As an adult, I am responsible for making my own informed decisions about what I will do with my body and whether or not I will bareback. The recent announcemnt of Chuck Renslow and the Board of Directors  that they “...will no longer allow participation in the IML Leather Market by any entity which promotes barebacking or distributes/sells any merchandise tending to promote or advocate barebacking. This restriction will also apply to distribution of gifts, post cards or any other information via our facilities.” is cause for me to withhold my support of the 2010 event and any future events produced under the direction of Chuck Renslow and the IML Board of Directors, as long as they try to shove their version of morality down our throats. 

True, we are three decades in to the ever changing world of HIV/AIDS, and there is no known cure. Renslow asserts that the CDC informs us that new infections are on the rise. Mr Renslow needs to stop 'spinning' stories, half truths, and statistics like politicians do, unless he is going to accurately cite the complete facts from the CDC as rendered on their most recent factsheet. Here's the link, if you dare: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/factsheets/transmission.htm

Barebacking is a choice that should always be consensual. Without barebacking, none of us would be here. So thanks to all the breeders who practice raw sex! Many forms of sexual activity present a certain amount of risk. Since everyone who attends IML and the Leather Market are supposed to be legal adults, we should all be aware of these risks, and be adult enough to make informed choices. Since Renslow et al have taken on this issue as their latest pet project, why not continue down the slippery slope like an extremist might do and ban other consensual play, which comes with what many consider is even higher risk behavior for a chronic STD, psycological, or bodily injury? Perhaps that is because his vendor mart would be EMPTY of vendors who would qualify! 

My partner very aptly points out that “...The gay community tends to say that women should have the right to choose what they do with their bodies, even when it involves taking the life of another living being, yet I get chastised for making my own choice about my body. Really? I can swim with sharks, jump out of airplanes, drive race cars, etc., all of which are high risk, yet I can't choose how to have sex? I think when we join in this type of thinking, it can be a slippery slope. We condone certain censorship, such as bareback, then there are others that want all sodomy to be outlawed, after all, it leads to this type of behavior, corrupts children, destroys families, etc. It caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, for Pete's sake! While we're at it, let's ban...” He goes on to say “Breath control is a popular diversion that many BDSM folks participate in, and you can buy that equipment and videos at the IML Vendor Mart. But people die from it...and there aren't any cocktails to buy you some extra from from suffocation. Scat and piss videos and merchandise are sold by vendors at IML. Yet there are a number of nasty diseases and parasites that are just waiting to find a new host. Hepatitis, ecoli, etc. Wait! Rimming can transfer those too.  We should also ban anything with rimming. Hmmm...HPV can be transmitted even with a condom, and then bi guys can give it to their wives/girlfriends. They could develop cervical cancer and die. Not to mention the risk of anal cancer in both men and women. 

See the problem with allowing them to dictate a certain bias? It's a slippery slope. And once we take some of our own rights away, it makes it that much easier for those that hate us to take away more. There are bigger problems facing the GLBT community than this. Death rates from HIV are far lower than lung cancer, heart disease, and diabetes among gay men. The CDC reports new infection rates are the lowest they have seen in thirty years, yet bareback videos are a relatively new phenomena within the last decade.”

Again, we are not making this up. Go to the CDC factsheets (link previously provided above) and see for yourself. 

So, bareback videos, websites, etc. are not the problem here. It would seem as if Renslow's effort is misdirected. There are greater problems facing our community such as workplace discrimination, unequal treatment and representation in government benefits and tax rules, survivorship laws, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell, to mention a few. Barebackers are not the greatest evil facing our community today. Liars and hypocrites are spreading more harm at a faster rate than any barebacker I have ever played consentually with. 

And finally to Mr. Renslow: It is your right to ban books and videos, gifts, post cards, or any other information and merchandise you like from your events. Your efforts, in my opinion, are in vain, just like those of Reverend Phelps from Topeka. I, along with large numbers of my friends, play partners, fuck buddies, and aquaintences, will continue to choose for ourselves how we fuck, where we fuck, and what erotica we will buy. My gay dollars will continue to support the outlets, events, and vendors who sell me what I want, and not try and be the morality police. 

No one can truly know a man's heart, and Mr. Renslow may have good intentions. However, a road paved with good intentions is often full of potholes and dangerously soft shoulders....

Sincerely,

Larry Everett

Consenting Barebacker

International Mr. Leather 1995