“The Hard Edge” Comes to San Diego Jan. 26-29 (tags)
The Hard Edge, the four-day series of Leather events and workshops sponsored by Ms. San Diego Leather 2009 Christi Campbell, will take place Thursday, January 26 through Sunday, January 29. Online registrations will be open until Wednesday, January 25 at http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=932418. Registrations can also be made in person at Pleasures & Treasures adult store, 2525 University Avenue in North Park, and at the opening event: an introduction and reception for the presenters Thursday, January 26, 7 to 9 p.m. at 428 Fourth Avenue, suite C, downtown San Diego. Locations for the other events will be given out only after people register.
Leather History Meeting Relives the Wounds of AIDS (tags)
Though it was billed as a panel on the history of San Diego's Leather community, the San Diego League of Gentlemen meeting July 1 turned into something else: an emotionally intense discussion and reminiscence of the effect AIDS had on the Queer community in general and the Leather community in particular. Themselves touched by the crisis directly ? all the panelists either had AIDS, took care of people who did or were active in the community's response ? they talked about the pain of losing so many friends but also how the community grew and its surviving members became more emotionally committed to each other.
KURT WENDELBORG: Not Your Typical Mr. San Diego Leather (tags)
Kurt Wendelborg may look like a typical Leather community titleholder — he’s tall, thin, in excellent shape physically and commandingly butch in his overall appearance and demeanor — but he really isn’t. Most of the Mr. San Diego Leather winners have been people who’ve lived in San Diego and been involved in community activities for years; Kurt had lived in San Diego less than a year when he ran for the title and won. Most of the title winners have been “tops,” playing the dominant role in scenes; Kurt not only is a “bottom” but proudly boasted about it from the stage at Rich’s during the March 19 contest. Offstage, Kurt is personable and easygoing but also passionate and dedicated about serving his community and his fellow human beings. He eagerly agreed to a Zenger’s interview and talked about the role of the title contests in the Leather community, his ambitions as a community leader and how he hopes being Mr. San Diego Leather 2011 will help him grow both personally and as a member of the Leather community.
Curtis Dixon: The Art of the Leather Bootblack (tags)
The Leather community has a lot of folkways non-Leather people are often baffled by, and one of them is the importance of the bootblack. Curtis Dixon has been bootblacking for almost a quarter of a century and has won several major honors in the craft. In this interview, celebrating the upcoming San Diego Leather Pride events in March as well as the California Leather SIR/boy contest in San Diego in May, Curtis talks about what bootblacking means to the Leather community as a whole and its importance to him personally
Michelle Jackson: Sign-Language Interpreter, First Female San Diego Leatherboys President (tags)
Michelle Jackson knew she was going to be interested in languages from the age of five,when her father took her across the border from San Diego to Tijuana and she heard Spanish for the first time. In college she studied American Sign Language (ASL) and ultimately made her living as an interpreter for the deaf community. It was a job she took to interpret at a San Diego Leatherfest that led her to the Leather/kink/BDSM community — and she's become an energetic activist in it, serving as Ms. San Diego Leather 2005 and recently being elected the first female president of the San Diego Leatherboys.
Mike Little, San Diego Leatherman, on IML, Community Service (tags)
San Diego Leatherman Mike Little ran for the 2009 International Mr. Leather title in Chicago in May and describes it as one of the most emotionally exhilarating experiences of his life. In this issue for the July 2009 Zenger's Newsmagazine, Little talks about his IML experience, his ideals and goals, and his extensive community service. He also stresses that Leather isn’t just about kink or sex; it’s a 24/7 commitment to goals of trust, honor, service and respect.
"Father of Gay Leather" Makes Rare Public Appearance (tags)
Larry Townsend, author of "The Leatherman's Handbook" and many other pioneering works about Gay Leather sexuality, made a rare public appearance March 13 in San Diego to honor outgoing Mr. San Diego Leather, Lee Butler. He talked about the ways the Leather community has evolved in his nearly five decades in it, and particularly the responsibility of older Leathermen to steer young people away from drugs and STD's.