What is a Fantasy? Advice for Future LeatherSIR/boy Contestants

The fantasy is a genre unique to our Leather tradition. The performance of fantasies onstage goes back to the early 1980s. In a general sense, fantasies are an opportunity for Leatherfolk to have fun on stage and to show off their SM prowess. In the past, it was not unusual for full evenings of fantasies to be produced as fundraising events, each titleholder vying to be the most inventive. In the context of LeatherSIR/Leatherboy, the fantasy gives each contestant the opportunity to demonstrate creativity and stage presence. It also allows him to show off his play skills while providing a necessary respite for the audience from the more formal elements of the contest.

The fantasy portion carries a great deal of weight in the judging of a LeatherSIR/Leatherboy contest. 60 points total, as much as the Interview portion. It should be planned out far in advance, with music, costumes, staging, and props carefully chosen.

Here are the things I look for when I judge a fantasy:

• The fantasy must have a plot, that is, a beginning, a middle, and an end to the narrative.


• A fantasy must be entertaining. Humor and surprise are often useful in telling a story and in engaging the audience.


• The fantasy should use tropes common to Leather or contemporary society. For example, if the given theme is MOVIES, using "Rocco and His Brothers" is not a good choice. While a brilliant, Italian film (and one of my personal favorites), it is a poor choice because most people have not seen it. For the Northwest regional contest I chose "The Wizard of Oz" because everyone knows it and recognizes the characters.


• Action should be broad. A good rule of thumb, eliminate unnecessary movement. Think in terms of big gestures. The performance often takes place in a bar setting with less than adequate stage lighting and lots of noise. Trying to communicate onstage creates a challenge. Using movement well can overcome these obstacles.


• Good fantasies often include the audience as an unseen "player." This can be done by using the old theatre trick. Address the audience directly at times, turning to look out as if to share a secret. Playing with the audience as a performer can often bolster weaker sections of the narrative.


• The music must be supportive of the action. It helps if it has a driving beat. Avoid using recorded narrative as much as possible. In fact, mix your own music. It's easy and fun. And with today's powerful computers and media applications there is no excuse for relying on found material. For my ILSb fantasy, BAD WOLF, I spent at least 20 hours to find the right music and sound samples. I used three Nine Inch Nails mixes of "Closer," two songs by Sam the Sham and the Pharohs from the 1960s, and at least ten, live wolf calls.


• Finally, a fantasy MUST have play. Actual play, not just feigned play. While a fantasy is NOT a scene, it must demonstrate your ability as a player. Once again, in BAD WOLF, I single tailed Little Red Riding Hood, boy dan. With no warm up, he took the whip and stayed in character, not an easy feat. And his reaction to the severity of the whip was part of the narrative.

I love the fantasy tradition in Leather. As a Leatherboy, I looked forward to the fantasy portion of the old Drummer contests, the highlight of the evening. I am especially proud that the LeatherSir/Leatherboy contests continue to build on that tradition.

To sum it all up, play and have fun!

What I learned at Leather Camp: Wichita, Kansas

Leather runs and contests come in all shapes and sizes. IML, the grandaddy of them all, offers something for almost every taste, with thousands of Leather clad men, giant dance parties and an enormous vendor mart. Often small runs are neglected in favor of attending larger events. This weekend I was the guest of Wichita's local Leather club, WOOLF, at their annual run, Leather Camp VI. This run includes their regional contest, Central Plains LeatherSIR/Leatherboy/Community Bootblack, a feeder to the International contest in July.

Although there was only one bootblack competing this year, future years should see a more robust field of contestants. Young, Mid-West Leatherboys were in abundance. And there were the volunteers that worked seamlessly together to create a great contest and run.

This club knows how to treat an International Titleholder! From the moment I arrived in Wichita until my departure, someone was always close by to tend to my needs. What stood out was the fact that the event's success did not seem to rely on one or two people. The club had spread around tasks. And if a conflict arose in the course of the weekend, I was unaware of it. No politics or drama. A well-run event suggests a good club where all members take part.

WOOLF set a high standard of hospitality for the rest of the year. I expect to see some great regional titleholders coming out of Central Plains in the years ahead.

Thank you, Wichita!

From the Judge's Chair: Portland, Oregon

I was honored to be one judges last night that chose shell Bishop and Peter Pinn Palermo as Ms. and Mr. Oregon State Leather. Two people in the Portland Leather Community with very different backgrounds in Leather and kink.

shell is owned by a Mamma and a Sir. she is Northwest Community Bootblack 2008. Although young, she has an impressive background in service and play. A femme girl who not only charms through her pixie, good looks, but also through her intelligence and wit. Sexy without being vulgar. she represents the next generation of female titleholders.

Peter has been in the Leather community for just a few years, although he admits that he has been lured by Leather for far longer. Born and raised in Boston, he came to Oregon via Seattle where he did volunteer work for Chicken Soup Brigade and the Tacky Tourists. He identifies as a Radical Faerie. Upon meeting him, I was immediately struck by his dark Italian good looks. Most striking, his eyes that betray the confidence and spontaneity that defined his answers both in the interview and onstage. I was also impressed with his genuine humility and openess to those with more experience.

I always find it difficult to be a judge. Only one person can win. Unfortunately, too many contestants believe that the reason to run for a title is to become number one, to beat out their fellow contestants. But I did not run for either the Northwest or the International titles to win! In fact, I refused to think about winning during the contest. Instead, I focused on doing my best.

Running for a contest is a wild ride. And it is an exercise in building community. At a contest, all the competitors share the same challenges. Backstage at the ILSb/ICBB competition, when someone needed help with a quick change, or when a boot was scuffed
or Leathers needed attention, a fellow competitor was always there to assist. This created a feeling of family that now extends beyond the confines of the contest. As a judge, I expect each contestant to demonstrate this spirit.

