Master Walker`s Leather Perspective

Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Past
Present
Future
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Catacombs Owners: - Steve McEachern and Michael
Shapley
Past: Influences
1980
It was during this time
I first heard the words
Entered into a small Leather commune in 1980.
“The Sexual Frontier”
Attitudes were shifting. A cautious openness was
beginning to dawn and I was an early
experimentation.
And was corrected in
my terminology
One of the driving forces was the Catacombs.
Originally it was a gay only but Steve began to open
it to other groups—kinky lesbians, heterosexuals,
and bisexuals.
The mix got wild and caused no small stir among
the gay community at that time.
Jack Fritscher / Cynthia Slater, (the founder of the
Janus Society )and Jack’s brother’s sexual escapades
had the gay world all up in knots.
“ In our context - S/m
meant - Sensuality
and Mutuality”.
Other influences:
Joseph Bean was an early influence.
Leathersex: A Guide for the Curious Outsider and
the Serious Player
Tony DeBlase – The Leather Timeline
Guy Baldwin – Ties that Bind
Jack Rinella – Leather Views
To some extent I still see and adhere to Leather
ways and through the influences of my early days.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Past: Leather Form and Structure
Military Form
Military Form defined the rules we lived by.
1. My Way or the Highway
2. By Invitation Only - Exclusive Nature / Security
Needs
3. Be Respectful
4. Silence – (What happened in the family – stayed
in the family)
5. When in doubt, stop, look and listen more than
you talked.
6. There was Ranking System and classifications of
potential members. We weren’t all equal.
(As we grew we earned out places. We were
rewarded by the tradition, the giving of earned
Leather. This indicated the growing trust and/or
personal accomplishment for those within the
family.)
Photo by
Robert Mapplethorpe
Circ 1979
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Past: Leather Form and Structure
Leather Tribal Structure
Tribal Structure how we interacted with each
other. - They included protocols, rituals, and values and
they were family specific.
Respect Others Choices
Keep a Confidence
Revealing confidences and rumor-mongering was your “offramp”.
Honor Your Word Sincerity of Purpose. They strive to keep their word and
actions congruent even though they live in an imperfect world.
Respect was earned not given.
Leather people earn respect by their behavior and
participation. They exhibit honor, trustworthiness, self
discipline, humor, flexibility, participation
Support and Loyalty – We didn’t have to like each other
but we were expected to be there for each other.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
My ride in Leather
wasn’t exactly this
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
My Ride in Leather Looks More Like This
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
…as the ‘80s started going along, after ’82, say ’83, ’84, more and more
people were getting sick. Fear was gripping the city and the nation. Gay
people stopped going out. Nobody knew how it was transmitted and
people were afraid… These were people my age. It was frightening.” Peter Groubert, living in San Francisco.
HIV/AIDS
1980
At the beginning of the 1980s various reports began to emerge in California
and New York of a small number of men who had been diagnosed with rare
forms of cancer and/or pneumonia.
From the outset, AIDS was associated with a high level of stigma and
discrimination. This prejudice arose in part because AIDS was linked to
groups, such as gay men, that were already highly stigmatized, but also
because evidence-based information about what was causing AIDS, and how
it might be passed on, was in short supply.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
HIV/AIDS
1980
1981 – 1990
Leather Goes Political
1981 - The New York Times prints the first story of a rare pneumonia and skin cancer found in 41 gay
men in New York and California. The CDC initially refers to the disease as GRID, Gay Related Immune
Deficiency Disorder.
When the symptoms are found outside the gay community, Bruce Voeller, biologist and founder of the
National Gay Task Force, successfully lobbies to change the name of the disease to AIDS.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
HIV/AIDS
1980
1980 – 1990
Leather Goes Political
1982 - Wisconsin becomes the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation.
The first AIDS cases among black Americans were also identified in the early 1980s. In 1983 the CDC
documented the first two cases of AIDS in women.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
HIV/AIDS
1980
1980 – 1990
Leather Goes Political
1987 AIDS advocacy group ACT UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) is formed in response to the
devastating affects the disease has had on the gay and lesbian community in New York.
The group holds demonstrations against pharmaceutical companies profiteering from AIDS-related
drugs as well as the lack of AIDS policies protecting patients from outrageous prescription prices.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
HIV/AIDS
1980
1980 – 1990
Leather Goes Political
1987
Hundreds of thousands of activists take part in the National March on Washington to demand that
President Ronald Reagan address the AIDS crisis. Reagan speaks publicly about the epidemic.
