mainstream society. Knowing we have a history makes it easier to carry on the fight for our own sexual freedom, and for everyone else’s as well.

That’s why this presentation was so affecting. That’s why the Leather Archives & Museum is so important. That’s why studies like Bienvenu’s are so valuable. That’s why Renslow and his contemporaries, and all the other people who have blazed leather/BDSM/fetish trails down through the years, are such treasures.

Bienvenu is currently at work on a scholarly book, “American Fetish,” to be published by Duke University Press. His doctoral thesis can be downloaded as a PDF file, in either compact or expanded multimedia versions, from <www.AmericanFetish.net>.

Marriage, Family, Sex: Fantasy vs. Reality

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #286, May 12, 2006)

Sexual fantasy can be pleasurable. Fantasy applied to politics and public policy is disastrous.

PHOTO: Matt Foreman delivering this speech at LLC X.

Matt Foreman, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), recently gave the closing keynote address at Leather Leadership Conference X in New York City. Foreman started by comparing some right-wing fantasies about marriage, families and sexuality with contemporary reality. He talked about the negative consequences of having public policy determined by these fantasies. He analyzed how the GLBT community unwittingly helped create this situation. Finally, he suggested what we can do about it now.

Fantasy: Marriage is “until death do us part.” Reality: 43% of all first marriages end within 15 years, and the rate goes up to 52% for women under 45.

Fantasy: Adultery is an aberration. Reality: According to two recent studies, 69% of those surveyed knew of husbands who had committed adultery; 60% knew of adulterous wives.

Fantasy: People who enjoy so-called kinky sex and porn are a small, twisted minority. Reality: An ABC News poll found 60% of sexually-active Americans say they have had sex outdoors or in a public place; 30% say they and their partner have watched sexually explicit videos; 20% have looked at porn websites; nearly one-third of all single men have been involved in three-ways.

Fantasy: Sex with a “prostitute” is extreme fringe behavior. Reality: 30% of single men 30 years or older have paid for sex.

These fantasies, rather than reality, are driving public policy —with profoundly harmful consequences.

Millions of tax dollars have been taken away from HIV and sex education programs that have been proven to work. That money has instead been spent on “abstinence-only” programs. Evidence is growing that participants in these programs are more likely both to engage in unsafe sex and to become accidentally pregnant.

Another example: A new vaccine offers almost 100% protection against the human papilloma virus (HPV) that causes cervical cancer in 10,000 U.S. women each year, killing 4,000. Yet the FDA might not approve it because of pressure from the Christian right, which believes the vaccine promotes promiscuity. Foreman noted this should give us some sense of how people would react if we ever got an HIV vaccine.

How did we get to this sorry state? While mentioning this country’s puritanical heritage and the disproportionate influence of right-wing “Christians” on public discourse, Foreman focused on his analysis of how the LGBT community unwittingly helped to create the situation.

Our community’s modern struggle started as the “gay liberation” movement. Calling ourselves “gay” connoted that we were and are complete human beings—more than just sex acts, which is the image that “homosexual” conjures up.

At our founding we were part of a larger social justice/sexual freedom/social change movement. But we quickly became a movement focusing on specific rights—the right to be free from job and housing discrimination, to be protected from hate crimes, to be able to adopt, and now to marry.

But in focusing on specific rights, we sanitized our lives. We took the “sex” out of homosexual and stopped advancing ourselves as complete human beings. We reduced our movement to seeking specific equal rights, not complete equality based on shared humanity.

And, since we were focusing predominantly on gay-specific rights, we inadvertently isolated ourselves from other communities and causes such as immigrants’ rights and reproductive, racial and economic justice.

The advent of HIV/AIDS meant that the very essence of gay liberation—sexual freedom—was portrayed as killing us. Our opponents and many in our own community saw and still see sex as the culprit, not a virus. Not only did we stop celebrating sexual freedom, we ran away from it.

Disconnecting our sexual lives from the rest of our lives for political purposes has led us to some fantasies of our own. Fantasy: If “those people” (meaning leather people, butch dykes and drag queens) would just go away, society would finally accept us. Reality, according to Foreman: “It doesn’t matter how much you emulate straight society. Our opponents don’t care whether you’re a good gay or a bad gay—they hate you because of who you have sex with, pure and simple.

“And they certainly don’t care if the sex you’re having is vanilla or kinky. It’s all the same to them.”

