Happy Pride!

Last weekend was the 39th annual celebration and parade for San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride.  The celebration is enormous and overwhelming; despite my best efforts I only managed to participate in a small fraction of activities.  My week started out with a night out for drinks with several other queer grrls, followed a couple of days later by watching Bi Request at the Frameline Film Festival with a lover.  This year’s Bi Request, a collection of shorts either by or about bisexuals, was especially good.  Friday night I spent at the Queer Playground play party at the Citadel, where Grin sutured a lovely decoration on to me that he had created himself, shown in the picture above.

Saturday I spent picnicing and marching with friends and lovers at the annual Dyke March, went to dinner, and then made it to another play party.

Sunday I somehow managed to get up and march in the Pride parade as a Contingent Monitor with both the Bay Area Bisexual Network and the Polyamory contingents; again, I was with friends, lovers, and community.  Although I did not march with the leather contingent, I supported them in spirit, by wearing Grin’s decoration from Friday night to Sunday night.  Afterwards, I wandered around around the Pride celebrations with a friend visiting from out of town, met up with more of my community at the Faerie Village, dropped by the Citadel for their post-pride social party and then made it to one more wind down party where a lover of mine and I pretty much collapsed in exhaustion.

In what city other than San Francisco is all this possible?  I count my blessings daily.

Journeyman Academy Graduation

On Sunday, I attended the the graduation of the cadets of the 2008 Journeyman III Academy of California, held at the San Francisco Citadel (the local dungeon).  From what I can tell as an outsider, the academy is a pretty amazing institution, and graduation from it is a big deal.  The audience that showed up included many prominent members of the BDSM community, and the guest speaker list was impressive, including Master Mike Aylett, Master Skip Chasey, and VG Smith & Sarah Auberon.

The academy serves a valuable role in preserving Leather culture.  In their words, it is a “forum for advanced training in Leather traditions and history, D/s relationship issues, advanced S/m play, and Leather spirituality.”  The program is a serious undertaking.  It lasts 18 months, and requires a commitment of at least a full weekend a month, in addition to outside readings and homework assignments.  It is intended to be difficult and grueling.

Folsom Fair Friends

Folsom Street Fair, the high holy day for pervs, leatherfolk, kinksters, whatever we’re called. Everyone in town (and most try to be in town) drags themselves to the fair, no matter how they’re feeling that day. Excited, tired, sick, or healthy, it’s a chance to see and be seen, to show one’s leather pride, to fundraise, to do outreach, to play, to photograph and be photographed. This year, for me, the fair was about connecting and reconnecting with people.