The CDC mails a brochure, Understanding AIDS, to every household in the U.S. Approximately 107
million brochures are mailed.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
HIV/AIDS
1980
1980 – 1990
Leather Goes Political
1987 The World Health Organization organizes the first World AIDS Day to raise awareness of the spreading
pandemic.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
HIV/AIDS
1980
1980 – 1990
Leather Goes Political
1990
President George Bush signs the Ryan White Care Act, a federally funded program for people living
with AIDS.
Ryan White, an Indiana teenager, contracted AIDS in 1984 through a tainted hemophilia treatment.
After being barred from attending school because of his HIV-positive status, Ryan White becomes a
well-known activist for AIDS research and anti-discrimination.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
1990
HIV/AIDS
1980
1990 - 2000
1980 – 1990
Leather Goes Political Leather Educates
Leather culture that emerged 1990s, embraced switching and a greater variety of approaches to
eroticism. An increasing number of pansexual clubs evolved as well. Authors such as Joseph Bean,
Guy Baldwin, Hardy Haberman, Jack Renilla. These weren’t like the earlier writings. These works
summarized and help redefine the Leather. Terms like - Safe, Sane and Consensual. Organizations
began to spring up that supported activism. The LGBT culture and women in Leather begin to take a
place. Gayle Rubin, Dossie Eastman, and Patrick Califia others begin to shape the way we see women
and gender roles.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now Present:
1990 – Internet – Pros and Cons
Perhaps the most beneficial and most destructive force that came to us in the Internet.
It has opened and connected us in positive ways. Finding partners, communications within organizations
and the ability to deliver classes is certainly beneficial.
The downside is that it has allowed the those with little or no knowledge to misrepresent themselves. AS
more straight people enter into the lifestyle and choose Leather their choices for accurate information is
dwindling. The problem is compounded by the fact that “Not everyone in Leather is Leather”.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Between Then and Now:
2000 To Now
These people have the look but not the experience or concept knowledge to teach Leather.
In my opinion, Leather as we know it today will not really exist. What was a clearly define lifestyle is
being watered down and what is politically correct is becoming the norm.
Those who can speak to the issues are often maligned ad ridiculed by people who know nothing about
the individual teacher or the overall community.
In essence, Leather has become a cafeteria. Many take what they want, and ignore the parts that are
uncomfortable. Basically the parts that would make them Leather. (Master Skip)
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Future:
Master Skip
Chasey
The Future:
So I am here to ask you some “What If” questions.
What if we could change our trajectory.
What If we could look at our past and find the positive foundations to create a healthier
Leather community?
Did we Miss anything in our cultural growth?
Here is my Leather Perspective of the Future.
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
What IF – “We went back to the beginning and practiced Traditional Leather”
Military Form
Military Form
My Way or the Highway
Governance – Change from Democratic Model to a
Tribal or Regent Model
By Invitation Only - Exclusive Nature / Security
Needs
Practice Exclusive membership with Inclusive
Opportunities to Join a Club
Be Respectful
Be Respectful – with consequences for disrespectful
and aggressive behaviors
Silence – (What happened in the family – stayed in
the family)
Insist on Confidence within the organization - with
consequences for breaking confidences.
When in doubt, stop, look and listen more than
you talked.
Enhance our educational system – focus on
upcoming quality leaders. Support them and create
opportunities
There was Ranking System and classifications of
potential members. We weren’t all equal.
Respect and re-establish the Ranking and
classification systems . Honor and celebrate those
with earned Leather. Recognize the personal
accomplishments.
Build Pride into Leather
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
The Missing Link
Groups
Organizations
(SIG)
Leather Businesses
Clubs
Today’s Leather Social Structure Looks like this.
Leather Families
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
The Missing Link
Groups
Organizations
(SIG)
Leather Businesses
Clubs
Today’s Leather Social Structure Looks like this.
Leather Families
Master Walker's Leather Perspective
Master / slave Communities
Has its foundation in Leather BUT Not Exclusively Leather
Adhere to Base Values of Leather
Is on the forefront of the sexual Frontier
Less Discrimination
More Accepting of the Queer, Communities
Embraces Mixed Family Relationships
Friendliness Creates a Sense of Belonging