What can we do about this? Foreman suggested three ways to turn the tide:

1. We need to push a change in society around sex and to break down the facade, and all the ugly laws, policies and hypocrisy that come with it.

2. We must consistently and vigorously call out the sexual hypocrisy of our opponents. “The more those most responsible for propping up the facade are exposed, the quicker it will fall.”

3. Most importantly, we need to come out for sexual freedom in our daily lives. Foreman concluded his speech by saying, “This does not, as some people fear, mean that we need to talk about specific acts or scenes. Rather, it’s talking about our lives in a genuine and honest way. Because if we can’t, if we don’t, believe me—no one else will.”

Tenth Leather Leadership Conference Breaks Attendance Records

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #285, April 28, 2006)

The tenth annual Leather Leadership Conference (LLC) took place Friday, April 7 through Sunday, April 9 at Manhattan’s New Yorker Hotel. This conference was the largest ever with 347 registered attendees from 26 states, 3 Canadian provinces and one European country, Germany. Nine Minnesotans attended this year’s conference in preparation for hosting next year’s conference in Minnesota.

The Leather Leadership Conference is an educational event dedicated to strengthening the leather/SM/fetish community by developing the leadership skills of community members and fostering a greater sense of connectedness between and within community groups.

New this year were two pre-conference institutes held on Friday afternoon. One offered advice and guidance specifically aimed at leather titleholders. The other, which was for long-time leather/SM/fetish community leaders, explored advanced leadership topics including media relations, crisis management and avoiding both personal and organizational burnout.

The highlight of Friday evening’s opening ceremonies was a keynote speech by the honorable Mary Frances Berry, former chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. In this time when many of our civil liberties are being restricted, Berry framed the fight for “liberty of sexual expression” as a civil-rights and human-rights struggle.

Berry urged building coalitions with other naturally allied groups, such as those fighting for reproductive justice or against abstinence-only sex education, to finally bring about “liberty and justice for all.”

On Saturday and Sunday, conference participants could choose from 75 workshops organized along ten themed “tracks”: Activism, Case Studies, Events and Volunteers, Individual Skills, Media and Messaging, Outreach, Professional and Legal, Education, Organizational Development and Personal Enrichment.

The first workshop I attended on Saturday was “Leather 2006: An Overview of Issues Facing the Global Leather/BDSM Community.” In presenting the workshop, International Mr. Leather 2006 Michael Egdes drew on his experiences and travels of the past year. He also introduced Robert Ballin, creator of New York-based Leather Invasion (<www.leatherinvasion.com>), which aims to increase leather’s visibility and acceptance by organizing leather “field trips” to museums and other public spaces.

I next attended “Finding and Dealing With an Event Venue.” Anyone who wants to produce a leather event, or any other kind of event or conference for that matter, needs to know how to negotiate with hotels and/or convention centers. For anyone in that position, this workshop was a goldmine of information and encouragement.

During Saturday’s lunch break, conference attendees could participate in five roundtable discussions with topics such as making leather spaces trans-accessible; submissives, slaves and bottoms in community leadership positions; political conservatives in the leather/BDSM community; a sexual freedom caucus; and a meet-and-greet with the Leather Leadership Conference national board.

After lunch I participated in a two-part workshop on in-depth interviewing and media skills. After all the people I’ve interviewed for this column, it was very interesting and a bit scary to be the one being interviewed. It was a great learning experience—I am now better able to talk in soundbites without sounding like I’m talking in soundbites. During my mock interview I made a few mistakes, but at least I didn’t have to worry about seeing them in print.

The last workshop I attended on Saturday was “Putting Sex Back into Leather,” a discussion of the desirability and feasibility of including, rather than disavowing, sex and sexuality in the political arena.

On Sunday morning I attended two workshops. The first was “Boot Camp—Military Leadership Traits & Principles for a Traditional Leather Approach,” in which I learned that, say what you will about the various branches of the U.S. armed forces, they do know a thing or two about leadership development.

The final workshop I attended was International Mr. Leather founder and executive producer Chuck Renslow and sociologist Dr. Robert Bienvenu discussing the development of SM and leather in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. To say it was fascinating and spellbinding is an understatement—this workshop was so good it will be the subject of a future column.

Sunday afternoon’s closing keynote address was by Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. He spoke about fantasy—the fantasies surrounding sex and family life that currently drive official government policy, and contrasted them with the way things really are. Again, I plan to write about this topic more fully in a future column.

The conference closed with New York passing the Leather Leadership Conference baton to Minnesota. Your humble columnist made a short speech inviting everyone to Minnesota for next year’s conference (April 20-22, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis). Then the Minnesota contingent threw Minnesota trinkets, including single-serving packets of Spam and event buttons showing a picture of Spoonbridge and Cherry, into the audience. Visit <www.leatherleadership.org> for the official announcement and more details.

Author Jay Wiseman in Minneapolis May 5-7

One of the presenters at the recent Leather Leadership Conference in New York was Jay Wiseman, who conducted a workshop on “Conflict Resolution within the Leather/Kink Community.” He will be in Minneapolis May 5-7 to present that workshop and several others, and to appear at a meet-and-greet and book signing. Space is limited and advance reservations are required for all weekend events; visit <www.msdb-mn.org> for details. (These events are sponsored by MSDB and Smitten Kitten.)

Minnesota Welcomes 2007 Leather Leadership Conference

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #284, April 14, 2006)

GRAPHIC: LLC XI logo

After months of whispering, now it can be said out loud: Minnesota will host the eleventh annual Leather Leadership Conference April 20-22, 2007. The theme of the conference is “The Art of Sharing Power.” The worldwide leather/SM/fetish community is cordially invited to attend.

The Leather Leadership Conference (LLC) is a national organization dedicated to strengthening the leather/SM/fetish community by developing the leadership skills of community members and fostering a greater sense of connectedness between and within community groups. LLC hosts annual conferences where attendees share their knowledge and experience.

LLC was inspired by the annual “Creating Change™” leadership-development conferences for the GLBT community presented by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). The first LLC was held in New York City in 1997. New York City also hosted LLC X, the just-completed tenth edition of the conference. The first public announcement that Minnesota would be the host for LLC XI in 2007 was made at the conclusion of LLC X on April 9.

LLC XI is within easy driving distance for folks in other midwestern cities in the U.S. and Canada. Those farther away will find they can make easy, often non-stop, air travel arrangements. (Or, if you’re fed up with the airlines, consider Amtrak.)

Host hotel will be the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis. The hotel, which has earned a four-diamond rating from AAA, offers beautiful rooms and convention facilities. It is convenient to a dazzling variety of restaurants. And it’s connected by the pedestrian-only Loring Greenway to Loring Park, the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Keynote speakers for LLC XI will be New York-based photographer, artist and activist Barbara Nitke, and International Mr. Leather 2003 (and current chair of the Spanner Trust) John Pendal of London, UK.

Besides the keynote speakers, plans for LLC XI include a Friday-night opening cabaret program, a large and varied selection of workshops and seminars on Saturday and Sunday, and closing ceremonies on Sunday afternoon.

LLC XI is a must-attend event for leaders of the leather/SM/fetish community. But it’s also a great place for those interested in becoming leaders. Perhaps you’re a long-time community activist; maybe you’ve recently assumed a leadership role with a club or organization; or you might be new to the community and looking for a way to get more involved. If you care about this community and want to serve it, lead it and help it grow stronger—and you want to spend a weekend with a group of people who are committed to those same goals—you belong at LLC XI.

“The Art of Sharing Power” was chosen as the theme for LLC XI because both “Art” and “Sharing Power” reflect aspects of Minnesota’s leather/SM/fetish community and of Minnesota’s culture, history and politics in general.

Almost from its beginning Minnesota has been a progressive, populist, grassroots-oriented state. Minnesota’s political history is filled with examples of activism and leadership that flow bottom-up rather than top-down.

Not surprisingly, Minnesota’s leather/SM/fetish community shares many of these characteristics. Increasingly, community leadership has been shared by many different individuals and organizations, rather than being dominated by a few leaders or one large organization.

Both Minnesota and Minnesota’s leather/SM/fetish communities have become more diverse in recent years. While Minnesotans still may be stereotyped as Scandinavian and Lutheran (refer to the movie “Fargo”), Minnesota’s citizens and culture have become increasingly diverse in recent decades. For the most part that diversity has been accepted, if not always enthusiastically embraced.

Likewise, Minnesota’s leather/SM/fetish community has grown, and paradoxically both diversified and unified, over the last decade or so. Groups that formerly kept to themselves have started talking with one another, working with one another, and supporting each other’s events.

One of the results of this coming-together has been an amazing succession of annual Minnesota Leather Pride events—produced by, and attended by, members of many different community organizations. With the continuing success of Minnesota Leather Pride, it was felt that perhaps the time had come to take things to the next level by hosting a national, or even international, leather/SM/fetish event.

Minnesota is an art-rich state. The Minneapolis/St. Paul area is considered the capital for the arts in the Upper Midwest—there are two large nationally-known art museums, two nationally-known orchestras, and more theater seats per capita than any other American city (including New York City).

LLC XI will draw on the Minnesota’s amazing artistic and cultural resources to create a rich, stimulating environment—using the arts to help conference participants explore LLC’s traditional topics, community and organizational leadership skills, in a new and unprecedented way.

It has taken many hours from many committed volunteers to bring LLC XI this far, and it will take many more volunteer hours during the next year to make it the profound conference we know it will be. The LLC XI organizing committee invites you to consider attending, consider presenting a workshop, consider volunteering your time to help make this event happen.

Mark your calendar now, and watch the LLC website (<www.leatherleadership.org>) over the coming months for more details.

The Non-Verbal Language of Leather

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #283, March 31, 2006)

Leather’s use of symbols for non-verbal social communication is conscious, intentional, creative, inventive—and relentless. A person in leather is a veritable billboard. If you know how to parse the symbols, everything means something.

Let’s start with the basic concept of left and right. Items worn on the left (keys, armbands, wristbands, floggers, hankies sticking out of pockets) indicate the wearer is a top or prefers the active role. Such items worn on the right indicate the wearer is a bottom or prefers the passive role. (Items worn in the middle indicate the wearer is a “switch” and can be flexible.)

In social situations this left/right marking is handy. If you’re talking to someone face to face, and their accessories are on the same side as yours, that means you might be a good match.

If their accessories are not on the same side as yours, you are talking to another person who prefers the same role you prefer. In that case there’s nothing to stop you from switching your armband from one side to the other—unless they do it first.

Minnesota Leather Pride recently held a roundtable discussion on leather’s various symbols and what they communicate. Among the symbols discussed at the roundtable was the hanky code—displaying hankies in one’s back pocket whose colors correspond to various sexual activities in which the wearer is interested.

According to one source the practice comes from the San Francisco gold rush of 1849. Since the miners were mostly men, at evening dances they used back-pocket bandanas to indicate who was willing to lead (left pocket) or be a “girl” (right pocket). The modern hanky code started in the 1970s, when it was seen as a good way to visually signal sexual preferences in a noisy bar.

Communicating by using the hanky code is known as “flagging,” as in “See that guy flagging red right? Maybe you should go talk to him.”

If you see someone flagging a color that dovetails with your interests, go strike up a conversation and see what develops. You can also flag your interests, and maybe someone will strike up a conversation with you.

Ideally you’ll both be wearing the same color, but in opposite pockets. This is no guarantee there will be any attraction or chemistry between you, of course. But if the attraction and/or chemistry is there, the hankies can make a nice conversation-starter.

There are readily available lists of the different colors of hankies and what they mean. A short list might contain the ten or fifteen most popular colors; the most complete list I’ve ever seen covered two full pages in a magazine.

If the idea of having to memorize all those colors seems overwhelming, just remember that a) you can always have a cheat sheet in your wallet, and b) you only have to memorize the colors that reflect your interests.

There can be regional variations to the hanky code, and in the dim light of a leather bar it can be difficult to tell the difference between certain colors. When in doubt, ask, and see where the conversation goes.

Other apparel items that communicate status include hats, harnesses, collars (padlocked or not) and even button-fly jeans (certain buttons left unbuttoned).

Almost every surface of every garment is open to decoration that reveals something about the wearer—club patches, run pins, a studded vest or belt displaying a leather title. Even the decorations on a person’s skin—tattoos and piercings—communicate something.

This non-verbal language of leather evolved because it’s an efficient method of communicating if you know the code, and it’s hidden in plain sight if you don’t. It lets us screen to see if another person is “one of us,” if they “speak the language.”

There was a time when this was necessary, and perhaps it still is. But some people are starting to wonder if this colorful and rich language is marginalizing us.

Might the codes and protocols of leather be a turn-off to people, especially younger people, who don’t see the need to buy a new wardrobe and learn a new language in order to participate? If leather seems to lack an influx of younger people, that might be one reason why.

Victorian-era society had a rigid set of rules, codes and signs for courtship. Ladies of the era used their fans, gloves and parasols to signal interest, or lack thereof, to their male suitors. Someday the hanky code might seem as quaint.

On the other hand, author John Molloy’s 1970s-era “Dress for Success” books were popular because they demystified the code of corporate business dress. Three decades later, not much has changed—wearing the wrong clothes can still get in the way of career advancement.

Codes come and go. Some say the hanky code and leather’s other non-verbal signals are being made obsolete by the internet. Yet a recent internet search for “hanky code” showed that the idea is being appropriated by other people. (Christian hanky code, anyone?) Maybe the hanky code’s ultimate destiny is to be yet another gift from leather to mainstream society.

The Leather Life Interview: Mark Beckler, Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2006

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #282, March 17, 2006)

PHOTO: Mark Beckler

Mark Beckler, the new Mr. Minneapolis Eagle, is the eighth man to hold the title. In slightly more than two months he will represent The Minneapolis Eagle, and Minnesota, in the International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago.

Beckler is now preparing for that next level of competition. Part of that preparation, of course, is being interviewed by your humble columnist.

Let’s start at the beginning. Where were you born?

I was born in Mandan, North Dakota, and I grew up there. I went through Catholic grade school and then Mandan High School.

Mandan is a town of about twenty thousand people. The population of North Dakota is gradually declining—there are fewer people in the whole state than there are in the Twin Cities.

Are your parents still there?

Yup, they’re still living in Mandan. They’re both retired. I have a father who’s very artistic and a mother who’s business-minded. My parents have a really great relationship. They’re still married—it’ll be forty-four years in June.

What was it like growing up in North Dakota?

I think I’m really fortunate. I probably wouldn’t change anything: my experiences as a kid, coming to terms with my own sexuality, discussing it with my parents and my brothers.

My brother is the most phenomenal person in the world. I remember when he and I had “the discussion.” It was probably the latter eighties, early nineties, and he said, “You know, right now it’s really kind of cool to have somebody in your life who’s gay. And I’ve got the coolest person in my life who’s gay, and he’s my brother.” I thought that was really a nice thing for him to say.

What did you do after high school?

In college I started out as an art major. Made a switch to engineering major. Then I made another switch to architecture. I completed about three years of the program at North Dakota State University in Fargo.

I was paying for my own education, and I was very independent. I decided I was not going to graduate with $30,000 in student loans, and I chose to take some time off from school. I went to work full time—I was working two, three jobs. I ended up going back to school and finally got my finance degree after, I think, eight years of college.

When and how did you get into leather?

It was something I gradually got exposed to over the course of my life. That image of the Tom of Finland type of person has always been in my generation—this very attractive, masculine type of character.

I got into it basically because it was something that I wanted to be like. I wanted to have that kind of look, that outward appearance, if I could. I was always such a skinny little guy in high school. It awed me, inspired me.

Why did you enter the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle contest?

I was going to enter it last year. Unfortunately, my work schedule did not allow me to do it then.

I’ve had a really strong work ethic all my life. I work really hard—I get a lot of fulfillment out of accomplishing things in a work environment.

But a lot of people have told me that it rules my life too much, and I agree. This year I was assessing where I was in my personal life, and I decided I wanted to have more of a balance. That’s really what my efforts are going to be this year. So I decided, you know what, I’m going to enter the contest this year.

What other activities are you involved in right now? Your contest entry form said something about the rugby team?

This year I’m going to be playing rugby with the Minneapolis Mayhem. I’ve only been to one practice—the formal practices really start next week. They kicked my ass. I can’t believe how out of shape I am. But it was a lot of fun.

I used to play softball with the gay softball league years ago. Slid into home base, cracked my leg, fractured it in five pieces, had surgery. So I haven’t been doing anything from a team sport perspective for quite a few years.

The rugby team was a great opportunity, and it looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully, I’m not going to get too banged-up in the next few weeks.

What do you want to accomplish as Mr. Minneapolis Eagle, either at the contest or during the rest of your title year—or if you win IML?

I want to make sure I get to meet a lot of people. I want to make sure I represent Minneapolis the best I can. When it comes to the [International Mr. Leather] contest I’m going to do my best. And I’m just going to be who I am.

If I win IML—you know, when I entered the contest in Minneapolis, a lot of friends of mine said, “What if you win?” And I said, well, you know what—let’s cross that road if that happens.