The Black Death

Almost 80 years ago, the French surrealist Antonin Artaud recognized a different kind of theatre. He called it, “The Theatre of Cruelty.” No mere entertainment or amusement, The Theatre of Cruelty is not based on text, concrete definitions, or the development of dialogue or character. Instead, it is visceral, based in the body. Cruel, not because of its foundation in sadism, but rather because of the brutality of its operation in exposing the honesty of the moment. As a collective phenomenon, The Theatre of Cruelty is a contagion that, once under the skin, consumes like the plague. Artaud compared its effects to the Black Death in medieval Europe.

The Theatre of Cruelty is an appropriate description of the effects of Leather during in my own life. My initial experimentation gave way to an honest exploration of my sexuality, finally, coloring my phenomenal world. Another victim of the Black Death.

In Venice, there were two types of individuals who ministered to those inflicted with the Plague. The first is a well-known trope, the Plague Doctor. With his oiled, black robe, his beaked mask filled with camphor and herbs, the Plague Doctor pointed out the buboes on the body of the plague victim with a long, wooden cane. By maintaining a distance from the plague victim, the Doctor could avoid being contaminated by the Black Death.

The second type was a group of men called “i pizzigamorti.” These men were outlaws, outcasts like the people to whom they ministered. They can be seen in Venetian paintings, their naked, sinewed bodies in direct contact with the bodies of the inflicted. In this way, they, too, became inflicted themselves with the plague.

This year as International LeatherSIR I have not tried to keep myself apart from my peers. I have shared myself openly through conversation, blogs, and social networking. I have fucked and played in public dungeons, backyards, and sex clubs. Thus, I have been infected again and again with the contagious perversity of Leather.

After twenty-five years, I find that I have come full circle in my Leather, back to the place where I began. I remain curious and excited to learn more about the depths of my dark sexuality through my play. And I continue to question how I relate to that group of individuals that consider themselves my “Community.”

The Plague inflicts totally, and without mercy.