Announcing Crude Weekend
September 9-11, 2011

Weekend events include:

• Wet Party
• Demos
• Play area in the woods with slings, St. Andrews Cross

TEASE is an ANNUAL Pan-Sexual, Pan-Kink, outdoor Canadian Alternative Lifestyle Educational Camping Convention. Open to all adults, 18 years old and above; Singles, Couples, Triads, Quads, Families, Poly, Swingers, Monogamous, Celibate, Straight, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Curious, Complicated, or Uncertain, from around the world – located on – Kink Friendly – Private Land, close to Barrie, in lovely Ontario, Canada.

5 days and 4 nights of wild fun and quality education, with; Workshops, Hands on Demos (Xploratorium), fun BDSM Games, drumming circle, a 15′ tall Wicker Man (ceremony), The King’s Fantasy Masked Ball, Dom/sub charity auction, Socials, nightly Play Parties (with multiple Play Areas), bonfires, free door prizes, as well as camping with and meeting new friends.

TEASE 2011 includes a non-mandatory “THEME” for each night; details of, Ichi-Yoru (First Night), Inferno, Tribal, and Carnival; can be found on the INFO page.

TEASE is a PRIVATE, Pre-Paid Registered Members ONLY event – and is run “AS THOUGH IT WERE A” not-for-profit Community Educational Event; brought to you by the BDSM London Munch, Dark Angel’s Lair (DAL) of London, and EHBC/KNaNO (of Kitchener).

TEASE is more fun than should be legal; come join us – for Canada’s LARGEST Canadian Camping Convention.

This weekend, Master Chuck will be a headline speaker at Tease which is a well known Pansexual BDSM annual camping event.  Sir will be presenting two parts on Leather Family Dynamics and Pavlovian Response Training.  I will be presenting on Cock and Ball Torture (and Pleasure).

The organizer, Dark Angel or DA for short, has taken great steps to make each year different rather than making the event cookie cutter.  He approached Master Chuck back in November/December to be one of the headliners to which everyone has been looking forward to.  I’ve also heard some rumblings about my course – in fact one person has said, “Why would I want to hurt the thing I love?” *GRIN*  I’ve got a few responses for her.

Dark Angel has gone out of His way to ensure Sir and I, and others, feel welcome within Tease and the Dark Angel’s Lair events.  This is a man who recognizes that Pan kink events need to be exactly that – pansexual, covering all sexual orientations.  He also makes a point to get people to think about their biases.  The DA you hear in the podcast is only the tip of the ice berg of a man who seems to really understand community.

Admittedly, I’ve not had a great experience teaching in the Pan community with the exception of TO Kink about 5 years ago.  I’ve not cared much for Pan events either, due to certain interactions that I have experienced – sense of entitlement, almost that straight-bar vibe and experience that I can do without.  A few of my fellow Leathermen have felt similarly.  A few people, including Master Chuck’s Leather Son Chris, Dark Angel and Master Chuck himself have gotten me to think about those experiences I’ve had and to look at some recent experiences I’ve had in the Pan community.

I have also taken the time to look at some of those individuals who have been part of my Leather life not necessarily in the men’s community – and you know, there are quite a few upstanding individuals who cross between the gay and pan communities.

As a result, I am, now, actually very much looking forward to teaching at Tease.  Actually, quite excited.

Recent discussions on Fetlife, Guy Baldwin talking about the state of Leather in the United States has certainly got me thinking about the state of Leather in Canada – and closer to home in Ontario.

At Spring Iniquity hosted by NLA Houston, Guy Baldwin gave a rousing speech on the state of Leather in the United States. To quote directly from the speech:

I think some would see this as, “Turn your back on the pansexuals”.  I don’t interpret it that way at all.  The gay Leather community as a whole in North America is getting older and we need to concentrate on bringing up and educating men who want to be part of our community regardless of age, but we do need to concentrate on younger members as they are the lifeblood of our community.

Looking back on my experiences within the US, I have noticed quite a bit of integration, if you will, between the gay and pan Leather communities which is quite established. It’s understandable that gay men in the US, in certain regions, have spent a lot of time bringing up the pan community.  Guy Baldwin’s call to action makes sense because who is going to be the next generation of Leathermen that share the traditional values of Leather?  Leathermen need to look after ourselves to rebuild the community.  Any member of the pan community who has spent time in the gay community would recognize this.

