CAM WINS
Our Sex Issue cover models, Maitresse Madeline and Lorelei Lee — both of whom host kinky dominatrix web cam shows for Kink.com — hauled in a record-breaking $42,000 each for a single show. The money itself is part of the sex play: patrons bid higher and higher as a latex-clad dominatrix crosses her legs on camera, her stare demanding servitude. “It’s not only that they’re willing to pay for this because they can get what they want, when they want,” Mistress Madeleine says on Kink’s Behind the Kink video series. “They’re paying for this relationship with a performer. It’s very intimate, it’s one-on-one.” There’s no Guinness World Record for money raised during a dominatrix cam shoot — yet — but the staggering dollar amount gained quite a bit of attention in January, when the hour long auction was held.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGVcrdN_BrA
ON THE ROPES
A burning question for the banjo-playing dominant: Where can you learn Hillbilly Hojojitsu? The country-flavored twist on the Japanese art of rope restraint is just one of the offerings at BondCon, a local, pansexual bondage convention going down Thu/18-Sun/21. Threesome Tips, Grappling and Takedowns for Submission Play, How to Become a Professional Dominant, and “It’s a Trap!” Playful Scenes and Non-Bondage Predicaments (because even kinksters can make Star Wars jokes) are some of the classes being taught at BondCon’s location in the SF Armory. But should you want to skip kink-school and don your leather post-haste, the BondCon Ball is an “exclusive party for BDSM enthusiasts” where fetish attire is, of course, encouraged, and demonstrations of bondage will abound. www.bondcon.com
DIY S&M
John Huxley’s The Artisan’s Book of Fetishcraft: Patterns and Instructions for Creating Professional Fetishwear, Restraints and Sensory Equipment (Greenery Press) isn’t only a step-by-step guide for creating high-quality fetishwear; it’s a call to assert your own creative control over your innermost desires. Huxley recommends readers use the book’s patterns and templates — which can be adjusted to any shape and size for a precise fit — as a jumping-off point to customize their fetishwear and create a personalized identity and experience. Chapters include Clothing, Leather, Restraints, Sensory Deprivation, Pleasure, and Pain. Tool requirements vary by project, but most require a sewing machine. $27.95 paperback; also available at the SF Public Library
ABS-FAB
Born amid World War II with the unwieldy name of Armin Hagen Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene, studly Peter Berlin grew up to become a photographer who always had access to his favorite subject: himself. (He was also a self-taught fashion designer who specialized in crafting outfits that accentuated his Greek god-esque physique.) In the 1970s, he moved to San Francisco and starred in porn classics Nights in Black Leather (1973) and That Boy (1974), which he also wrote and directed; he was also photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe and Andy Warhol. 2005 doc That Man: Peter Berlin brought renewed interest to his self-portraits, which will be displayed at Magnet in the Castro throughout October. Don’t miss “Peter Berlin Talks!” (Oct. 18), which promises to cover “his favorite subject … SEX.” www.magnetsf.org
ZBÖRN AGAIN
“Expect glitter, expect Twitter (don’t expect Twitter), expect foul language and talking about dicks, expect body dysmorphia, but like in the opposite direction. The greatest expectation, however, should be all-killer-no-filler face-melting community building,” says Greg Der Ananian, lead singer of energetic homo-punk band Zbörnak, of the group’s two appearances this week. Opening Sat/20 for !!! and Jello Biafra in the SF Eagle’s outdoor lot (5pm, $20, 12th Street and Harrison, SF; www.sf-eagle.com), and kicking things off 11am, Sun/21 on main stage of Folsom Street Fair (10th Street and Howard, SF; www.folsomstreetfair.com), the fearsome foursome will surely launch into recent, too-catchy hit “Dikpix” while letting the Golden Girls references fly.
HUNG-CRAFTED
Quite possibly nothing could be more “San Francisco” than the crowd funded, locally made, sustainably sourced, rainbow-colored, hand-crotcheted fetish harness known as Yarness. Available in three kicky styles, in a seemingly infinite array of color combinations, the Yarness combines artisanal craftiness and sexy style with a welcome bit of winking humor. “Yarness came from my urge to plug into the leather scene on my own terms,” says creator Ryan Crowder. “I can be a reluctant exhibitionist, and when I put on a Yarness, I just went to town. I felt fancy!” Hook one up at Yarness.me, or look for the eye-popping Yarness booth at Folsom Street Fair, Sun/21.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTyCSYeMUfI
RING MY BELLE
Our city’s newest nudie magazine, Belle SF, is tasteful smut by locals, for locals. The full-color glossy is reminiscent of early Playboy, a throwback to an era when Photoshop was the name of the place you got your filmed developed. Lighting and props are minimal, and women appear naturally sexy — that’s the intent of publishers Melissa and David Beaulieu. So far they’ve been successful. Issue two is on stands now, with 92 pages of art, culture writing, and gorgeous centerfolds (like the elegant Samantha Leon). The magazine is available at 22 Bay Area locations, including Green Apple Books and Modern Times. Belle SF’s journalism is also sometimes produced by its models, like a recent article on mail-order brides. Between the centerfolds and the journalism, most of what you’ll see is a celebration of beautiful, smart locals.
SURPRISE! QUEERS.
In the early 2000s, Guerilla Queer Bar was a joyous, ragtag event that imported flamboyant queers into stalwartly heterosexual areas like the Marina for some community-building culture clash (and occasional recruitment). Now, the founders of GQB have brought it back, in a national form called Pop-Up Gay Bar, which uses e-mail notifications to let participants know when and where the next pop-up pops up. “We’re letting it develop organically outside SF, since we noticed that GQB was different in each city it spread to,” says Brian McConnell, who launched the new effort with Sister Selma Soul. Yes, there is a leather-themed one planned for an unsuspecting straight bar during Folsom Weekend — sign up at the site for more info. www.popupgaybar.com
ON THE LAMB
Folsom Street Fair organizers made a surprise announcement last week: giant, sheep-shaped Burning Man art car BAAAHS (Big Ass Amazingly Awesome Homosexual Sheep) would make an appearance at this year’s dance stage. Yes, you enter from the rear — and watch your head near those cannily placed disco balls. www.baaahs.org