Social Column 2011-08-09

Our local community received a very courteous thank-you message from Mike Rush, our new California Leatherboy for 2011.  Somebody raised that boy right!

-=-=-=-=- "CRUISING" MOVIE

From: Jeff Ritter

FYI guys - FilmOut San Diego will be screening "Cruising" in November - a crime drama set in the pre-AIDS NYC leather scene in the late '70's. Many scenes in the film were shot in actual leather bars with real leathermen used as extras. The film is (and was) considered controversial, however it is a great historical record depicting the raw sexuality of the 70's leather scene! 

Check it out!  It will be on November 9th at the North Park Theatre - they will post it soon on their Web site.

(Note from Tony: I remember when this film came out in major, mainstream theaters. A whole bunch of us went in full leather to see it in the theater. We left about halfway through the film (and very noisily), because it was so clearly biased against gay leathermen.  The music and the lighting made it clear that leathermen belonged in a horror movie.  A bunch of my buddies were extras in the film, and several bars participated as authentic sets, but grew less willing as time went by. Nobody was originally told that the movie would be hostile to us, depicting us as victims and monsters.  Every leatherman I knew was PISSED.

I think that we were all so very over the whole "gays=monsters" thing by that time. Vito Russo's book was being previewed all over the country, and the Advocate had published excerpts. Activists were PISSED, because as you may recall, we hadn't had any POSITIVE representations in major movies since the 1930's. I mean, crap... Making Love didn't come out for two full years after Cruising, and it was a weak, crappy film that didn't really say much that was nice. Making Love. Personal Best, Partners and Victor/Victoria were brought to mainstream theaters BECAUSE of our rage over this film.  We were ready to BURN things, and Hollywood was scared of us after that.

I REALLY want to see it again, though - The last 31 years have transformed so much of our culture, for good and for bad, and I want to the chance to see it without the hostile laughter of contemptuous straights around me this time. I will probably cry when I see the faces that are no longer with us, but I definitely want to share this unintended cultural documentary with my brothers in 2011. 

I love this disclaimer, added just before the movie came out:

"This film is not intended as an indictment of the homosexual world. It is set in one small segment of that world,  which is not meant to be representative of the whole." In other words, it IS an indictment of the gay leathermen's scene, which is okay.

As Jeff says, the movie IS accurate in its people, locations, gear, crowdedness of the bars, and cultural references. If you seriously want to see what things were like, just before our community crashed into the mountain called AIDS, see this movie. Try to imagine, when watching it, what things would be like in 2011 if we hadn't had thirty years of breakdown in between.)

-=-=-=-=- "IS LEATHER DEAD?" DISCUSSION

Many thanks to the folks at Leatherati.com, who have grown immensely as a crucial resource for our community worldwide. Thanks to their reporting, I get to stay current, and it makes me look smart when I pass along what I've learned.

The big topic online has been the Men's Discussion up in San Francisco on the topic of "Is Leather Dead?", featuring some seriously heavy hitters. The interest-level has been keen among those of us who were unable to cram ourselves into the room, so a young woman named Leland Carina was kind enough to document how it went. I think that you'll find it quite engrossing.

-=-=-=- NICKY AWARDS

It's time again for the Nicky Awards in San Diego,  so please vote online - I have zero interest in awards for myself (they are not what motivates me),  but please vote for the businesses (such as the Eagle), individuals (Adam Latham, Anthony Rollar),  bartenders (Robert Rodriguez - San Diego Eagle) and events (the three Leather Contests, Dress It Up/Strip It Down) that you approve of.

-=-=-=- COMMUNITY COOKBOOK

I've started a new "Community Cookbook" article series on Leatherati.com.  I'm very curious to see what the reactions will be.  I have enough material for at least forty articles, right off the top of my head.  I've received so many requests from so many different cities, and it is time to start documenting what I've been saying on a one-on-one level for years.