I agree whole heartedly that the gay male Leathermen community needs to look after their own.  We need to build up and show a younger generation what we’re about.  We as Leathermen also need to change – in a world where kink is no longer dominated by just Leather, but now there’s rubber, other gear, etc… We need to be just as accepting of others in our community – and I think the shift we’ve had has been towards that acceptance.  I can acknowledge my own biases when I was first coming into the scene.  While I primarily identify as a Leatherman and boy, I am also into Rubber and other gear too, so how can I be a hypocrite and look down on other gear enthusiasts?

Population-wise, Canada is small, as a result the gay community is smaller and the Leatherman/Leatherdyke community is even smaller than that.  This means we need to work harder to bring up a new generation of Leathermen – and we desperately need it.  The connection between the gay and pan scenes, I believe, is not as well established as it is in the US – and as far as I know, not a lot of gay men have travelled in pan circles as far as I am aware.

In Canada, I do not advocate ignoring our pan brothers and sisters.  I also don’t advocate integration per-se.  I like our separate male spaces, our separate female spaces, and our pan spaces.  I like when we can come together united while respecting our separate spaces and I believe we should have two-way bridges built.  There are a lot of pan-folk who attend the So You Want to Be Kinky Seminars; but less gay-Leatherfolk attend pan educational events like the BAM! events in Barrie and Tease.

Can we build the gay men’s Leather community together?  At one level I think we can – when it comes to learning about play and some D/s dynamics, sure – after all, for example, I learned about fireplay within the pan community.  At that level, whether I learned from a straight woman versus a gay man really does not matter.

At another level there is that that mentorship that only a gay man can give another gay man due to our experiences – the same can be said about mentorship from Leatherman to Leatherman.   It’s kind of like a boy learning to be a man – if you grow up without that alpha male figure, and believe me I have lived this experience, it’s that much tougher.  By our nature as humans, we all want and need to be around like-minded people.

There was a post on Fetlife in the Leadership Forum that asked, essentially how can we get more gay men out to pan play events?  Sadly, my response was deleted by the moderator despite the fact that I did answer the original question.  My response showed some of the differences between how gay men and perceptions of how the pan (read as straight) community plays.

Gay men incorporate a lot of sex into their BDSM play and we seek out sex positive places to play – our homes, backrooms, bath houses and dungeons.  Where at the time I was visiting the pan clubs, this was not so, and it felt weird (my words) not having that level of sexuality that I was used to.  I got used to it as I explored within the Pan community, but for some men, it would be a deal breaker.

Some Leathermen would take it further and say that they don’t want to be gawked at, they also don’t want to have to deal with judgements – after all not only are we judged for being gay, but we’re also judged a second time (even by the gay community) for being kinky.

I also have felt that at times, and I realize I am generalizing here, where I feel that some people in the pan scene come across as putting gay Leathermen on a pedestal as if we’re the “Mythological Gay Leatherman Unicorn” – no disrespect meant to the Unicorn MC celebrating their 40th year and the oldest Gay Motorcycle Leather/Levi club in continuous existance in Ohio.  Gay men don’t need that level idolization, and I believe that most of us would be more than willing to share our knowledge without the pedestal.

And then there is the fact that some gay men are simply not comfortable around women – not my own personal issue.

So there is quite an up-hill ‘battle’ if you will, if the pan community wishes to have gay men show up at their events.

As my brother says, the pan community does need to be fully pan – and there are people out there working to break down those barriers and to help make pan spaces accessible to everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender orientation and identity.  It’s there if we, as gay men, want to build those bridges.  Yes, we will probably always deal with some degree of stigma and personally I am happy to rise above that stigma and my own baggage to provide an educational opportunity.  The pan community, at least in Southern Ontario, is making the effort.

I also want to add that in smaller communities, there is no segregation between gay and pansexual BDSM community.  The communities need to be integrated in order to have that critical mass to survive.  Look at the work that Master Chuck is doing to build that critical mass in Northern Ontario between Sudbury and North Bay, and you’ll see what the experiences are in smaller places in our province.  We’ve got it good in the big city, where we can have our niche.

I would really challenge any gay man who has hangups around being in a pan BDSM space or says that they are uncomfortable around women to push past those issues and see what the pan community has to offer, and what we can offer the pan community.  You will find there’s quite a bit we all have to offer.  Yes while they may do things differently, almost like being in the wild west to some degree, I think you will find a friendly group of people who are mostly genuinely interested in learning from us.

