Kinksters and Pervs: The Words We Use and the Messages We Send

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #154, April 20, 2001)

Words are powerful things. The words we use to refer to ourselves and our community send strong and sometimes unintentional messages about how we see ourselves. And in addition to sending those messages to everyone else, we’re reinforcing them in ourselves.

With that in mind, here’s a quick word-association test. You don’t need to grab a pencil and you needn’t write anything down. Just look at the list below and mentally note the first word, image or feeling that comes to mind:

1. Leather

2. Rubber

3. Uniforms

4. SM

5. Bondage

6. Kink

7. Fetish

8. Pervert

9. Queer

This test is my own creation and is based on no scientific underpinning whatsoever. Your results may be different, but to me the first five words, which describe areas of community interest, are fundamentally different from the last four words, which entail value judgments.

Who is my audience for this column? Do we call ourselves the “leather community,” or “leather/SM” or “leather/BDSM”? These are simple statements of what we’re attracted to or what we like to do. Or do we refer to our community as the “kink” or “fetish” community and to ourselves, with a wink and a nod, as “kinksters” and “perverts”? These are “loaded” terms implying that there’s something wrong with what we’re attracted to, and therefore there’s something wrong with us.

Here’s how the Merriam-Webster Collegiate® Dictionary defines “kinky” (definition #2): “relating to, having, or appealing to unconventional tastes, especially in sex; also: sexually deviant.” Here’s the sole dictionary entry for “perversion”: “an aberrant sexual practice, especially when habitual and preferred to normal coitus.” Nowadays the only place you’re likely to see the word “coitus” is in a dictionary (unless it’s immediately followed by the word “interruptus”), so here’s the definition of “coitus”: “physical union of male and female genitalia accompanied by rhythmic movements usually leading to the ejaculation of semen from the penis into the female reproductive tract; also: INTERCOURSE” (definition #3) “— compare ORGASM.”

Dictionaries are such stimulating reading, don’t you think? Those definitions seem so matter-of-fact on the page. But in real life things can grow ugly; being labeled a “sexual deviant” often brings intense disapproval from society, and some people believe “perverts” deserve to be hated, demonized, harassed, bashed and killed.

I realize that bringing up this line of discussion risks wading into the same territory that the final word in my little quiz, “queer,” brings up. (Ethnic minorities can also have these kinds of discussions around various racial slurs that have been used against them over the years.) For years words like “queer” and “faggot” were slams and insults; they were yelled in anger and their intention was to hurt us. But when we consciously use these words to describe ourselves (seen on a t-shirt: “That’s MISTER Faggot to you”), the words supposedly lose their power to hurt—“Yeah, you’re right, I’m queer, so what?” The fact that I personally still don’t feel comfortable describing myself as “queer” (I prefer to call myself a gay man) tells you that I don’t entirely buy that argument. (Since this seems to some extent to be a generational thing, it also tells you I’m over 40.)

In much the same way, even if I use the terms “kinky” or “pervert” ironically or sarcastically—or even if I only use them when I’m with other like-minded community members—I’m still using someone else’s value judgments, instead of my own, to define myself. If I don’t agree with the value judgments, why should I first call attention to them before saying I don’t agree with them? Why should I even let them occupy valuable real estate in my mind?

Words like “queer” or “kinky” or “perverted” simply don’t resonate with me. Being sexually attracted to another man comes as naturally to me as breathing—there’s nothing “queer” to me about it. I like the look of black leather or a nice, masculine uniform on a man; to me that’s natural and normal, not a “fetish.” To me it’s not kinky, it’s just the way it is. For me to engage in what Merriam-Webster defines as “normal coitus”—now that would be strange.

I’ve heard things like this from other people, too: “Oh, you write that leather column? Well, I’m not into leather” (or “I’m not kinky”), “BUT . . . .” And then they reveal they like getting their nipples played with, or their ass paddled, or that handcuffs excite them. But to them it’s not kinky, it’s just the way it is.

One important feature of the leather/BDSM community’s code of ethics is being non-judgmental of other people’s interests and attractions. Stop and think about the hanky code, and what a wonderful social institution it is: different colored hankies stand for different sexual appetites, and no judgment of the rightness or wrongness of those activities is necessary. You can flag whatever color you want, and even if that’s not the color I’m looking for, I will still defend your right to flag it. The community takes non-judgmentalism so seriously that it has evolved an acronym for the act of being judgmental: YKINOK, which stands for “Your Kink Is Not OK.” This is not something one wants to be found guilty of in leather/BDSM circles; instead of making the value judgment of “Your Kink Is Not OK,” it is more proper to express “Your Kink Is Not My Kink”—we don’t all have to agree, and to each his (or her) own.