The ILSb weekend changed my life. I believe this is because I focused on living each moment to the fullest, to enjoying the communal experience of the contest. To those I judge this year, I encourage you to do the same. Let yourself go and enjoy the ride together with your fellow contestants. Create community. That is what these contests are truly all about.

In bocca al lupo!

A Tribute: Baltimore, August 7th

It was an honor to attend a tribute hosted by Mid-Atlantic LeatherSIR John and the Mid-Atlantic title family. In Leather and Love, a tribute to boy xody.

I did not know boy xody personally. I attended to support my title brother. I have great respect for Sir John because of a shared dedication to training boys in the traditions of Leather. Last night to pay homage to xody, he had arranged artwork and quotes of boy xody on tables in the back of the room. As I read this boy's words, I was moved. A great loss to this community.

I listened as Sir Kai bid good-bye to boy xody via telephone. And I listened as his sister thanked the Mid-Atlantic community for befriending her brother.

I reflected on the words of Master Mike Zuhl the day after the contest. "A boy is a rare gift," he said.

Far more than a scene partner, a Leatherboy accepts his SIR as Guide in a journey that will take years. This gradual journey contradicts the culture of immediacy prevalent in the North America, Europe, and many parts of Asia. A journey of self-discovery that defines the life we lead in Leather.

The SIR/boy bond is the paradigm of mentorship in our Tribe. It is the foundation of our play and our relationships. It is one of the primary features of the Gay Leather lifestyle.

In Leather and Love.

The Fetish Portal

Fetish 1 a : an object (as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner; broadly : a material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or reverence b : an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion : PREPOSSESSION c : an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification and that is an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression (Merriam-Webster)

In our Tribe we use the word “fetish” a great deal. Many of us consider Leather a fetish. Some, boots and tight gloves. Fetish seems to be the foundation of our gear and much of our play. But seldom do we reflect on the actual role that fetish plays relative to our sexuality.

According to the dictionary, fetish has three essential meanings: an object with presupposed, magical powers; an object of devotion beyond reasoning; and an object that stands in the way of full, sexual gratification. I am especially interested in the third definition that states that a fetish acts as an obstacle to “complete sexual expression.” While this may be true relative to the hegemonic confines of sexuality, I view fetish as a portal, that is, as an object that operates beyond logic in order to bestow the gift of unhampered, physical expression. Subsequently, one feels free to explore the body through experience that is not hampered by contemporary, heterosexual morality.

This morning as I pull a half mask off the positive mold, I stroke the smooth, exterior surface of the leather. I examine the miracle of forming vegetable tanned leather. I look at the small, respiratory opening and the overall shape of the mask and my cock becomes tumescent. I do not understand why the object has this power over me. And if I try to formulate a reason, the object loses its grasp on me. The fetish operates solely because I allow the visceral part of myself to come to the fore, quashing the more rational part. This action sublimates a sexual response that falls outside of social definitions. A more primitive expression that leads to orgasm with no simulation to intercourse.

I cum in every mask I make, usually adding my own blood. Occasionally, I piss on it. When I am done, I massage the sticky ooze into the rough side of the mask. Finally, I seal it so that the liquid becomes a permanent part of the leather. Sexual expression utilizing a variety of bodily fluids.

I can remember the first time that I did this. Late one evening, I pulled a mask from the form and left it on the counter. While pulling it, I cut my hand with the blade, bleeding profusely on the interior surface. The next morning immediately after waking, I stood over the mask, my erection pushing against my loose robe. I looked at the dark blood stain inside. Without thinking, I began stroking myself and shot into the mask, a vessel for my cum. And, in a fashion similar to that used to initially form the mask over the positive side, I massaged the negative side with my hands, slowly working in the liquid.

I never know at what point I will baptize a mask. Usually it is in the early morning. Always at an early stage so as to weld my bodily fluids to the object.

When worn, the mask transforms both through its limiting character and through its ability to alter the body’s shape. Apertures limit sensory functions. Actual contact with the skin becomes restrictive, often claustrophobic. In contrast, the new, assumed shape of the masked part causes a feeling of extension into new space. A new skin. As a result, movements are altered both by the struggle within the mask and the liberation without. Surrender to the masking experience has been the basis of contemporary acting exercises, historic theatre, and, more importantly, the foundation of primitive, ecstatic experience.

When not in use, I cover the mask by placing it in a bag. An object of transformative power, I protect it from the mundane objects used in daily life. Virtually everyone who does mask work does this. In fact, this was one of the first instructions I received when I began learning about leather mask making. Unless in use, cover the mask.

At home, I am surrounded by masks in my office. It is my sanctuary where I both work and meditate. They represent the different facets of my nature, a shape-shifter. Above the Buddha on my altar hangs a carved, Kenyan mask once worn during circumcision rites. Its small, relaxed mouth and downcast eyes reflect a guise similar to the one that I assume on the zafu, the cushion.

In like fashion, I have a fetish for boots. When I connect with a boot bottom, I enter what feels like a light trance or drugged-like state, a state where my senses feel heightened. In addition, the boots as fetish objects facilitate the emergence of my sadistic nature. I become hard and immediately feel a rush of power like a strong current in a river. And I give myself to it. Beyond logic or reason, I surrender myself to the fetish and the my position of dominance.

I would suggest that rather than being an obstacle to complete sexual experience, the fetish object liberates the expression of sexuality beyond the confines of social definitions. It counters the contemporary world by allowing entrance into a world more in touch with the phenomenal self. An experience more at home in the “primitive” world than the cerebral experience of Western culture.