New Horizons
Saturday, Jun. 17, 2006 + 12:32 am

I've lived in New York for too long without experiencing, at least from a distance, the seedy side of life. So to fix that, I went to a gay leather bar for the first time tonight.

It's weird to be so aware of one's gender. I felt acutely aware of the fact that I was the only female in a very very male environement. These were not "fem" gay boys. These were leather chap wearing, whip whielding, tattoed, pierced, gay men. Big, scary, hairy, and stinking faintly of BO.

So I did what any normal girl would do in that situation--I talked to them. I talked to the 62 year old guy covered in tatoos, sitting with his shirt unbuttoned so that everyone could see his nipple rings the circumfrence of a #2 pencil. and I talked to the gay couple, one rather "normal" looking young man, with his lover on his knees, holding a dog collar and leash. Oh, and don't forget the 300 pound, 6 foot 2 beef cake with his ass hanging out of leather chaps. Yup, talked to him too. About him growing up in Iowa.

And the one thing I took away from this? These were some of the kindest, most open people I've ever met. If any one of them walked down my white "suburban" street in Hoboken, they'd be gawked at, ridiculed, osticized...but me, in the same position, a relatively innocent girl dressed in conservative work slacks and a button down striped shirt...I recieved nothing but friendly warmth and acceptance. And when I made jokes about sticking out like a sore thumb, they said, "eh, don't worry about it. You gotta be who you are." Fucking cool, man.

Current read:
Music of Choice:
_________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

prev // next