THE LEATHER CAUCUS REPORT CREATING CHANGE 1996

Folks at the Alexandria Raddison Hotel in the DC metro area saw something other than the usual suits and tourists on the weekend of November 8-10, 1996. Over 1500 gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people converged on the site for the Ninth Annual Creating Change conference, sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it, NGLTF is a national organization that has been on the leading edge of the fight for equal rights for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. Though there has been a sm/leather/fetish presence there from the beginning, this year there were more specific workshops and events for us than ever before.

From the beginning I knew it was going to be a leather weekend. Senator Barney Frank, speaking in the opening plenary about the difference between the historical oppression of gays and lesbians and the historical oppression of blacks in this country pointed out that "we were never slaves". He added, "at least not involuntarily."

It got even better from there. Scheduled with four workshops, an evening reception, and a morning Leather Caucus there was barely enough time to get to the hundreds of other "regular" political activist workshops.

Friday night drew a crowd to a hotel-room reception for people of color and friends. Sponsored by DC Highwaymen -- one of the most diverse leather groups I've seen, thanks Herb! -- it was a time of sharing and bonding. Ric Morris and Karen Bullock-Jordan were wonderful hosts, and there were both the curious and the committed in attendance.

"Contests, Parties, Fundraisers, and Politics" started the weekend off. Led by Titleholder Ric Morris (Mr. Connecticut Leather) and Naria Bullock-Jordan (longtime leather activist) it was designed as a discussion, rather than a lecture. (It seems that the first thing political leatherfolks do when they go into a room is put the chairs in a circle) There were people of all experience levels. For novices the discussion ranged from an overview of how the contests circuit developed in the first place to the difference between contests leading to IML and those leading to the Mr. Drummer contest. For those who were more contest savvy, the discussion ranged from the question of where the money goes in privately run contests to the neccessity of coaching titleholders AFTER they win the contest and what it means to be a "good" titleholder. The cause for concern was Queerscout's reporting that he had been stripped of a title after winning it because of people who took offense at his attire. Apparently, wearing a leather skirt can help win someone a title, but they can't wear it afterwards.

"Coalition and Other Myths" was an attempt to learn about coalition building led by Lolita of Leather Pride Night - NYC and Stephanie Moore-Fuller, grassroots activist. Although a third presenter was unable to attend because of health and the discussion wandered, some invaluable techniques were examined, including the advantages of building a single-issue coalition and how to get others support for your cause by first supporting theirs. The participants made as much of a contribution as the panelists. Nance of the Fairness campaign of Louisville, Kentucky talked about how they successfully used the refusal of the city council to add sexual identification to the city's anti-discrimination clause to mount an incredibly effective grass roots coalition with various religious, African-American, and straight communities.

I led "The Leather Caucus" at 9:00 Saturday morning, and the early hour made it sparsely attended but filled with committed people. We identified what workshops we want to develop for next year and a few suggested topics follow: How to talk politics in leather circles. The barriers to youth as they explore their true sexuality at earlier ages. Leather Walls, Glass Ceilings - the importance and problems of being visible in existing gay and lesbian organizations. Out or Outlandish - How public should are private play be? It was a good session. There were people willing to work together. There was a sense of purpose. There were donuts.

"Leather Issues Update" made the year look like a case of win one, lose one for leather folks. John Weis spoke on how Gay Male S/M Activists (New York's largest gay SM organization) has lead the struggle to put a stop to Michael Payte, also known as "the Dangerous Top". Their efforts culminated in a Village Voice piece that documented (along with the District Attorney's office and the local Anti-Violence Project) case after case of dangerous, abusive, non-consensual scenes initiated by Mr. Payte. Publicity has caused him to go underground, and -- at least in the New York leather community -- has made it impossible to meet victims through local leather bars. The Village Voice article also made a clear distinction between his behavior and "Safe, Sane, and Consensual" SM.

The Houghton case was also reported on, though second-hand. "Houghtons" is an assumed name of a heterosexual leather couple who had their children taken into foster care because of a video tape stolen by a neighbor depicting a flogging scene and because of a zealous district attorney. Their unwillingness to go public with their real names has caused concerns that there may be more to the story than we are being told, dispite the involvement of the reputable folks at Boudoir Noir and several personal defense-fundraising appearances around the Northeast.

"Once Upon A Time" featured three erotic readings and discussion afterwards. Nearly forty people, including many young and curious, were spellbound by tales of bondage, knifeplay, watersports, pain, and power-exchange. The only interruption was after Ric Morris (Theater major at Yale) read a selection by David Stein. The room had become noticably warmer and we had to get four more pictures of ice water!