Master Chuck’s Leather Son Chris wrote two well thought-out blog entries that are worth reading.  He and I have spent many an hour talking out some of our frustrations about the Pan and Gay BDSM/Leather scenes:

• On Leather
• Gay Representation at Pan Play Spaces

Also, there is a panel discussion called “Is Leather Dead?  Does It Need to Die?”  featuring Guy Baldwin, Race Bannon, Michael Thorn and Gayle Rubin on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm at the Andrew Spencer Ceremonial Room, 4th Floor of the SF LGBT Community Center at 1800 Market St. in San Francisco.  I am hoping to attend this discussion just before the International LeatherSIR/Leatherboy & International Community Bootblack weekend, and hope you might also be able to attend.

What an amazing Toronto Pride weekend this was.  I’ve not felt this kind of energy in a few years.

Thursday

Thursday was a work day.  Our guest, mutt, from Winnipeg arrived by train with Master Scott and slave-pup Kalen picking him up while I was at work.    Master Chuck arrived later after I arrived home from work.

Friday

Friday we got up and headed out to the Spearhead Boat Cruise – this was a first for Master Chuck, me and mutt.  A great time was had by all – and I must say I do like spending time with the men from Spearhead.  Their run will very much be missed this year.

Both Sir and I got chatting with a number of folks both local and from far (Vancouver, Utah).  A number of people also asked about the title – not many people realize that the LeatherSIR/Leatherboy circuit comes from the old Drummer contests.  As soon as I mention Drummer, a lot of people light up and give me some of their history.  Much thanks to those who have shared tidbits from their history with me.  It is very much appreciated.

I highly recommend the Spearhead Cruise to anyone who is able to attend.

Friday night we spent some time on Church St walking up and down the street.  We also picked up some much needed supplies for decorating the “Master Chuckwagon”.

Saturday

Pride Saturday we stopped at a few stores for the last set of supplies for Sunday.  We headed downtown for dinner and did more walking up and down Church St.

Sunday

Firstly – my first pride was in Toronto 15 years ago.  I was living in Ottawa, Canada’s National Capital at the time, newly out by three or four months, back from living in England by one month, with my first boyfriend.  I remember standing at Church and Alexander, where there was an older apartment building where a Condo now stands being afraid to look at guys and feeling depressed.   The Eagle was next door and one single floor, and was my very first back room!

A year later, 1997, would be the year that I met my primary partner, Master Scott, at The Steps which used to feature a Second Cup coffee shop.  The Bijoux, the night before, would be my first sex club (not counting bath houses).  A month earlier I finally set foot in The Toolbox.

That 1997 year was an eye opener for me, and was key in my explorations in Leathersex.  Not only did Scott open my eye to the Leather world, we marched with The Black Eagle.  Now my understanding was, at the time, there was a controversy around play and the parade involving a flogging.  So in 1997 we had Chris Holmgren (MLT 1999) tied up and tickled with feather dusters.  I learned quite a bit that day about Leather play, and not something I’ll forget.

Master Chuck, being the playful man that He is, and me being similar, we wanted to give Toronto something they’d never forget and I believe that we represented what Leather is to us, for those of us who are lifestylers and to the players community.

The crowds were shouting “Harder”, with me laughing, bent over Master Chuck’s knee, as He used a canoe paddle on my ass.  The crowds went wild as Sir grabbed on to the collar that I wear and brought me in for a kiss, ending with my standard, “Thank You Sir” after any scene.  *GRIN*

As they say, there is something special between a Sir and His boy.  Thank You Sir!

After the parade we changed and took down the decorations in the truck, and hit Church St, being stopped for photos and greetings and stopping in very briefly at The Eagle.

Monday

I had the day off work, which is something I do every Pride year.  Master Chuck, mutt and I took a drive downtown to stop in at Northbound Leather for some final preparations for ILSb at the end of July.

Sir left after we got home and has arrived safely up north.  mutt left at 8:30pm tonight to go back to Winnipeg.

Master Scott and I, feeling the effects of event drop stopped in at The Eagle tonight for one last Pride hurrah.

Thank Yous

Much thanks to:

• Brandon and Dan for arranging the permits and magnetic banners
• O/our Leather brothers and sisters who joined us from Montreal, Ottawa and other places.
• Toronto Leather Pride
• Ted, Mutt, Jim, Xtra, Master Scott, and slave-pup Kalen for the photos.
• Spearhead for putting on the Boat Cruise
• The crowds for cheering all of us on during the Pride Parade
• The many people met during

Some more coverage

• Xtra – Picture 1; Picture 2
• Dead Robot – Picture 1; blog

Happy Anniversary to my husband of 14 years, Master Scott.  We met initially on the net prior to Pride 1997 and then saw each other at The Steps at the corner of Church and Wellesley during Pride 1997.

