Elected Wayne Daubney as the new President. Treasurer is Greg Bloye, Secretary Jon Kok, and Rod Spark as Public Officer. Committee members are BN, David B, Sam K, Ray P and Aaron S.

• September 30, SLPA paid off all long-term debtors. Have nearly retired all the debt, except we had to keep some cash in the account for cashflow purposes. A couple of individuals still need their money paid, and this will happen when we get some cashflow. (For the past five years or so, SLPA committee members have been using their personal credit cards for SLPA cashflow.) “We had $126,000 of debt in 2005 and didn’t have the funds for basic things. We spent five years of having to pay all our bills in cash, weeks in advance. Or we’d have to submit cheques 14 days before to make sure the funds cleared.”

So we’ve restored our financial standing in the community, though some firms will still insist on cash upfront.

• After putting in a grant application, we got $400 to make safe sex packs specifically aimed at our leather community.
• The Cocktail party was a big hit during SLPA Week, with many turning out in their finest outfits.
• The Sydney Opera House Trust has asked us to cease using the Opera House logo. It’s OK if we include Centrepoint Tower and the Harbour Bridge in equal proportion in the logo, but not the Opera House by itself. We might hold a design competition. Also, we’re checking out what the terms are and a timeline for implementing any changes – this all to be investigated and negotiated.

Our Sydney Opera House logo cloth badges, enamel pins will become collector items. We’d probably still be able to use the old Flag for historic purposes, but will need funds for a new flag.

• We need more ways to encourage and retain volunteers (eg. give membership, freebies.) We get lots of vollies for Inquisition but fewer for smaller events.
• A recent coat check had 9 racks and 132 items. Coat checks became mandatory after the $126,000 debt was incurred, as it was essential for raising cash.
• Who wants to teach Rope 101? A lot of demand for such a course.
• There were some online comments at samesex.com.au about our SLPA Mr Leather, so the committee reiterated that, apart from his “woof” appeal, he is chosen for his ability to represent and speak on behalf of our community in an intelligent way, it’s not just be an “underwear model” type.
  

by
trashie

 

Why are butch women pushing femmes around in public places? Elbowing them in pubs and shoving past? When a femme reapplies make-up, some butches say: “You’re a whore. You’ve got too much shit on your face already.”
To address these issues, SLPA held a “Butch and the Lost Art of Manners” workshop, convened by Nikki and Naomi, both with more than 20 years of experience on the scene.
“Lots of things have declined – manners and chivalry,” Nikki said. “There are lots of butches who seem a bit lost in their identity.”
The theory is that butches have taken on the bravado of gangsta rap/hip hop culture.
Participant K said the new attitude is: “As long as I’m alright, I don’t have to look after anyone else.”
“Each of us must not accept bad behaviour,” K said, who was on the scene in the 70s when feminism was hitting its stride.
Nikki said the past six months have been a “big eye-opener”. She’d been brought up as a Catholic girl in the country and now, after 20 years of being off the scene, she’d come back and been shocked by the amount of aggro shown at pubs and niteclubs.
When she first joined the scene in 1990,there had been other issues to wrestle with. “Back then, everyone was labelled as a stone butch and you fucked.” [Nikki gave us a handout which defined a stone butch as: “a masculine female-bodied person who strongly dissociates from her body, to the point that she doesn’t allow her female parts to be touched or acknowledged. Emotionally, can be ‘untouchable’.”]
“It took 10 years for me to get through the stone butch shit. I’ve been labelled a ‘butch’, ‘stone butch’, a ‘top’.”
Nikki said roles should be about “choice. Communicate with your partner. Try to break it down – who kills the spiders? Who changes the lightbulb?
“Just because I’m butch, doesn’t mean I’m the one in control. I’m the caregiver at home, the strength. But I’m proud to be submissive as well. I missed out on lots and am making up for it now.”
Nikki urged butches to: “open doors, walk people to a taxi, take down the taxi number. Manners can be sexualised. It’s fun. Do little acts of chivalry.”
Participant Nicky added: “Courtesies don’t cost anything; they are priceless ways of showing respect and making others feel special and valued in what has become a self-centred culture.
“The feeling you get when you have manners – you feel great.”

 Summary:

• Be graciousness.
  
• Be assertive, set boundaries.
  
• Pay it forward. Teach by example.
  
• When making your way through a crowded niteclub, touch someone on the back respectfully – don’t elbow people out of the way.
  
• Ageism – take it into consideration when interacting. Don’t be patronising.

 by trashie

SLPA wants to get more women involved. There was a good-sized crowd of about 50. And there’s a shortage of volunteers. We were reminded that volunteering is a great way to meet people. The women were very assertive in speaking up. There wasn’t any reticence.

Notes from what was said:

• An ideal would be 30% to 40% female participation, to give a good vibe and make spaces feel safe for women.
• We’ve lost the dirty, edgy kinkness. It’s more “fluffy handcuffs” nowadays – that needs to be reversed.
• Bring back the shows; women like them. Men don’t like them as much. Women should be encouraged to stand up the front for shows and enjoy them. Also, there should be shows featuring men – it’s very difficult to find male performers.
• Regular play parties for women and trannie bois. More sex!
• Have two-hours of degustation-style parties where various types of kink are sampled.
• Have a Ms Butch or Ms Leather again.
• Advertise for more women kinksters on Adult matchmaker, Lesbian Matchmaker. Articles in Cherrie.
• Women have been the backbone of SLPA’s volunteer work for many years. They do most of the thankless work and then are derided and made to feel unwelcome by some of the men. Women tend to need to do volunteer work due to not earning as much money as men (vollie work = free dance party tickets), and don’t expect to be treated like dirt for doing essential tasks.
• Women often have a different way of approaching tasks: tend to start out at the bottom, get a Master’s degree in a subject, then do it. Whereas men tend to jump in. Women should be encouraged and not leapfrogged over. A lot of women won’t put themselves forward as an expert on a topic, they need to be encouraged, then backed up with resources. They should be mentored as sidekicks for bigger tasks. Why is it always men running the parties and mentoring each other?
• There should be events that are just for volunteers, to show they’re appreciated. (eg. at a big party, let them jump up on stage all at midnite, or go to a barbecue.)
• Lots of women are cheesed off with getting negative attitude from men at dance parties. A participant gave an example of how a bloke at a dance party was in the toilets with them and said: “You shouldn’t be here.” They thought they were in the men’s toilets, but it turned out he meant they should not even be at the party! Spoilt their night.
• Fetish fashion changes more often for women. When women turned up to an Inquisition dressed in large ball gowns and big hairdos, which was the current trend, men accused them of not being “leather women”. Men need to be educated that fetish fashions among women evolve and change, there’s not one standard “look”.
• Some men don’t realise that the association is open to all people of different sexual persuasions. Educating men, would that be enough? If any transgress and do something inappropriate at a dance party, who will be the judge and jury and throw them out? Maybe they should be given a set of rules to read if they’re a newcomer?
• There’s no voice for youth in the community. Young women are treated in a patronising way, like: “Oh, poor little one, you’ll get scared.” Yet sometimes they’ve had more years of experience in the kink scene than older women.
• There should be a “Kinky Outreach” program to reach newcomers. Have munches.
• New venues needed for education workshops. Ask Maxxx Black.
• Use venues that are more welcoming to women. Many women had been rejected from one of the current venues SLPA is using. There aren’t many venues that will accept the leather crowd.

      Details were collected after the meeting and everyone was asked to come forward and get involved.

by trashie