Many bondage and S&M leather pieces are very traditional in their form. I work on impulse to try and incorporate my view of a modern edge into those pieces where appropriate. Reinventing the traditional functionality of a piece with some contemporary twists in aesthetics is always a goal.

Rubber is sexy! It’s perfect for bondage, the feel, the texture of the material is so sensual. It really embraces your body. I like the super shiny look of it, the way it stretches and even the smell of it. The first time I tried latex, an old boyfriend of mine locked a rubber hood over my head. It was the most intense experience! The rubber blocked out all the light, the smell was so sexy and it fit like a glove.

The images of S/M that mainstream films and television usually present are generally very sensational, very far removed from what people practice on an everyday basis. As a producer, I can certainly understand that impulse. The trappings of S/M are quite visual and lend themselves easily to a shorthand suggestion of a circumstance or character that’s not only out of the ordinary, but also flavored with sex and the potential for danger.

The inspiration came one day in 1988 when I went to a local sex shop here in Los Angeles looking for bondage gear. I just wanted a few items that I could use with my girlfriend — some wrist and ankle restraints, and maybe a collar. But in those days I was a student living mostly on scholarships and support from my parents. I didn’t have a lot of extra cash. When I learned how expensive this kind of gear could be, I got discouraged. Does a person have to be rich to be into bondage?

Gloria Brame is the author of numerous books, as well as poetry and other works of fiction. She has worked with hundreds of people, first as a peer counselor and, since 2000, as a clinical sexologist . As a journalist and author specializing in sex and relationships, she has fielded thousands of sex questions over the years.

When I came to the leather community it was an act of rebellion against society, against the concept of gay men as effeminate, against the police raids, against harassment, against sexual repression. . . against a lot of stuff. When I say “rebels and outlaws,” I am not being metaphorical. We were breaking the law and we were rebelling against a whole society, not a nebulous and accidental “leather community.”

Geoff Mains was a good friend who entrusted me with his literary estate after he died of AIDS in 1989. Although he wrote three books, I think Urban Aboriginals is the one he will be most remembered by. It is a classic work, very much reflecting the hope, passion, and intellectual fervor of not only its author but of the times in which he lived.

SCENEprofiles Interview with Stuart Norman AKA Cyrwyn, The Leatherfaerie Shaman: Author, Activist and Founder of Tarheel Leather Club
Stuart Norman is a gay activist, a leader in the Leather/SM subculture for more than 20 years, and founder of Tarheel Leather Club. He describes himself as a Leatherfaerie Shaman, exploring […]

Joseph Bean may be the best-known out gay leatherman in the country. As the author of Flogging, the groundbreaking classic Leathersex: A Guide, and it’s sequel Leathersex Q & A, and the writer of many columns, essays and editorials about sexuality, sex-tech and sexual-freedom activism over the past 15 years, he became a much sought after speaker and instructor.

Fakir Musafar is known worldwide for his fifty years research and personal exploration of primitive body decoration and rituals, and has been called “Father of the Modern Primitive Movement.” Fakir has played a significant part in the revival of body piercing, body sculpting, branding and other body-related practices for personal expression, spiritual exploration, rites-of-passage, healing and reclaiming. Fakir has introduced concepts and practices for the body first approach to explore spirituality in art, body modifications, BDSM and what he calls “body play.”

by Sensuous Sadie
Cléo Dubois is a BDSM Educator, maker of educational/play BDSM videos, and Teacher of the BDSM arts. Having begun exploring the SM frontiers in the San Francisco Leather Community in the early 80’s, she sees fantasy/mind/body explorations as powerful venues for intimacy, erotic fulfillment […]