Gee, I wish the rest of the world were more like that.

By the way, in the above example you may have noticed I’m still using the word “kink.” Henceforth, when I talk about “kink” I will not focus on Merriam-Webster’s definition #2 (quoted above), but will instead focus on definition #3: “a clever, unusual way of doing something.”

Register Now for Knights of Leather Tournament

Local pansexual leather/BDSM club The Knights of Leather will be hosting their annual Tournament run (this year’s is the thirteenth edition) the weekend of May 18-20. Held at a wooded campground north of the Twin Cities, this run promises two fully-equipped dungeons, a lake/beach for swimming, great food, and several workshops including a repeat presentation of last year’s popular “Leathercrafts (Make Your Own Leathertoys).”

For more information visit www.knightsofleather.org or e-mail knightsofleather@hotmail.com. You may also pick up an application at local leather-related businesses, at the TIES Munch on Wednesday, April 25, or from any Knights of Leather member. Save $15 by registering before May 5.

Welcome to the Black Guard’s “Black Frost 24”

(Slated for Lavender Magazine, Issue #153, April 6, 2001 but not published)

This year’s theme: Who Murdered Broadway?

Welcome to everyone visiting the Twin Cities for this weekend’s (April 6-8) Black Frost 24. This year’s theme is “Who Murdered Broadway?” and the entire run revolves around a murder mystery which run participants must solve. It seems there has been a killing at the Lavender Flamingo; the main character of the mystery was planning to compete in a female impersonator contest until someone stuffed Baby Snooks’ wig down her throat. Whodunit? And what was their motive?

Your hosts, the members of the Black Guard of Minneapolis, are characters in the mystery; ask them probing questions and they may respond with clues. Sleuths may also find clues during escorted tours to Minneapolis and St. Paul bars and at other run events throughout the weekend.

The Black Guard of Minneapolis was named by Drummer Magazine as “the best show club in the U.S.,” and at Saturday night’s (April 7) run banquet and show the Black Guard will prove once again that leathermen can be tough guys and still love Broadway showtunes. This year’s show is being produced by Black Guard vice president Steve Katz and directed by Black Guard treasurer (and webmaster) Carl Gscheidemeier. Every Guard member will make an appearance onstage for this show, as will several alumni members.

The “Who Murdered Broadway?” show features songs by Los Angeles-based songwriter Billy Barnes, who has penned material for such show-biz divas as Carol Burnett, Barbra Streisand and Joanne Worley. In the show, several aging Broadway divas reminisce about the ups and downs of their careers on the stage, comparing Old Broadway (I presume they’re talking about Rodgers & Hammerstein, David Merrick, Harold Prince, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) with New Broadway (helicopters, smashing chandeliers, Disney and Andrew Lloyd Webber). Also included in the show are numbers from Forbidden Broadway and from two shows that recently opened on Broadway, The Class Act and Success.

Locals take note: With so many new faces in town for the run, this is not the weekend to stay home. This would be a good weekend to, as Sally Bowles sang in Cabaret, “put down the knitting, the book and the broom” and go out. Even if you’re not attending the whole run, you can still get Saturday-evening show-only tickets at the door for $10; for more information call Colin.

By the way, after this year’s run the members of the Black Guard will turn their attention toward preparing for next year’s Black Frost 25—their club’s silver anniversary. Big plans are being made, and the club’s website (www.blackguardmpls.com) suggests you might want to have a tux ready.

Upcoming Leather Events (for Calendar section)

Saturday, Apr. 14: Atons Leather/Levi Night at Rudolph’s Barbeque (corner of Franklin and Lyndale in south Minneapolis. Drinks at 7:00 PM, dinner at 7:30 PM. Presented by the Atons, open to all; call for reservations.

“Part Social Movement, Part Applied Spirituality”

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #152, March 23, 2001)

David Nimmons, the founder of a project called “Manifest Love,” is a man with a message, and he’s proclaiming it everywhere he can. Since 1982 Nimmons has held a wide variety of elected, appointed, and professional leadership positions in gay community organizations. He is addressing his message to gay men (most emphatically including gay leathermen), but maybe the rest of the leather/SM community—leather lesbians, transsexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals—also needs to hear it. In short, his three-part message is 1) Look at the amazing and revolutionary community we’ve created; 2) But there are still problems to be addressed; so 3) Let’s address these problems and create something even more amazing and revolutionary.

I heard Nimmons speak as the fourth part of a five-part series of evening seminars presented by Pride Alive, the queer men’s initiative of the Minnesota AIDS Project. The first part of his talk described (and documented with footnotes and references) many of the amazing qualities and accomplishments of today’s gay male community. The following bullet-point quotes are from the brochure that was handed out at the seminar:

• “Something big is happening among gay men, but it isn’t always visible. Over two decades, gay men have quietly evolved a set of radical cultural transformations, ones we rarely even recognize. Gay communities have become social laboratories, pioneering a range of profound social innovations.” For instance:

• “We have built the least publicly violent male culture known.” To substantiate this claim, Nimmons referred to studies finding fewer police calls to gay bars vs. non-gay bars and to gay events such as Gay Pride festivals vs. similar non-gay events.

• “We have devised new models of altruism, caregiving, volunteering, and service.” Typically, gay men don’t have the support of a nuclear family to care for them when they’re sick or as they get older—they only have each other. And when society’s shunning of them escalated as AIDS, or even the threat of AIDS, made them untouchable pariahs, they found they had to depend on themselves. But they also found that they could depend on themselves.

• “We have redefined relationships with women and with each other, inventing new forms of intimacy, friendship, and community.” Nimmons noted that “gay men do relationships with women differently,” as seen on TV in “Will and Grace” and in the movies “The Next Best Thing” and “The Object of My Affection,” among others. Nimmons also talked about a new style of men relating to other men called “diffuse intimacy”: “If we’re intimate with those outside our small family group, suddenly we all have a stake in each other’s well-being.” This makes gay men value and practice such things as tutelage, mentoring, and initiation into the community. They protect, take care of, and look out for each other in many different ways.

• “We have innovated radically new rituals of pleasure, affection, and ecstatic communion.” Nimmons asked for audience participation in drawing up a list of examples for this point; suggestions included Radical Faerie gatherings, the International Mr. Leather weekend, Body Electric workshops, sex parties—the list went on and on.

According to Nimmons, “This range of gay social innovations has no parallel in modern culture. It is best understood as an evolving kind of public ethics.” He noted that any other group of people evolving a society exhibiting these traits would be hailed as heroes, but that gay men still make much of society uncomfortable, so their accomplishments get little recognition.

Except—and this is my own conclusion—from certain segments of society who are using the gay male experience as a model for building their own communities, i.e. the wider pansexual SM community. Look at the similarities. SM parties, despite their outward appearance to the uninitiated, are not violent—if police appear on the scene it’s almost never because someone at the party called them. The community’s motto of “safe, sane and consensual” is evidence of an attitude of concern for everyone’s dignity and well-being. SM play certainly constitutes a “new form of intimacy” and “new rituals of pleasure, affection and ecstatic communion.” And even as kink becomes more mainstream, it is still reviled by a large portion of society. Kinky people of all sexual persuasions are finding, as gay men have found, that sometimes they have only themselves to depend on.

Back to Nimmons, and his second point: The gay male community is not perfect. “Too often, our public gay world has lagged behind our best values. It says men must compete” (like on Saturday night at a cruise bar), “that attitude makes sense” (see previous parenthetical comment), “that being loving is uncool” (it’s better to be a bitchy queen), “that we cannot publicly embrace our most loving natures. So we protect ourselves by drawing lines around looks and age, around color, class, kink. We are left hungry for intimacy, confused by sex, betrayed by community, distrusting our fellow gay man.”

Sound familiar? I’ve often heard people speak derisively of both the “gay community” and the “leather community,” saying both are illusions. They really wish they could believe in them, but they can’t.

Nimmons’ third point: There is hope. If the gay male community has created the profound cultural transformations discussed above in only twenty or thirty years’ time, think what can happen in the next ten or twenty or thirty: “We have the potential to be a spreading center of values and ethics change both for ourselves and for the larger culture.” The mission of Manifest Love is to “encourage gay men to understand and embody the best, most powerful and transformative values we bring to culture: non-violence, the brotherhood of deep friendship, sexual celebration, service and nurture, new forms of intimacy with women, and the pursuit of diverse forms of ecstatic union. We believe that different kinds of gay men, working together, can shape a more loving, affectionate, and affirming world, for ourselves and others.”