The discussion was honest and spontaneous, with questions like "What's the difference between SM and S & M?", "What's the appeal of someone relieving themselves on you?", "How can I explore humiliation scenes in my relationship?", and "How do you find someone you can trust enough to tie you up?" We ran out of time, but some of the moderators offered to answer questions... personally... afterwards.

There was also a spotaneous meeting for Youth in Leather in a hotel room. As people come to terms with their sexual identity as gay and lesbian earlier, it seems that they are exploring kink earlier as well -- though many of us old timers started very young ourselves, I assure you. There are tremendous problems with getting proper training and support from the older leather community because of legal and social concerns. Before the weekend was out the leather youth decided to do something about it for next year. Plans are underway for a leather-youth speaker on a panel about youth and sexuality, and a leather-youth caucus to discuss the invisibility of youth in the leather community and the realities and legalities of starting leather youth groups.

Overall, What set the weekend apart from any leather event was the type or leatherfolk it attracted. People in attendence were already sold on the idea that individuals could make a difference in making the world a better, fairer place.

Throughout the weekend there were concerns that we work on other projects throughout the year and not just an annual conference. We talked about the need to make sure that Domestic Violence activist are aware of what Safe Sane and Consensual means. We talked about how we need raise political awareness in our bars, contests, and conferences in addition to cruising for hot men (or women or both). We talked about finding ways to take stock of our rich, diverse resources in our community, and making them work for the benifit of all.

Though there certainly was a sex-positive attitude about the conference, we were finding a solidarity with, and respect for, one another that went beyond any physical attraction. There were certainly private play spaces available including a fabulous women's party sponsored by Black Rose, but it was not the focus. The feeling for me wasn't one of looking for people to play with, but looking for people to (forgive me) Create Change with.

By the end of the weekend, there were a few more of us who became willing to do more than talk. There were specific projects that people signed on to, and others that folks started to seriously consider. Creating Change '97. Leather leadership training retreat. SM Action Coalition. Leather White Pages. On-line organization for leather youth. Leather Caucus homepage. Grassroots activism in Leather venues. The list continues, and the work is there to be done.

For any reader who wants to create change in their own life or in thier community, we invite you to share in, and contribute to, our resources, ideas, energy and vision. To talk about how, please contact me at SGiumento@aol.com or 310-410-4958.

Play Safe, Play Hard, and Play Real! UPDATE 98.02.12 From: LolitaSSC@aol.com Date sent: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 10:46:15 EST To: LolitaSSC@aol.com Subject: SPONSORS BACK LLC2 Send reply to: sm-act@unix.tpe.com SPONSORS BACK LLC2 Plans for the second annual Leather Leadership Conference (LLC2) are well under way thanks to the many that have agreed to sponsor the weekend long event which will take place April 17-19th in New York City. Sponsors include many SM/Leather groups from around the country including: Black Rose, TES, GMSMA, Society of Janus, NLA-International / Living In Leather XIII, Leather Pride Night, NLA:New England, Orlando Munchgroup, Dark Shadow, Knot For Everyone, and Arizona Power Exchange. Businesses and individuals have also rallied to support the event. They include Diversified Services / Boston Dungeon Society, Jack McGeorge, Hellfire / Manhole, Brush Creek Media, David Samuel Menkes Custom Leather, Purple Passion, The Leather Man, London Boutique, Butchmann's, John Weis, Z Triad, Michael Horowitz / The Accounting Group, House of Inneract, CHROME, Leatherweb, Lolita Wolf / Exemplar Printing Co., Donald & Susan Degnan - The Q's, Lucifer's Armory, Glove, Peggy aka O, Dee, Betty & Chris, Alternate Sources, Out-FM and NY Leather S/M. Building on the success of last year's conference, LLC2 is being produced by New York S/M Activists (NYSMA), an ad hoc group of NYC s/m activists consisting of men and women of all orientations. The primary goal of the Leather Leadership Conference is to develop and strengthen leadership skills for existing and potential new leaders in the s/m-leather-fetish community. Those attending this conference will participate in a wide variety of workshops that will address skills-building topics. Workshops for the conference may include Volunteer Management, Board Leadership Development, Public Speaking, Learning To Talk Politics, Lobbying, Seeking Diversity, Coalition Building, Advertising, Community/Grassroots Organizing, Time Management / Avoiding Burnout, Running An Effective Meeting, The Ins and Outs Of Running An Organization, and "So, You Want To Be A Titleholder." The cost of the weekend conference is just $75 (or just $50 if your registration is postmarked by March 31). To register, make your check payable to GMSMA and write LLC2 in the memo line (LLC2 thanks GMSMA for the use of it's bank account, however this is not a GMSMA event) and mail to LLC2, 332 Bleecker Street, #432, New York, NY 10014. Promotional brochures (both hard-copy and on-line versions) will be ready next week. Info: http://www.mcsp.com/smcop/llc/llc.html