PodCast: IML Bareback Issue

Brian and David B. over at The Occasional Fag hosted Will Clark and I on their Pod Cast to talk about the IML No-more-bareback-issue which recently came down the pipes.

I thought we had a great conversation. We touch upon a lot of topics surrounding this current event and other talking points which are inextricably entwined to the unsafe bareback sex topic.

Listen in: Click here for the pod cast.

Unbuckling Straps: An undoing of the NYC Leather Community

Past or present?

A week ago the decades-old organization of Gay Male S/M Activists (GMSMA) of New York put the kibosh on their twice a month meetings and community. Over the years numbers of attendees dwindled from hundreds to just a handful and as the letter below states, "there are simply not enough men who are willing and able to step forward to lead the organization."

The letter below was dropped in my inbox a few days ago.

I recently attended the final Wednesday night meeting of Gay Male S/M Activists (GMSMA). That’s right, I said “final.” Finished. Done. It’s over. The organization’s annual meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2009, was billed as a “celebration of GMSMA." What’s happening is that after decades of being a vibrant, thriving organization of gay men interested in learning about safe, sane and consensual s/m, GMSMA is now “transitioning” into a non-profit foundation. There will be no more Wednesday night programs.

During its heyday, GMSMA had hundreds of members from not only New York City but from across the country and even from overseas. Regular meetings were held twice a month, and it was not uncommon for the third floor meeting room of the gay community center on West 13th Street to be jam packed with dozens or even 100 or more men eager to learn and to socialize. One night the topic might be how to tie up your boyfriend in really good rope bondage, another time you could learn all about flogging and whipping, or how to put together a really kick-ass cop or firefighter uniform....

GMSMA was also an activist organization. Its leaders were instrumental in securing a place at the table for the leather community in groundbreaking gay civil rights marches in our nation’s capital. It was also the first s/m organization to include “S/M” in its title. That may not sound like much of a big deal today, but when GMSMA was founded back in 1981 those who engaged in s/m activities were often looked upon as freaks or deviants — even by those in the larger gay community. Believe it or not, GMSMA had to fight to be allowed to meet at the gay community center. In later years it became one of the center’s biggest financial donor organizations.

There were about 45 men in attendance at the last meeting in June, including a leather top who brought a very sexy and shirtless tattooed slave on a leash, who greeted the men he was introduced to by getting down on his hands and knees and licking their boots. Most who showed up were old-timers — one came in on the train from northeastern Connecticut. A few who came were newer members. At least half — including me — were former board members of the organization who had put in years or in some cases even decades of service to the community. But when the official business of the meeting got under way and the remaining officers announced the sad plans to effectively shut down the organization, only one man in attendance raised an objection.

It was painful for many others as well, but the unfortunate fact, what everybody knew — and what ultimately led to the end for GMSMA — is that there are simply not enough men who are willing and able to step forward to lead the organization anymore. The current board was down to just three members (a fourth signed on to help in the coming months with the transition). They were over-worked and under-appreciated. The harsh reality is that the organization simply could not continue to exist in its current form without more manpower.

It's unfortunate when an organization such as this, where gay men can come together and learn "safe, sane and consensual" ways to broaden their sexual horizons comes to a close.

I'm not a leather guy and I suppose that's just the problem. Very few men hovering around my age range and younger seem to be interested or know or know-to-care or care-to-know anything about the leather community or the meaning and history behind it. Sure some of us have our Sam Brownes and harnesses for events like The Black Party and Folsom Street East, when leather is acceptable and down-right dress code but by no means is there a trend going toward the leather lifestyle. Older friends tell stories of what leather truly means. That it is much more than fashion, accessories, more than "Masc and solid," more than butch and mean. Leather is a means to discovering the deeper connections two men can have between one another. A bonding experience. An exposure and measure of trust and vulnerability. Still, maybe for those of us whose closet doors were left ajar rather than bolted shut there isn't that search for sexual comprehension or need for fetish-based sexual fulfillment. Sex is here. It's now. It's out, it's open. It may not be talked about as much as it's happening but it is happening. The analogy of leather, no longer, necessarily applies? Maybe if play spaces and dungeons were more widely available, established or more culturally/socially accepted leather would be more current or stand a greater chance? Yet even though I'm one of those casual street event, Folsom-based leather guys it strikes me as a loss, a changing of landscapes, a shifting of wavelength when communities such as these meet an end.

