Thank you to Haven Wilde for running this story about the SFgoL in the April Society of Janus Growing Pains!
I am utterly astounded at how far the San Francisco girls of Leather (SFgoL) have come since our first meeting in June of 2010.
Let me back track a bit. In April of 2010 I was at International Ms Leather Weekend checking out the silent auction. I noticed a SFgoL shirt (from the previous incarnation of the club) as one of the items up for bidding. I was instantly intrigued. I asked around and got the names of a few of the original girls: Pilar, Sheryl D, and August Knight. I contacted them and asked if they would be willing to restart the group. “No,” they said, “but we would love for you to!”
Fast forward. We are now a member club of the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance. We have over 100 girls on our mailing list. We get between 20-30 girls at our monthly business meetings. In 9 months we’ve had more than 10 social events and have volunteered service at over 20 events. We have a huge club presence, so much so that when announcers say our club name they often pause for the excited screams they know are coming. We’ve been featured on Leatherati.com, the SF Bay Times, and the IMsL blog. To top it all off, we were recently named the Leather Alliance Best New Organization of 2010.
Before I continue the story, let me tell you more about us: we are a group of self-identified Leathergirls. Membership is not limited by race, creed, orientation or gender; however, an identification of Leathergirl is essential. Our solidarity and commonality is found in our understanding that the definition of Leathergirl involves who you are and not just how you play.
Our mission is twofold; we provide camaraderie, and a safe space to any individual who identifies as a Leathergirl. We also provide community service within and outside of the Bay Area Leather Community at large.
Sometimes I wonder how we came so far, so fast. The answer I always come to is that the girls involved in this club are incredible and the community surrounding us is amazingly supportive.
Many of our girls were deeply involved in the Leather community before coming to our club. We have quite a few party hosts from the Citadel, burlesque dancers, an Exiles’ Board member, BDSM educators, and so on. The newer girls are awesome in their own right, jumping in full force with such enthusiasm.
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As far as community support, we have over 25 Supporting Members and 4 Supporting Organizations! Many hot people have purchased our “I heart SFgoL” merchandise and wear it with pride. The members of the previous SFgoL have been so encouraging and generous with their blessings. The San Francisco boys of Leather gave us all of their remaining assets after disbanding. Mr. S provided us with gorgeous Leather colors. The Big Pink House gave us a meeting space. August Knight has donated event space at the SF Citadel. DJ Mora and Daddy Vick helped us gather samples of other clubs’ bylaws when we were writing ours. The Leather Alliance has welcomed us with open arms. The community at large has donated an overwhelming amount of toiletries for our Casa de las Madres drive and brought 12 garbage bags of toys to the beer bust we co-hosted with the SF Leather Daddy’s boys for Mama’s Toys. The list just goes on and on.
Looking forward, watch out for us at IMsL- we are bronze sponsors and our Sergeant at Arms, Pink, is helping us coordinate that. We also have a May Day Fundraiser Extravaganza coming up at the SF Citadel on May 1st, coordinated by our VP, Kate. Last, we are bronze sponsors of Northwest Leather Celebration near the end of May with thanks to Angel.
I love SFgoL! We are going to have a lot to celebrate during our one year anniversary in June!
Yours in Leather,
Leland Carina
President SFgoL