How will this mission be accomplished? Manifest Love presents community workshops, salons and talks, day-long workshops, weekend intensive retreats, and is in the process of setting up “ongoing local chapters of men working to promote critical understanding of our cultural innovations and find ways to manifest loving values in our communities.”

Nimmons say of Manifest Love, “There is no simple box for what we do. We are part social movement, part applied spirituality.” It strikes me that one could say the same of the leather/SM community. Different paths, same hoped-for destination.

For more information e-mail ManifestLove@aol.com. (By the time you read this, their website might be available at www.manifestlove.com.) David Nimmons will return to Minnesota for a weekend intensive to be held Friday evening, April 6 through Sunday, April 8; for more information contact Ankha Shamin, one of the local coordinators for the Twin Cities chapter of Manifest Love.

New Mr./Ms. Olympus Leather Chosen at Pantheon of Leather XI

Contest held February 17 in New Orleans

Over 200 Leatherfolk attended Pantheon of Leather XI at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans, LA the weekend of February 16-18. Twenty-seven leather-community service awards were presented on Friday night, and on Saturday five SM-related workshops were presented. Then on Saturday night, the state of Georgia was smiling big after the Mr. and Ms Olympus Leather 2001 Contest concluded with Michael Allshouse and Sherree Dixon from Atlanta winning. Mr. Louisiana Olympus Leather Butch Arnold and Ms Louisiana Olympus Leather Julyahana also made a good showing for their state.

Black Guard presents Black Frost 24 April 6-8

This year’s theme: Who Murdered Broadway?

The Black Guard of Minneapolis, named by Drummer Magazine as “the best show club in the U.S.,” is getting ready to prove once again that tough guys can still love Broadway showtunes. “Who Murdered Broadway?” is the theme of the club’s upcoming Black Frost 24 run, which takes place April 6-8 at various locations around the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

In addition to complete run packages with or without accommodations, tickets for the banquet and show only are $40 and tickets for the show only are $10. For complete run registration information visit www.blackguardmpls.com, e-mail cgscheidemeier@qwest.net, call Colin, or write Run Registration, The Black Guard of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN. Hurry—save money by registering before the main registration deadline of Monday, March 26.

Upcoming Leather Events (for Calendar section)

Saturday, Mar. 10: Atons Leather/Levi Night at Little Jack’s Steak House (201 Lowry Ave. NE). Drinks at 7:00 PM, dinner at 7:30 PM. Presented by the Atons, open to all; call for reservations.

Sunday, Mar. 11, 3 PM: A Brother’s Touch Bookstore (24th & Hennepin) presents a reading by noted erotic writer M. Christian of San Francisco.

Mr. Mpls. Eagle 2001 Contest

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #150, February 23, 2001)

It was Friday afternoon, the end of the workweek, and a female co-worker (whom I assume is heterosexual) asked me if I had “anything fun planned for the weekend.” I mentioned that actually, I did—I was going be a judge at a contest. “Oh, really?” she exclaimed. “What kind of contest?” Well, the contest was Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001, but I didn’t really want to go into that much detail about leather bars and leather contests. So I offered what I thought was a simple, easy-to-understand explanation: “Well, it’s sort of like the Miss America Pageant, only it’s guys.” Her response caught me off guard, though it probably shouldn’t have: “Oh, really? Do you know who Miss Richfield is? I just love her! I think Jason in the accounting department is a friend of hers—I mean his—no, I mean hers!”

Note to self: Must stop explaining leather contests to non-leatherfolk by comparing them to the Miss America pageant. People misunderstand. They interpret the phrase “the Miss America Pageant, only it’s guys,” to mean guys in evening gowns and lots of makeup.

I absolutely think the world of Miss Richfield (1981), but I didn’t see her at the Eagle during the contest. The Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001 contest was all about men—hot, sexy, masculine men in leather. And it was about choosing one of them to represent the Eagle, and the Twin Cities leather community, at the upcoming International Mr. Leather (IML) contest in Chicago.