Is it all be too far gone? The men of true leather are either dead or significantly older and the few still proudly fastening chaps and strapping harnesses, outside of commercial scenes, are seeing their beloved, sought out organizations closing. I suppose it's all fitting. What place does leather have these days? Here in NYC. New.York.City. We have only The Eagle, which is rather leather-light and The Lure and Spike are long gone, gone, gone. If International Mr. Leather and Mid Atlantic Leather are major events, then where are the pockets of that in other urban/rural areas? Have we become lazy or casually unconcerned?

Will we see a resurgence in leather and this community? Will men step up and lead or will this be yet another relic of our past?

Cubs, Like Us

(L2R: Alex, Yours Truly and Adam of ThisBoyElroy)

Alex and I spent all weekend lamenting having not gone to San Francisco for Folsom Weekend.

However, I knew I could count on the Monday morning update and digital picture gallery from one of my favorite bloggers, ThisBoyElroy, who now lives in San Francisco.

Sadly his blog post said this: "This weekend was our first Folsom Street fair. Loved it! This is definitely our favorite event of all the events we've been to in the city so far. Alas, we took no photos to document our good times."

In disbelief and disappointment I commented: "Wha-wha-what?! No pictures?! I waited all weekend for the Monday morning ThisBoyElroy perspective! Le' sigh. That's ok - I still love you. You had me at "bigmuscle party."

Then ThisBoyElroy responded, via personal email, something that I think only cubs, like us can truly appreciate: "Your head would have exploded Eric. The crowd was 95% 35+ muscle daddy fur ferociousness. I felt so young and so insignificant, a tiny meteor in a universe of Jupiters."

I melted.

BFLAG

Bear on Board

Tonight's episode of Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D-List followed her to the San Francisco International Bear Rendezvous where she did a cover shoot for A Bear's Life Magazine and preformed before a hefty crowd of 1500 at the Castro Theater.

When I got home I picked up my latest issue of A Bear's Life- The Pride Issue (aww, nuzzle nuzzle) and I read about the history of the lovable autumn colored symbol we now know as the bear flag.

"The International Bear Brotherhood Flag" was created 1n 1995 while Virgina Beach native, Craig Byrnes, was working toward his degree in psychology and needed to design a senior project that would explore the rapidly growing Bear culture developing since the 1980's.

"As a member of the Chesapeake Bay Bears (CBB), I had become involved with first hand experience of the growing bear movement. While developing my senior project, I thought it might be fitting to design a flag that would best represent the Bear community since there was no "official" Bear flag, and include it with the results of my research."

[...]

"It's a field of simple horizontal stripes with a black bear paw print in the upper left corner- a layout familiar to anyone who has seen the Leather Pride flag. The colors represent the bear fur colors and different nationalities: brown hair-brown skin, red hair-American Indian skin, blonde hair-Asian skin, white and gray hair-Caucasian skin, and black hair-African skin. We designed it with inclusivity in mind.

Soon after, a few computer generated images were created and woof! the Bear Flag was born.

What I love most in reading about all these flags and all these artifacts is that I learn they're not just simple symbols dulled out to the community because they're an easy fit, rather, they are well thought-out creations paying homage to both history and a sense of togetherness.

For instance, did you know Gilbert Baker assigned meaning to each color in the rainbow flag?
Original:

hot pink: sexuality

red: life

orange: healing

yellow: sunlight

green: nature

turquoise: magic

blue: serenity

violet: spirit

Modified

red: life

orange: healing

yellow: sunlight

green: nature

blue: serenity

violet: spirit

And did you ever notice that there's a nice red heart in the corner of the deep blue and black stripes of the leather flag?






And a Transgender pride flag-
Creator Monica Helms explains the colors mean: The light blue is the traditional color for baby boys, pink is for girls, and the white in the middle is for those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender, and those who are intersexed. The pattern is such that no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct. This symbolizes us trying to find correctness in our own lives.


Or that there's a Bisexual pride flag? Who knew?
(Creator Michael Page intended for the colors to mean: Pink- attraction to the same sex. Blue- attraction to the opposite sex and Lavender- attraction to both sexes.)



Geez, what a bunch of flags, eh?

