Less than one week. Let that sink in, in less than one week’s time, not even seven days… A person who was chosen to be an international title holder was verbally attacked. This person was called a “chicken shit” because they chose to follow their heart and compete in a contest that was more them.…
Category: Opinion
Opinion pieces by our columnists, writers and readers.
Community Comment
Community Comment: How our community helps consent violators; not the victim
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By Rhee Metzel This past few months really has me thinking, possibly too much. That is not a bad thing. When I came out about my own abuse I was in 8th grade. So 13 or 14. The amount of shit I heard was awful. I was trafficked as a child prostitute for men by…
Illinois, Puppy on the Prowl
Illinois Leather 2018
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CHICAGO — On March 16th, 2018, the Illinois Leather Alliance held their annual contest in Chicago. This year there were a few changes to the contest, including a whole new venue. The Illinois Leather Alliance holds contests for Sir, boy, Ms. Leather Pride, Puppy, Trainer, Bootblack, Master, Slave, and this year a new contest was…
Event Photos, Minnesota, Puppy on the Prowl
Mr Twin Cities Leather 2018 Pup Buster
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MINNEAPOLIS — Mr Twin Cities Leather Sponsored by Twin Cities Leather and Latte celebrated it’s 5th Year Anniversary on February 15th, 2018 with an amazing weekend of inclusion, love, and leather. From the Twin Cities Leather and Latte website: At Twin Cities Leather & Latte, we value the diversity of all community members. We…
Community Comment
Community Comment: Down the ‘rabbit hole’
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By Jeff Gberg “Little Alice fell down the (rabbit) hole, bumped her head and bruised her soul.” – Lewis Carroll If you were an outsider, a newcomer, or someone looking to find where they belong… what would you think based on what we have seen, read, or heard the last many weeks, months, or even building…
Editor's Note
Editor’s Note: Future of the Great Lakes Den and Illinois Eagle
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I’ve gotten a lot more entries on the Great Lakes Den survey (thanks!) and hope to get more. And I’ve launched the survey for The Illinois Eagle. I wanted to explain a bit why I’m doing the surveys and what I’m finding so far. I need to know there is a need and desire for…
Community Comment
Community Comment: Reclaiming our Leather Victimhood
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It’s 2018 and in the Leather Community, victims are the enemy.
Not just any victims, mind, just the ones who choose not to be. “Drama” is the sin, not injustice. “Exclusion” is the virtue, not change. We have always been at war with East Asia.
The “1984” allusion might have been a tad hyperbolic, but in light of “International Leather Victim 2018”, an article published by an IML 2017 top 20 contestant, we’re forced to ask ourselves how did this happen?
Community Comment
Community Comment: Making Leather the Victim 2018
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What a time to be alive. The previous year filled itself with threats from multiple sources which threaten to tear the social fabric apart. The potential victims are numerous and varied. Yet little did we know that our own leather community was amongst their number. Thank heavens, then, for the article “International Leather Victim 2018,” without which this terror may have gone unnoticed. In the short read, the author Pup Chomper bemoans the imminent collapse of our community brought on by the whippersnappers what with their social media self-victimization.
Feature, Indiana, Kentucky, News, Ohio, Puppy on the Prowl, Regional
Tri-State Leather Weekend 2017
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– Cincinnati, OH, November 17th to November 19th A little history on Tri-State Leather weekend: Starting in 2011, the Tri-State area (Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana) has come together and held the Mr. Tri-State Leather Contest. The title was awarded to Danny. In 2013, the first Mr Tri-State Rubber title was awarded to Ben. In 2014,…
Editor's Note
Editor’s Note: Changes at the Den and Eagle, good ones
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This past weekend, I attended the LION Publishers Conference here in Chicago. LION stands for Local Independent Online News. The majority of news sites there were mainstream news. They often function like a local daily newspaper. In a few cases, they were the only daily news source for their towns. However, that wasn’t the only…