And we’ve been stuck together ever since.

Us 14 years ago...

And us 14 years later. 🙂

Happy Toronto Pride weekend everyone!

Look for boy Ian – International Leatherboy 2011; Master Chuck- Eastern Canada LeatherSIR 2011 and boy iain Eastern Canada Leather boy in the parade on the back of Sir’s truck.  It’ll be hard to miss us!

Out on Church St. Courtesy of Paul Ciantar.

ECL SIR and boy at the 2011 Spearhead Boat Cruise

ECL SIR and boy take The Better Way aka the TTC Subway

We welcome you to enter to win $250 in prizes and the title of Mr. Leather Pride Black Eagle! Truth or dare? Happy Pride Everyone! See you there!

ACT is hosting a Pride edition of the Pig Sex Project series. This discussion will focus on cum. “What do you like to do with it? What does it mean to you?”

• When: June 18 from 1-4pm
• Where: Steamworks, 540 Church St, Level 2
• Find out more by contacting Siva Gunaratnam at 416-340-8484 x254

Master Chuck, my partner Master Scott, slave-pup Kalen and i will be part of a round table on Doms and subs during the July 17th “Now That You’re Kinky” series held here in Toronto as part of the So You Want To Be Kinky Education Series here in Toronto.

July 17th – 2pm – Doors open at 1:30pm

Goodhandy’s
120 Church Street (2nd floor)
SW corner of Church & Richmond Streets
Toronto, ON

Admission $10.00 at the door
Restricted to those 19 years of age and older

For more information please see 2bkinky.com.

—
As part of our ongoing 201 level workshop series, on July 17th, 2011,  SYWTBK will present “A Round Table With Doms & subs” (doors at 130pm, seating is limited). We have gathered 5 fairly well known Doms (Tops/Masterss/Sirs/etc…) and 5 subs (slaves/boys/bottoms/etc…) to discuss their journey, life, and love of the BDSM lifestyle. We invite those in attendance to challenge our panel and ask the questions that have gone unanswered up until now. (This workshop will be split, with our Doms up first, followed by a short break, then our subs.) or (This workshop will be one panel, and will be in one continuous forum for your convenience.) Come prepared, do your homework, research any or all of the names below and have your specific questions ready. Our panel will include:

The Dominants

Master Chuck
Once a boy, Master Chuck at 50 now lives his life, 24/7, as the patriarch of his very large multi generational Leather Family that combines HOT play, daily life and growth. There is never a dull moment. As a covered Master he holds himself to a high standard of integrity, manifesting itself in the basic traditional Old Guard principles of Honour, Trust, and Respect. To him, submission is a precious gift that Doms should accept with humility, then use BDSM as a tool to reach the subs inner core as they embrace their submission. He gives back to and helps develops his community through high level activism and with the educational seminars he delivers. Master Chuck is proud to represent his community as Eastern Canada LeatherSIR 2011

Master Peter
After growing up on a working ranch in Southern Alberta, Peter simply changed one kind of chaps for another. After realizing he was not only gay but into Leather in the early 1980s, Peter began to discover the community of Leather Folk. After moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1994, Peter found a welcoming and accepting community. He joined the Board of Directors of Mr. Leatherman Toronto Competition Inc. (MLTC) in 2000 and served on the Board until the end of 2007. In 2001, Peter was made the Chief Judge of MLTC and continues to serve in that position. He is also a member of the So You Want To Be Kinky Committee which puts on the annual seminar program during the MLT weekend along with the “So You Want to Be Kinky” education program which stages seminars on a quarterly basis. He has also served as a judge at many local, national and international competitions such as IML 2009. Along the way he also served as Tally Master for ABW for 3 years. In November of 2007, Peter was awarded the MLT John Stephen Basset Leather Pride Award for his contributions to the development of Leather Pride. He has been in a Master/Slave relationship for nearly 13 years with his slave cub. Cub was also Bootblack Toronto 2005. Believing in the traditional values of the Leather Community, Peter believes very strongly in giving back to the community more than the community has given him.

Master Scott
Master Scott is a gay male “Bear”, dominant switch, and has been doing BDSM play for more than 20 years. He is a proud member of the Leather Family headed by Master Chuck. Scott was recently honoured by being presented with his Master’s cover by Master Chuck and His leather family. He is honoured to be pinned into Mama’s Family as “Mama’s Canadian Body Bear”. Within the community Scott has been active in teaching others various BDSM related skills, particularly his passion of percussion play (spanking, flogging and caning). Scott has been partnered in an open relationship for almost 14 years to a D/s-switch, Master Chuck’s boy iain – currently Eastern Canada Leatherboy 2011. Scott is blessed to have a collared submissive in slave-pup Kalen. Scott also acts as a mentor to a number of other boys, cubs and slaves. Scott is currently in the process of switching careers and is completing studies in a healthcare field.