This year’s Mr. Minneapolis Eagle contest started with private contestant interviews on Saturday afternoon, February 10. The four judges (Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2000 Todd Leek, Atons president Sam Carlisle, Black Guard president Rick Stokes and your humble columnist) interviewed each of the three contestants in a format patterned after the contestant interviews at IML.

The action continued Saturday evening with a meet-and-greet at the Eagle. While officially a non-judging event, the judges are always watching the contestants at events like these to see how good they are at—what else?—meeting and greeting.

Then at 8 PM on Sunday, February 11, came the public portion of the contest. It was a large and good-looking crowd that packed the Eagle that night, and they were ready for a good time. They weren’t disappointed.

Emcee for the evening was the incredibly hunky Dan Bergman, a bartender at Boom! who was moonlighting for the evening. (Bergman will shortly be releasing a CD entitled “Beautiful Mess”—watch for it.)

The first judging event of the contest was the Eagle’s traditional Keg Walk, during which the contestants walked the entire length of the bar while shouldering a beer keg. Contestant Steven Due showed some creativity in this category by only carrying the keg for the first half of the walk; he commandeered a boy from the audience to carry it the rest of the way. As Due explained, it was “a little bit of role reversal—a bottom having a boy!”

Next, each contestant gave a short leather-related speech and then had to answer a randomly-selected leather-related question. In his speech, contestant Due talked about coming out and self-acceptance in both a leather and a GLBT sense. Contestant Scott Kelley, familiar to many in the audience as the sales rep for Fit to a T Leather, talked about the history and primal aspects of leather, and contestant Lonnell Callum used his speech to get some call-and-response action going with the audience.

For the third and final judging round each contestant presented an erotic reading. The lights in the bar were dimmed and Due read a short selection from a book while surrounded by a bevy of gorgeous leathermen wielding flashlights. Kelley didn’t need no stinkin’ flashlights as he powerfully and seductively recited a tale of his own invention—no written script needed. (Who knows? Rather than inventing it, he may have been simply remembering it.) Callum initially had trouble reading in the darkness, but he also presented a powerful erotic reading once Kelley came to his rescue by leaping up on the stage to hold a flashlight. The readings seemed to have the desired effect on the audience—when this contest segment was over I felt like I needed an after-sex cigarette, and I don’t even smoke.

Contest results: Second runner-up honors went to Callum; first runner-up honors went to Kelley; and winner Due will be representing The Minneapolis Eagle and the Twin Cities leather community at the 2001 International Mr. Leather contest. If you plan to journey to Chicago to see him compete, better make your travel arrangements soon. Start by visiting the IML website, www.imrl.com, for all the details. Host hotel is the Palmer House in Chicago; at this writing there are still rooms available, but they’ll go fast.

FEB. 10: Some of the good-looking crowd at the Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001 Meet & Greet.

ME011-24: Randy and Steve

ME011-23: Bruce, Jim and contestant Scott Kelley.

ME011-22: Steve

ME011-21: Steve and contestant Steven Due.

ME011-19: Paul and Bob.

ME011-18: Jeff and Frank.

ME011-17: David, Mike, TJ and Scott.

ME011-16: Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 1999 Tim Forte and John.

ME011-15: John and Jim.

ME011-14, ME011-13, ME011-12: The contestants. Steven Due, Lonnell Callum, Scott Kelley.

FEB. 11: The evening of the contest.

ME011-11: Outgoing Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2000 (and chief judge for this contest) Todd Leek.

ME011-10: Contestant Steven Due during the Keg Walk portion of the contest.

ME011-09, ME011-08, ME011-07: Contestant Scott Kelley during the Keg Walk.

ME011-06, ME011-05, ME011-04, ME011-03: Contestant Lonnell Callum during the Keg Walk.

ME011-02: Emcee Dan Bergman and contestants Steven Due, Lonnell Callum and Scott Kelley at the conclusion of the Keg Walk.

ME011-01: Contestants Steven Due, Lonnell Callum and Scott Kelley at the conclusion of the Keg Walk.

ME012-24: Emcee Dan Bergman and contestant Steven Due answering the pop question.

ME012-23: Emcee Dan Bergman and contestant Scott Kelley during the speech/Q&A segment of the contest.

ME012-22, ME012-21: Contestant Scott Kelley finishing up the speech/Q&A segment.

ME012-20, ME012-19: Contestant Lonnell Callum at the end of the speech/Q&A segment, accepting the crowd’s applause.

