august 4 . 2000 < Jaaat MK135
o you think the pride celebrations end in
June for Oregon residents? Think again.
This month, the various leather and
fetish organizations in the Portland area
are sponsoring the fourth annual Leather
Pride Week. T he clubs have put together a
wide range of activities centering on three
agendas: education, fund raising and fun.
Although often marginalized by the
queer community at large— and vilified
by the religious right— the leather com
munity is a thriving part of the Portland
scene. Those who are members of the
“scene” aren’t always easy to categorize.
Some wear leather as a fashion state
ment or because it looks good. Some
enjoy the dynamics of power exchange or
role playing in their relationships, whether
long-term or more fleeting. Some engage in
B/D/S/M
(bondage/dom i na t ion/sad ism/masochism)
practices, always staying mindful of the com
munity motto: “Safe, Sane and Consensual.”
Some in the leather community don’t wear
much leather at all, opting instead for other
fetish clothing such as uniforms, latex or lace.
In the 1970s, the leather scene was concen
trated mainly on men, who congregated at JR ’s
Cell and private parties. W ith the 1987 found
ing of the Seattle-based National Leather Asso
ciation— and, shortly thereafter, a Portland
chapter— and the 1989 founding of the Oregon
Guild Activists of S/M (O R G A SM ), the move
ment became much more engineered toward
both educational functions and pansexual activ
ities, which allowed men and women of any
sexual orientation to interact and participate in
activities together.
“W hen I first wore leather out to the bars,
most of the gay community would avoid any
one in leather,” says Paul Tucker, one of the
leaders of the social group Portland Leather
Men. “Over time, the separation between men
and women and leather and nonleather has
lessened. Today, anyone can wear leather with
out having it assumed they are into heavy S/M.
In some ways, I miss the clear distinction of
leather, but in many other ways, 1 enjoy the
more inclusive atmosphere of today."
KT Chase, Blackout Leather Productions
president, has held the titles International Master
1992 and Ms. National Leather Association-
International 1992-93. She notes that in the past
decade, she has “seen many improvements in
education and information directed towards
the leather community. There are vast
improvements in organizing and formation
of specific groups that meet the needs of
our diverse community. Acceptance of
heterosexuals and transgenders has also
improved. We still have a long way to go,
but some things are definitely better
than they were in the past.”
One of Portland’s two most
visible groups, Blackout
Leather Productions is a
nonprofit “organized exclu
sively for charitable, reli
gious, educational and sci
entific purposes,” Chase
says. “We produce events
that benefit organizations
throughout the community.
Blackout’s participation in
Oregon Leather Pride Week is
part of this effort to raise such
funds.”
Although many of Blackout’s
past functions have benefited
causes as diverse as breast cancer
research, battered women’s shelters
Dustin
and AIDS hospices, Chase says:
Posner
This year, our selected charity for
poses
Leather Pride Week is H AAP (the
HIV/AIDS Awareness Program out of the Ore
gon State Penitentiary). HAAP educates
inmates about the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Inmates who graduate from this program, upon
their release, go out into the general community
and do outreach to educate other members of
our society.”
The other main sponsor of Leather Pride
Week is the Portland Leather Alliance, a
group formed after political battles led to a
split-up with the National Leather Association
in late 1998. Another not-for-profit corpora
tion, the alliance is “the largest pansexual
organization in the Northwest offering sup
port, outreach and education for the B/D/S/M-
leather-fetish community,” secretary Michael
Marks says. “Straight society often sends
negative images of B/D/S/M and related
activities and makes out the practice of
B/D/S/M as some sort of sinister endeav
or. PLA, along with groups such as the
Rose City Discussion Club, provides a
welcoming climate for practitioners of
alternative sexual activities and
introduces them to other people
who validate their inclination
that what they do in their bed
rooms is not sick, devious or
dangerous to society at large."
According to Marks, the
alliance “provides outreach not
only to members of the
B/D/S/M-leather-fetish commu
nity but also to other sexual
minorities and individuals who
are marginalized from the
straight world. In the past, the
PLA has raised funds and dona
tions for Esther’s Pantry, the
Sexual Minorities Youth
Resource Center and the
Bradley-Angle House, among
other local charitable organi
zations." In addition, the
alliance maintains regular
contact with groups
The PLA
board gets happy
including the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court,
the Portland Bisexual Alliance, Pride North
west, the Lesbian Community Project, the
Northwest Gender Alliance and, recently, the
Portland Police Bureau’s Sexual Minorities
Roundtable “to make sure that all alternative
sexual communities are represented in efforts
to create a safe climate in which members of
sexual minorities can live their lives.”
Education and technique are the main
goals of the pansexual Rose City Discussion
Club, which welcomes men and women older
than 18, no matter what their sexual orienta
tion or skill level. Founded in 1993, it plays
host to workshops with titles such as “Spank
ing Good Time,” “Dungeon Etiquette,” “Role
Play” and “Switching Sides,” with guest
speakers and experts offering resources in a
friendly, social atmosphere.
According to its mission statement, the
club offers “an informal neutral forum and a
supportive environment to diverse alternative
interests.” Stressing education, resources and a
social atmosphere, it “promotes the encour
agement of people in their acceptance of
themselves as normal, productive individuals
Contact Information
• Blackout Leather Productions:
BlackoutOR@aol.com
• Portland Leather Alliance:
(503) 727-3148, b@pdxleatheralliance.org,
www.pdxleatheralliance.org
• Rose City Discussion Club:
(503) 972-1869, rcdc@teleport.com,
www.teleport.com/-rcdc
• Lulu’s Pervy Pbyhouse:
Lululist@hotmail.com,
www.spiretech.com/- awntie/luiu htm
that also have unique preferences. Different is
the norm here.”
For those who want a more hands-on ap
proach to the leather world, Portland has sever
al monthly pansexual parties as well as men-
only and women-only play parties. Marks is
one of the organizers of Portland’s Men-
Only P by Party, which meets the second
Saturday of each month at a lavishly deco
rated home “dungeon.” The gathering is
not only a place for men to engage in
fetish activities, it is yet another chance
for men to socialize and leam about their
different interests and techniques.
The same night as the Men’s Party—
at a different location— Ruth plays host
to Lulu’s Pervy Playhouse. Also known as
“Dyke Daddy," she has been active in the
B/D/S/M community for more than 20 years.
The organizer of “Leather Tastings” during
Leather Pride Week each year, Ruth says she
co-hosts three B/D/S/M play parties a month,
including Lulu’s Pervy Playhouse, a social/play-
oriented B/D/S/M group for self-identified
women only.”
A more social group is
Portland Leather Men,
which has been meeting
for almost two decades.
Tucker explains the group
originally started meeting
in a restaurant, then
switched to monthly
potlucks in members’
homes.
“The group has never
had officers, bylaws, dues or
any formality,” he said. “We
just meet the second Saturday
of the month at a home to
share food and leather news
and to socialize and meet old
and new leather friends.”
He grins and adds: “Several marriages have
resulted over a good plate of food. We welcome
any man who is interested in leather, be he a
novice or an old pro who bought his first set of
chaps when Oregon was a territory.”
Two years ago, after Leather Pride Week,
Dustin Posner organized a twice-monthly set of
leather socials at the Dirty Duck. O n the first
and third Friday evenings of each month, he
encourages everyone in leather to show up for
socializing and fun.
“I was dissatisfied when I would go out and I
didn’t see friends and peers,” Posner says. “This
gave us a way of being organized and coming out
at a time when you know you’ll see your friends.”
Posner says for him, the leather community
represents “a sense of tribe, identity and family
in a way I hadn’t experienced before.”
■ See Page 24 fo r details on m ost L eather P ride
WEEK events.
ANDY M an gels is a longtime Portland enter
tainment writer with three hooks and hundreds o f
com ic hooks and magazine articles to his credit. You
can write him at A M angeisSW @ aol.com .
Men-Only P b y Party:
bighnbtiy@teleport.com
• Portland Leather Men:
ftirry@aracnet.com
• Leather Socials:
pdxsaltydg@aol.com
• PD X -A SB (an e-mail list):
majordomo@agora.rdrop.com
(include subject header subscribe pdx-asb)
• Leather P D X (an e-mail list):
leathcrpdx -owner@onelist.com,
www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/leatherpdx
•
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