Master T’Hayla
Master T’Hayla Ferguson has been teaching in Canada and the USA for the last 15 years on a wide range of BDSM and M/s topics, including but not limited to: Master/slave relationships, self esteem, spirituality, cutting, piercing and other nasty sadistic shit your slave will love you for. Mastery is not so much a choice as a calling for T’Hayla – one which fulfills so many deep needs.

Victoria Windsor
Victoria Windsor found the leather community 19 years ago by looking for it. She’s known singe age 8 that she was different. Finding kink opened her eyes, finding Leather opened her world, and she can never go back. Victoria was the recipient of the Central Canada Olympus Leather 2008, the co-Chair of the So You Want To Be Kinky Education Committee, have taught throughout North America, and currently serves as the Executive Producer of Toronto Leather Pride (formerly MLT). She holds dear the close relationships she has made in this group, and loves having a leather heart.

the submissives

boy alex
boy alex is a local bootblack and active member of the queer leather community in Toronto. Soon after finding life in leather, boy alex met some friends who introduced him to D/s and service oriented dynamics. He then attended the boys Training Camp in Dallas Texas and learned more about these concepts and how to apply them. Since then, he has experimented with and been involved in several service based relationships and contracts. boy alex has also taken on various service oriented roles in his community. boy alex has taught workshops and sat on discussion panels about D/s and service at several leather events in the US such as the boys Training Camp, and also South West Leather Conference in Phoenix and South Plains Leatherfest in Dallas.

cub
Originally from Winnipeg, Ron began his leather journey in 1985. He was a long-time member of the Winnipeg Leather Levi Club as well a founding member of C.L.U.B Winnipeg. In February of 1998, he met his future Master, Peter to whom he became a collared as a slave under a lifetime contract and was given the name cub in November of that year he move to Toronto to begin fulltime service and in 2000 cub began volunteering with MLT. In 2003 cub along with several fellow boys formed the Toronto boys of Leather, a group that was intended to provide support for other submissives, and to provide assistance to other groups and organizations in the leather community. cub served as President of TboL until 2007 and remains involved in an advisory role. In 2005, cub won the title of Bootblack Toronto. While competing at the International Mr. Bootblack in Chicago of 2005, cub was humbled to be the first Canadian to receive the Brotherhood award. cub was pinned into Mama’s Family as Mama’s Canadian cub in 2006. In 2007, cub was honoured to receive MLT’s Courtland Forsey Award.

slave gillian
slave gillian is happily submerged in her 24/7 M/s relationship. Living a powerful and fulfilling enslavement has been an exciting and challenging experience. Among many things gillian loves being Master’s majical assistant and demo bottom at workshops. gillian and her Master regularly attend Toronto’s Perspectives on Power group.

Master Chuck’s boy iain
Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, Eastern Canada Leatherboy 2011, boy iain has been collared to Master Chuck since 2004. Growing up, he knew he was interested in pig sex, oral service, piss and Bearish men and has since learned to enjoy the pleasure of pain, submission and domination, boot worship, cock and ball torture, tit torture, rubber, mind fucks; and the eroticization of safe sex. In 2009, boy Iain was the recipient of an Eastern Canada LeatherSIR/Leatherboy Community Builder Award in recognition of the impact of his involvement in the Toronto and Eastern Canada Leather community. He promotes play, education and believes that as a community we should be connecting with other people face to face and flesh on flesh.

slave-pup Kalen
Master Scott’s slave-pup Kalen, is a 25 year old, gay submissive. He is a service oriented slave who enjoys domestic chores as well as other service as needed. On the pup side he identifies as a husky pup named Bandit and has a fondness of “borrowing” socks. He has also dicovered a love for bondage and percussion play. slave-pup Kalen was born in Toronto but was raised in Sudbury Ontario, and now currently resides in Brampton. Kalen was collared as Master Scott’s slave-pup in June 2010. Kalen is also proud member of Master C’s leather family of which he is the youngest member.

Goodhandy’s
120 Church Street (2nd floor)
SW corner of Church & Richmond Streets
Toronto, ON

Admission $10.00 at the door
Restricted to those 19 years of age and older