ME012-18: Rob and Dale.

ME012-17: Charles and Gabe.

ME012-16: Steven Due just found out he’s the new Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001.

ME012-15: Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2000 Todd Leek hands over the sash to Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001 Steven Due.

ME012-14, ME012-13: First runner-up Scott Kelley; Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001 Steven Due; second runner-up Lonnell Callum.

ME012-12: Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001 Steven Due.

ME012-11: Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2001 Steven Due and Mr. Minneapolis Eagle 2000 Todd Leek.

ME012-10: The staff at the Eagle: bartender James, owner Ed Hopkins, manager Greg, bartender Jesse.

Investigating the Real Marquis de Sade

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #149, February 9, 2001)

What is there about the Marquis de Sade? Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade was born in France in 1740 and died there in 1814. But his legend lives on and keeps growing (aided by movies like Quills), making it difficult to separate fact from fiction. A complete biography is beyond the scope of this column, but there are many sources of information about (and analysis of) the man, his life, his works, and the times in which he lived. If you’ve recently seen Quills and want to know more about de Sade, simply visit your bookstore or library, or type “Marquis de Sade” into your web browser’s search engine and see what comes up.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you investigate the Marquis:

If you want to learn about de Sade’s life, it helps if you are already familiar with what was going on in France and the rest of Europe during the 1700s and 1800s—royalty, wars, revolutions, that sort of thing. These were events that helped shape de Sade’s life and writings, and it’s impossible to really understand him apart from this historical context. If you don’t know much about this era, though, don’t worry; you’ll pick it up as you go along.

Another thing that might come in handy is a degree in philosophy. de Sade was as much a philosopher as a pornographer, and if the sex and brutality in de Sade’s work was scandalous, so was the world view behind it. It continues to be scandalous, and therefore good fodder for philosophical discussion, to this day.

If you want to read some of those scandalous writings, you’re in luck—after being banned or misplaced for years, they’re now readily available. Be aware, however, that you might find them difficult reading. You may find the sex scenes titillating, repulsive, or both, and you may find the writing style overly florid to the point of either laughter or boredom. Gay men may be bored or turned off by the constant barrage of overembroidered descriptions of the female anatomy, and many women will find the Marquis to be obnoxiously chauvinistic. (Incidentally, the word “chauvinistic” expresses another concept which arose in eighteenth-century France.)

Keep in mind that the Marquis wrote in French, so if you are reading him in English you are necessarily reading a translation. I’m told that reading his works in the original French is a much different (and most would say more pleasureable) experience.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, keep this in mind: Today’s leather/SM community is about safe, sane and consensual SM play. Note that word “play,” and note the fact that the community refers to people who engage in SM as “players.” The Marquis was not concerned with safety, sanity, or consensuality, and he was not playing—he was dead serious. He was a Marquis, a nobleman, and an aristocrat. He, like much of the rest of the aristocracy of the time, thought he was above the rules that governed ordinary people. If, in the course of pleasuring himself, he injured (or killed) a prostitute, what did he care? She was of no importance.

That’s not the philosophy of today’s leather/SM community—if it was, we would have all killed each other by now. That’s why, as I said last issue, the Marquis is a somewhat embarrassing patron saint and poster-boy for the community. It’s why the leather/SM community has, to a certain extent, distanced itself from the terms “sadism” and “masochism,” or even “S&M,” preferring simply “SM”—which for some people means “sex magic.”

MSDB presents “Sex Sells: How to Write and Sell Erotica” March 9-11

If the Marquis’ writing inspires you to create your own—or if you don’t care for it and think you could do better—local kink group MSDB has just the workshop for you. Learn how to tap into a booming literary market. Discover the secrets of writing erotica: how to free your creativity and get past inhibitions, how to avoid cliches, common mistakes and pitfalls, how to write what editors and publishers will want to buy, and more. The workshop will be led by M. Christian, author and editor of several current erotic books. For more information, write to MSDB, Minneapolis MN, or visit www.msdb-mn.org.

Upcoming Leather Events (for Calendar section)

Friday, Feb. 9: Leather Beer Bust and Dance Night, Trikkx in St. Paul. This will be a recurring event on the second Friday of every month. Host Jim Dryden invites you to “create some leather presence in St. Paul for those of us on this side of the river.” All the beer you can drink for $5 and all the pop/soda you can drink for $1 from 7 to 9 PM. Dancing continues until closing.

