In February 2010, I took part as a panelist in a seminar called, “Get Your Kink On: Best Practices in BDSM Outreach” at the Gay Mens Sexual Health Summit. I am particularly proud of my involvement in this seminar and with the other panelists as we got people – counsellors with ASOs, nurses with public health departments, and others thinking about how to reach kinky people.
The feedback was amazing. Where the attendees were used to hearing very clinical terms, research and numbers; we, the panelists, were very frank, upfront and honest. We’re not afraid to use colloquial terms because that’s how we interact in our day-to-day lives as gay men and Leathermen. We talk about fucking, we talk about rimming, etc… We don’t use intercourse and analingus – oh so clinicial! LOL!
At the time, I was interviewed by Bob Leahy. I love reading his Green Acres blog at PositiveLite.com and I think it’s great that both Bob and the PositiveLite team are looking to bring humour to an otherwise downer topic. Check out their vision statement:
Most HIV-related websites dedicated to the needs of those who are HIV-positive tend to be serious – and frankly a bit of a downer – as we read about health issues, treatment problems, stigma, legal issues, etc., and little else For the publisher (Brian Finch) and founder, however, a sense of humour is what has got him through the last 23 years of living with HIV. There is no need for debate about the role of humour and its relationship to positive health outcomes There needs to be something different out there that celebrates having fun. PositiveLite.com is a Canadian-driven website for both those of us who are HIV-positive and our friends and supporters, irrespective of sexual orientation, gender or nationality. We tackle important issues while maintaining a “lifestyles magazine” format.And that is something I am happy to support.
Bob approached me recently, following up on the interview after he reconnected with me on Twitter. He wanted to write something on Leather, and was fascinated with the panel discussion a year and a half ago. He also took a bunch of pictures of Sir and me during this year’s Pride parade.
I spoke candidly about Leather, my experiences, coming out twice, how I got started, Master Chuck’s family, what Leather is to me, being Eastern Canada Leatherboy, my philosophy on Leather, title holding and sexuality; about creating balance, play, and safety in play, the eroticization of safer sex, pig sex, and talking about so-called taboo topics that I think we need to be open and honest about, messaging when it comes to spreading the safer sex word, risk mitigation and creating empowerment. We really covered a lot!
Here is part one of the interview from PositiveLite.com.
Also, here is the original interview taken at the GMSH Summit: