Over Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Chicago for the 30th annual
International Mr. Leather. We stayed at the host hotel which was the Hyatt
Regency on Wacker Drive. We have missed the last couple of years so we had lots
of catching up to do with friends that we haven't seen for years. It was an
amazing time.

If you have never been to such an event, you'll find that it is quite an
experience. There are all types of men into all types of fetishes--everything
from the once-a-year leather as a costume guys to the hardcore 24x7 lifestyle
people. If you just like looking at eye candy, this was a dream weekend.
15,000 of some of the hottest guys on the planet. There were porn stars
and porn stars to be every where you looked. I would venture to say that
virtually every fantasy and fetish that you have heard of or dreamed of was to
be found there this weekend.

The hotel hung large curtains in front of the doors with signs that read that
the hotel was reserved for a private function. This was great because guys could
walk around bare-assed without being subject to indecent exposure laws. The
staff was more than cordial, and provided excellent service to everyone, whether
they were standing at the lobby bar in a jockstrap and boots or in a full puppy
costume. When we were leaving, the bellman that called the cab and loaded our
bags for us told us to "Come back next year. We love having you guys here
because you never complain, you tip well, and you guys always look like you're
having fun." Very, very cool to hear.

There was a huge vendor market where you could spend every dime of your hard
earned cash on things that are sometimes hard to find other places, or perhaps
you didn't want to buy online, sight unseen. Vendors were on hand selling all of
their wares from all over the world. Great place to max out your credit
cards. (I got the coolest cock ring, and the custom fitting was thrown in
at no charge! LOL)

We attended a great bareback party with close to 100 guys, no attitudes,
three slings, and more unbridled lust than you can imagine. Just stand there
stroking your cock for a minute and you were about guaranteed to have some one
bend over in front of you and push back onto your cock. The slings were a
constant rotation of hot guys wanting their holes worked over. And I got
to take my first ladder on a cock about the size of my wrist. Fuck! In addition,
we had lots of more casual hookups and a couple of 8-10 guy mini-orgies.
Truly a pig's heaven!.

So, why would I title this "Marginalized in our own community?" The contest
itself was the low point for me. Chuck Renslow, the founder of the IML
organization, spoke at the opening of the contest. He welcomed us to the event,
talked some about the history, and then talked about how the leather and fetish
elements have fought for acceptance in the community. He talked about how the
original leather roots have grown from a rather exclusive group of "Old Guard"
Leathermen in the beginning to include casual leather wearers, women, uniforms
(military, sports, blue collar), the so-called "New Guard", fetishists, and a
host of new clothes, kinks, and accessories. Then he stated that "we drew a line in the sand at crystal meth and barebacking."

Now I'm not one to use party
drugs and when I am craving a hard cock, nothing pisses me off more than a Top
with a beautiful cock that is limp as a wet noodle because he's been tweaking.
Crystal meth is illegal, but barebacking is not. How does one lump those both
into the same category? The whole talk was about being inclusive to each other
and not accepting being relegated to second class status by others, but then
barebackers were specifically targeted as one of the two groups that it is okay
to exclude or treat differently. How the fuck does that work?

As a community, the GLBT people have fought long and hard to keep the
government and the churches out of our bedrooms. What goes on behind closed
doors is our business as consenting adults. People like the Lambda League have
been fighting sodomy laws all over the country and have through their tireless
efforts, changed the laws in many parts of the country so we can live our lives
without the fear of the sex police knocking down our doors and arresting us. We
can fuck, suck, rim, piss, spit, spank, slap, poke, punch, dress up, dress down,
feed, felch, and fist, and it is our right to do it without anyone telling us
what we can and can't do. But here is someone that has fought the battles
to get leather and fetishes accepted into the mainstream, telling me that I
can't bareback if I choose to. Frankly I feel that this type of attitude
is the thing that is the most subversive and destructive in our community--the
desire to discriminate against someone.

For me, I can't understand the people into scat. I find that particular
bodily function something that I just cannot wrap my head around. I realize that
a little may go with the territory when you practice anal sex and even with
proper preparation, accidents can happen. But I can't understand how someone
could get sexual gratification from it. None the less, I don't want to
limit the rights of those that enjoy this practice to fulfill their desires (but
not in my living room, thank you!). Likewise, stay out of my bedroom Mr.
Renslow. I am an adult, I am informed, I understand and I accept
the risks that I know are there. Do not marginalize me for living my life
in the way I choose and enjoying sex the way I want to enjoy it.

Folks, those that are the most against us don't see all of the diversity in
our community, instead we are all the same, we're all "FAGS". Aren't those the
people that we should be concentrating our battles against? We don't have to
agree with each other, and we don't have to all conform to the same cookie
cutter mold, in fact, I'm sooooooooo glad we don't! But if we are
going to truly be a united front in the battle against those that don't want
gays to have any rights in this country, we have to learn to respect each
other's differences, be happy that others have found what gets them off, and
learn to fight as a united front.

All the BBest!

                  --BBAdmin