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9-10: Mr. Minneapolis Eagle contest, details to follow.

Saturday, Feb. 10: Atons Leather/Levi Night, details to follow.

Saturday, Feb. 17: Levi Leather Night at The Main Club, 1217 Tower Ave., Superior, WI. This is the kick-off event for The Main Club’s Old Anniversary Week. Call for more information.

The Pleasure (and Pain) of Quills

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #148, January 26, 2001)

This column concerns Quills, a film purportedly about the last years of the Marquis de Sade’s life (now playing at the Lagoon Cinema). Even though it was released by Fox, Quills is not really your normal Hollywood movie, and this column will not be your normal movie review. You can find normal reviews of this film all over the Web—one site, www.rottentomatoes.com, has gathered a thoroughly mixed collection of 72 of them. But I have yet to read anything about the film written in the context of the leather/SM community, so here goes. Consider this less of a movie review and more of a scene report.

First, let’s be clear: Quills is not a biography. The film (screenplay by Doug Wright, adapted from his play of the same name) begins with a voice-over invitation spoken by the Marquis (played by Geoffrey Rush) to listen to a “tarted-up” tale. And tarted-up it is; although the Marquis really spent the last years of his life in a French insane asylum called Charenton, and Abbé Coumier and the laundress Madelaine (played by Joaquin Phoenix and Kate Winslet) were real people, the story is a complete fabrication. It’s true that at one point de Sade’s quills and paper were taken away from him, but in reality the Abbé was able to ameliorate the situation.

In Quills, by contrast, Napoleon is so outraged by the scandalous things de Sade is writing that he sends a physician, Dr. Royer-Collard (played by Michael Caine) to the asylum to silence de Sade by either curing him or killing him. The doctor is a completely fabricated character (modeled, supposedly, on Kenneth Starr), and therefore so is the conflict between de Sade and the doctor around which the movie revolves. When Royer-Collard orders de Sade’s ink, paper and quill pens removed so that he will no longer be able to write, de Sade uses wine for ink and writes on his bedsheet. As the battle of wills escalates de Sade is forced to use his own blood for ink, and later he writes a story on a dungeon wall in his own excrement. A ripping good tale—but none of it really happened.

Quills strives to turn de Sade into a noble victim of repression who refuses to be silenced, a champion of free speech and artistic expression who valiantly makes his voice heard at all costs. That’s what the studio will be saying around Academy Award time, anyway. But it doesn’t quite work—de Sade’s compulsion to express himself looks more monomaniacal and compulsive than noble.

As history and biography, Quills fails. As a political and philosophical statement it’s a muddle. You’ll enjoy it much more if you approach the movie as a gigantic leather/SM fantasy presentation, probably the biggest one you’ll see this year (or ever). Whether inadvertently or by design, the makers of this film have included something for every kinky person’s taste. Oriental sex toys, dungeons, wrought-iron cages, bondage furniture (who wants to be the first to try the dunking chair?), torture chambers (therapeutic, of course), an exquisite flogging scene complete with aftercare, blood sports, branding, scat—it’s all here, beautifully lit and lushly photographed. You’ll have fantasy material for a long time.

None of the on-screen kink, of course, is safe, sane or consensual, but as a fantasy it doesn’t really have to be. Well, anyway, we in the leather/SM community know it’s a fantasy and do-not-try-this-at-home-without-proper-precautions. But what about all those non-kinky moviegoers out there? What image are they getting of “what it is that we do?” Unfortunately, not a very nice one.

The fact that the main backdrop for the film (and all its kinky activities) is an insane asylum isn’t terribly flattering. And the kink is certainly not shown as healthy or enjoyable; as portrayed in this film, kink is violent and cruel (and sexist to boot), and people wind up dead, maimed or insane as a result. This is reminiscent of two mid-century movies I recently watched, The Children’s Hour and A Walk on the Wild Side, with lesbian characters who were killed off at movies’ end; Hollywood at the time evidently believed that lesbianism was a crime punishable by death. So it seems with kink according to Quills: kink = madness = death. Lovely.

Not that the real-life Marquis was much better—he was certainly no proponent of “safe, sane, consensual” either, and he therefore makes a somewhat embarrassing patron saint and poster-boy for the community. But for Quills to take de Sade’s story and, uh, pervert it by trying to make it even more sensational, violent and repugnant than it already was . . . that’s really twisted. And, for Hollywood, par for the course.