Big "Arf" to Bear's Life Magazine for sharing the history- and whatever flag you carry or whatever color is your favorite- wave it out, baby.

Wave. It. Out.

Happy Friday.

Folsom East Video

Cute video made by my friend Juan-Jo Martinez: (Pictured below in my Folsom Pics post)

Happy Friday: Leather Edition

This upcoming Sunday marks the annual Folsom St. East festival which is one of my favorite days in New York. I often bill it as "Leather Day" and next to Rainbow Day (Pride) it is one of those not-to-be-missed have-fun gay events.

Although it's before my time I am familiar with the once strong and outstandingly popular leather scene and community which once thrived in NYC. In fact, my first NYC gay bar was The Lure which, like everything else seedy/fun, is now closed.

It seems as though from my research and reading into 1970's gay based literature that leather and leather theme used to rock NYC. If you delve into John Rechy's "Rushes" or Kramer's wincing satire "Faggots" you'll get a glimpse of how popular leather and leather scene use to be. (Older readers: I know these might not be the best or most extensive pieces of literature depicting this scene - so if you have more information or leads then please point them out.)

Now leather seems to have gone from Heavy Leather 70's/80's to Leather 90's to Diet Leather 2000's to "Ugh he has his shirt off again at The Eagle" or "OH MY GOD, look! Those two guys over there in the corner are getting off, quick point and laugh! Point and laugh!" in 2008.

If it's not coming across in the above mentioned I detest this type of judgment upon men who enjoy 1) taking their shirts off and celebrating that liberation or just simply enjoy it or 2) have the confidence to be free enough, or are turned on enough, to shrug and get off semi-discreetly right then and there.

Regardless of my tangent above I'm glad that Leather is still recognized enough for this day to be offered to the New York public and it is certainly a wonderful day spent with men, friends, leather and beer.

Go ahead and check out the fascinating blog Jeremiah's Vanashing New York where he does a wonderful then and now expose on New York's leather hangouts and what they have become.

"If you long for the days when the streets of the Village and Meatpacking were filled with men in assless chaps, instead of fratboy assholes, then go to Folsom Street East this weekend. In celebration of those vanished men in leather--many taken by the AIDS epidemic--enjoy my visual retrospective of the city's lost queer fetish clubs, showing them as they were yesterday...and what I discovered in their places today."

For instance:
Then (The Anvil)









Now (The Liberty Inn)










Then (The Badlands)












Now (Badlands Video)









His blog is pretty incredible be sure to check it out! Loving his motto: "Still hunkered down in the East Village, waiting for the wrecking ball of gentrification to find me. Until then, I'll write this ongoing obituary for my dying city."

The Spike

FYI:
The Spike re-opens tonight!
If I had more time right now I'd tell you my first Spike Bar experience...But I don't... Yet I still might, some day.

Jail Bait

Safer & Saner, the safe sex positive leather/fetish based organization brings you the 2nd annual Jail & Bail party this Saturday 1/25 at The Eagle. What I understand from the intriguing and sexy flier I have in my hand is that for 5 dollars you have the opportunity to have your friends get interrogated or arrested by leather clad muscle brutes. Once interrogated or arrested you have to suffer the consequences or bail yourself out by submitting to punishment or taking orders.

Mmmm..prison-y...

This sounds like a great party if you're looking to fulfill that rough and tumble prison/guard fantasy and/or a great opportunity to get a chuckle out of your more easy-to-be-embarrassed timid and prudish friends. I can name a few I'd LOVE to see get arrested!

All money goes to benefit Safe & Saner who's tagline is "Safe...Saner...All ways consensual."

SAFER+SANER was formed to provide sexual, substance, and physical safety information to the leather, BDSM, kink, and fetish communities. By engaging community members in innovative, artistic, and culturally appropriate prevention and education activities, S+S works to promote and support healthy decision making.

SAFER+SANER provides outreach services to leather and other community events; facilitates educational activities; and develops informational materials about leathersex practices. S+S has provided outreach services at many local, national, and international events including International Mr. Leather, American Brotherhood Weekend, Mid-Atlantic Leather, Mr. Toronto Leather, Ms. World Leather, Philadelphia Deaf Leather, and Pride in the City. S+S has also been the official safer sex sponsor for International LeatherSIR/boy and ONYX Blackout, and hosted monthly events at the Eagle NYC.