Leather LODU # 1: Pride Jumps the Shark
Hello Kiddies,
It's been a ridiculously busy month or so here in the HSB, with the occasional time out for an exhaustion induced coma. I had options this weekend to head down to DC or up to Boston for respective events, but I'm having a mostly quiet weekend at home base to properly rest up and prepare for the fun over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's a tawdy tale of June hotness that sparks the debate, is Pride (Leather or otherwise) passe?
I can't believe it was ten years ago when I wrote this. I read it and wonder if it was an alternate universe. I went to LPN and while it was being held at Splash, someplace nowhere near the size of the cavernous Roxy of years ago, there was still plenty of room to move around as the attendance had dwindled significantly over the past few years. The 'alternate scene' in NYC seems to have overshadowed the 'traditional' leather scene of TES/GMSMA/LSM etc. The TES party at Paddles afterwards was absymally attended and I left after less than an hour there. I could argue the how's and why's of the shift, but that's a whole other post. One person said to me, "People now, especially young people, don't have the stigma of coming out anymore, so the Pride events don't really mean anything to them." Was that the goal all along? The Heritage of Pride March a week later seemed to hammer that point home. I did not attend because I was out of town, but reports to me from our marshals and group organizers were universally negative. HOP has shortened the March and eliminated the themed sections, and just put groups in random order without any real thought. The contingent from TES was less than a half-dozen folks. From what I understand, most leather groups have declined participation and HOP doesn't really seem to mind at all. Is this the result of 'mainstreaming' the LGBT presence? Are leather groups no longer considered a desirable element? Maybe those involved more than I can perhaps shed light on it. I'm not making judgments, merely observations.
The flip side of this is Folsom Street East, where the kinky gathered to mingle and have some fun in the sun (and exhausting heat). I set up and manned the TES Table for a good while, which had a nice spot in the shade right outside Scores. The air conditioning leaked out whenever the doors opened which made our area quite the visited spot! I had fun and so did the rest of the folks that came out. Was it because of Pride or a good time? Who knows, but the more things change, the more they stay the same.
It's been a ridiculously busy month or so here in the HSB, with the occasional time out for an exhaustion induced coma. I had options this weekend to head down to DC or up to Boston for respective events, but I'm having a mostly quiet weekend at home base to properly rest up and prepare for the fun over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's a tawdy tale of June hotness that sparks the debate, is Pride (Leather or otherwise) passe?
I can't believe it was ten years ago when I wrote this. I read it and wonder if it was an alternate universe. I went to LPN and while it was being held at Splash, someplace nowhere near the size of the cavernous Roxy of years ago, there was still plenty of room to move around as the attendance had dwindled significantly over the past few years. The 'alternate scene' in NYC seems to have overshadowed the 'traditional' leather scene of TES/GMSMA/LSM etc. The TES party at Paddles afterwards was absymally attended and I left after less than an hour there. I could argue the how's and why's of the shift, but that's a whole other post. One person said to me, "People now, especially young people, don't have the stigma of coming out anymore, so the Pride events don't really mean anything to them." Was that the goal all along? The Heritage of Pride March a week later seemed to hammer that point home. I did not attend because I was out of town, but reports to me from our marshals and group organizers were universally negative. HOP has shortened the March and eliminated the themed sections, and just put groups in random order without any real thought. The contingent from TES was less than a half-dozen folks. From what I understand, most leather groups have declined participation and HOP doesn't really seem to mind at all. Is this the result of 'mainstreaming' the LGBT presence? Are leather groups no longer considered a desirable element? Maybe those involved more than I can perhaps shed light on it. I'm not making judgments, merely observations.
The flip side of this is Folsom Street East, where the kinky gathered to mingle and have some fun in the sun (and exhausting heat). I set up and manned the TES Table for a good while, which had a nice spot in the shade right outside Scores. The air conditioning leaked out whenever the doors opened which made our area quite the visited spot! I had fun and so did the rest of the folks that came out. Was it because of Pride or a good time? Who knows, but the more things change, the more they stay the same.