A Winter’s Worth of Leather Activities

(Leather Life column published in Lavender Magazine, Issue #147, January 12, 2001)

Congratulations. You made it through another holiday season. Now comes the hard part—getting through the rest of winter, the part without the glittery holiday lights. If you’ve gone from having no free time during the holidays to suddenly having too much, here’s a whole winter full of leather activities to keep you occupied.

Jan. 12: Make hotel and weekend package reservations for International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago. It’s not too soon, and it may almost be too late. The event doesn’t happen until May 24-28, but the host hotel always fills up early. This year it’s The Palmer House Hilton; rooms are $139 or $179 a night. In a retro nod to the 20th century, you cannot make room reservations through the hotel’s website—you must actually pick up the telephone and use your voice to talk to another human being. If you make your hotel reservations (or any other travel arrangements, leather related or not) through Carlson-Wagonlit Travel in Chicago and mention “Star File 6418,” they will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Leather Archives and Museum. You can also call the Palmer House directly.

IML weekend package reservations can be made by phone, fax (800-FAX-TIXS), TDD or online (www.boxofficetickets.com). Cost is $140/person, and reserved seating is based on order date, so an early weekend package order equals a better seat at the contest. Find all the details at www.imrl.com.

Jan. 12-15 (that’s this weekend): Mid-Atlantic Leather Contest, sponsored by the Centaurs MC (for the uninitiated, the “MC” means Motorcycle Club), Washington, D.C. This is the second-largest leather contest in the U.S.; if you’re not there this year, make a resolution to experience it next year.

Jan. 20: Atons Officer Installation. Somebody else besides Dubya will be taking the oath of office today: Sam Carlisle (President), Bruce Chambers (Vice-President), Keith Cheetham (Secretary), and Paul Rozendaal (Treasurer). See this issue’s Out & About Calendar for details or visit www.atons.com.

Feb. 9-11: Portland Uniform Weekend. If you’re into uniforms, Portland, Oregon, is the place to be this weekend. Visit www.inuniform.net for details.

Feb. 16-18: Pantheon of Leather/Olympus Leather Contest, New Orleans. The leather community’s version of the Oscars, and a contest to boot (no pun intended). Details: www.theleatherjournal.com/pantheon.htm.

Feb. 16-18: International Bear Rendezvous in San Francisco. Brought to you by Bears of San Francisco, www.bosf.org.

Feb. 17-25: It’s Old Anniversary Week at The Main Club in Superior, Wisconsin. Owner Bob Jansen presents one of the few good reasons to venture north at this time of year.

March 9-11: Dreams to Reality Weekend, Omaha. Any kinky person will enjoy this weekend, but it’s especially recommended for novices. Many local kinksters will be participating as workshop presenters or vendors. For more information, visit their website (by local community member and web designer Sweets) at www.dsfurn.com/dreams-to-reality.

April 6-8: The Black Guard present Black Frost 24, “Who Murdered Broadway”. Historically Black Frost is held in mid-February; by mid-April we can only hope the weather won’t still be frosty. The Black Guard promise a huge banquet and a show you won’t want to miss. For info and a run registration form write Run Registration, The Black Guard of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN.

April 27-29: boy Training Camp 3 in Dallas, Texas, presented by The Leather Network. They’re serious about it if you are. You’ll find LOTS of info at www.leathernetwork.com/subboy.

And there’s more! Local kink group TIES presents their Munch the last Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM at Legends, 825 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Put on your black (or even your brown) leather and head to St. Paul for country-and-western dance nights at Lucy’s (Thursday, 8 PM-midnight) and Club Metro (Sundays, 7:30-11 PM). And check the websites of the North Country Bears (www.ncbears.com) and Naked Minnesota (www.nakedmn.org) for information about their wintertime activities.

Of course, for leather atmosphere there’s The Minneapolis Eagle seven nights a week and The Tank (at The Saloon) on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. To add to that leather atmosphere and break up the monotony of the long winter, shop at Fit to a T Leather (located downstairs at Club Metro in St. Paul). And if you really get bored, Fit to a T also has all the leather-care supplies you’ll need to tackle that perfect winter project: cleaning and polishing your leathers.

There. That should give you something to do until the snow melts (and yes, it will eventually melt).