Photo by Rink.

It was the 24th annual Folsom Street Fair. Having attended every single one of these leather-fests since its inception almost two-and-a-half decades ago, and having written all of them up in various queer periodicals every year, it becomes harder and harder to find new stuff to write. I was starting to agree with that ancient saying: “Nothing new under the sun.” But this intrepid reporter vowed to find new things to report. So read on, o ye lovers of leather, feather and latex. On that mildly warm Sept. 30 day, the weather was perfect. Not so hot as to make people pass out from heatstroke and not so cold as to prohibit folks from shedding lots of their clothes - sometimes right down to their birthday suits.

There was lots of erotic art, which this year for the first time was supported by the Folsom Street Events board in waiving all fees for space and booth structures in a special area for half a dozen new, struggling artists. “I believe that erotic art is a part of who we all are,” said erotic artist Axel Moeller of Seattle. “Suppressed by society in general, it is up to the artists to confront, shock, titillate, and inspire humanity.” He added, “Sensual, hot, passionate, and extreme – erotica, lust, desire, and sex must be put back where it belongs: in our everyday lives.” Board President Andy Copper said, “We realize our rising booth costs have been slowly shutting out the struggling artists.” He said with this new policy, it is “one way of returning to our grass roots and promoting greater cultural and artistic diversity at the Fair.” Executive Director Demetri Moshoyannis said, “There is so much talent in our community, that we feel it should be shown and celebrated, regardless of one’s ability to pay.”

At the fair was every imaginable porn film production industry represented – mostly gay male themed, but other varieties as well. M4Mgear.com had cute little teddy bears dressed as firemen, policemen, and of course leathermen. They had a tee shirt with a leather guy standing in front of a huge 18-wheeler, with the words: “Experienced driver craves the long and hard drive with his big rig to deliver his heavy load.” I’m not certain, but I think there might have been some double entendre there. Heehee.

Other tee shirts spotted: “Flesh and ink: Your skin is your canvas;” “Pain is weakness leaving the body;” a yellow shirt proclaiming: “Piss addict;” and a yellow shirt saying, “Queerios” with a Cheerio dotting the “i.” A woman wore one of those white wife-beater shirts, except hers said, “Wife-pleaser.” It seemed as if this year more folks wore Folsom drag, as opposed to the looky-loos that have outnumbered the true participants in the past. One man wore a wolf costume, made of layers of leather from headpiece to body. Another was a big pink bunny. A person (couldn’t tell gender) was covered head to toe in a pink full body suit of spandex. Someone said there was an armadillo man, but I never saw that myself.

And in case you and your friend didn’t dress for the occasion, you could stick your head(s) through hole(s) and be photographed as hot, hunky leather dudes. Dark Garden sold their gorgeous corsets. And if you didn’t want to be constricted by a corset, you could buy a tank top with the corset printed on it. Utilikilt provided skirts for men. That way you could wear a dress but NOT necessarily be a drag queen. The age-old question was easily answered by Sister Dana lifting some of those kilts: they wore NOTHING beneath, of course. Liquid latex was on sale, where you could paint yourself an entire outfit of the material, or choose to splatter various colors, making your body a living canvas a la Jackson Pollack.

I discovered at Rubio Leather a great black leather wristband with a zipper to hold folding money and a few credit cards, when you didn’t want to carry a wallet. Another wristband had a teeny tiny pocket attached, which my friend told me could hold one’s poppers bottle. Manhunt.net tossed embossed cum towels at us. Something novel in sex toys was a dildo with retractable foreskin at the Rentboy.com booth. They compared the dildos on display to their actual wieners – waving them in our face. Lovely.
Good Vibrations had lots of informational material but no unique toys. I expect more of that venerable establishment. Surely the newest Good Vibes board member, comedian Margaret Cho, could have displayed a replica of her boobs and tassels, which we have seen at several of her live shows. I’m just sayin’. Boy Butter, maker of various lubes, displayed a new product: Boy Butter Extreme. It contains the maximum amount of benzocaine allowed by law to make someone numb. “You can pull a Honda up your ass after you apply a little of this,” said a representative. Eyal Feldman, the creator of Boy Butter, added, “There is so much anesthetic in the Extreme, you’ll be Christopher Reeves from the waist down.”

The Frugal Domme was offering “quality toys for discriminating adults at reasonable prices.” They had teddy bears with actual genitalia attached. There were also these spongy bat things suitable for proper beatings, and this was the only place where one could purchase grass reeds for flogging. Domina told me they started out thinking prices for toys were way too high, so they learned to make their own, and then began doing it for others – eventually growing into frugaldomme.com, a family business and sort of mom & pop shop. “We try not to price ourselves too high,” she said.

As a nun, I always appreciate religious toys, which is why it was a thrill to find a 60 percent off sale on religious dildos in the form of a crucifix or Mother Mary, and even a Buddha - not to mention a baby Jesus butt-plug. Monkey Rocker had what appeared to be a beer bong attached to a mouth gag. Apparently this was used as a urinal for a dom to use on a sub; or it could be used as a beer bong or for any kind of liquid to be forced down someone’s throat. A silver teardrop cock-ring was meant to be worn upside down, so it hits the perineum. The “I Rub My Ducky” is a waterproof personal massage tub toy, where the duck is wearing a devil costume. “It’s not the beak; it’s the motion,” says the duck. Camouflage duct tape is perfect for bondage purposes when your submissive is wearing camo gear and needs the perfect matching accessory. We saw a demonstration where a “soldier” was having his chest and balls wrapped in the camo tape. Toys in Babeland had a genuine marble dildo. It seemed more suitable as a paperweight than a toy. But they also had the “Rock Chick” dildo, offering simultaneous G-spot stimulation. There was also a larger version, the “Rude Boy,” made for prostate stimulation.

San Francisco Police Officers Pride Alliance was recruiting queer cops, because we definitely need more of them. SFisready.org was looking for Bay Area residents to participate in HIV vaccine trials. The fabulous drag queen Garza is working with the SF Dept. of Public Health to find these volunteers. She was also working a wheel for people to spin and win a tee shirt, condoms, lube, or Listerine (to rinse when you have sperm breath).

ep Team San Francisco was offering free inoculations against hepatitis A and B. DogsAreTalking.com was testing for syphilis. Stop AIDS Project was pushing its newest Halloween tradition: “Queens of the Porn Palace are Wild,” on Friday Oct. 26, 7pm to midnight. Also you could spin the wheel to win a tee shirt or other shwag.
Bay Area Bisexual Network was giving out The Bisexual Resource Guide – 4th edition for donations. Golden Gate Wrestling had the guys in their sexy singlets doing demonstrations on a mat. They also gave away way kewl pins. Carol Queen, Executive Director of Center for Sex and Culture, was bubbling over with news that the new Center for Sex and Culture was newly located at the old Jon Sims Center at 1519 Mission and 11th Streets.

UUnfortunately Jon Sims is no more, but we’re trying to rise from the ashes,” she said. Fundraising signs at their booth offered: “Today only you can fondle Lorett’s bodacious ta-tas for a good cause,” and “Take a whack for charity; it’s your ass; what’s your pleasure?” And really, that was what the fair was all about: PLEASURE!!!