Will Rodriguez-Kennedy: Queer Republican Leader Becomes Democrat (tags)
In a dramatic scene at the February 23 meeting of San Diego Democrats for Equality, former San Diego County Log Cabin Republican Club president Will Rodriguez-Kennedy re-enacted his decision to switch parties and become a Democrat. His reason: he's not only tired of Republican Queer-bashing, he's put off by the hypocrisy of openly Queer San Diego Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio, who has pandered to anti-Queer prejudices to get endorsements from the San Diego County Republican Central Committee and has taken money from donors to the anti-Queer Proposition 8.
Leather History Meeting Relives the Wounds of AIDS (tags)
Though it was billed as a panel on the history of San Diego's Leather community, the San Diego League of Gentlemen meeting July 1 turned into something else: an emotionally intense discussion and reminiscence of the effect AIDS had on the Queer community in general and the Leather community in particular. Themselves touched by the crisis directly ? all the panelists either had AIDS, took care of people who did or were active in the community's response ? they talked about the pain of losing so many friends but also how the community grew and its surviving members became more emotionally committed to each other.
KURT WENDELBORG: Not Your Typical Mr. San Diego Leather (tags)
Kurt Wendelborg may look like a typical Leather community titleholder — he’s tall, thin, in excellent shape physically and commandingly butch in his overall appearance and demeanor — but he really isn’t. Most of the Mr. San Diego Leather winners have been people who’ve lived in San Diego and been involved in community activities for years; Kurt had lived in San Diego less than a year when he ran for the title and won. Most of the title winners have been “tops,” playing the dominant role in scenes; Kurt not only is a “bottom” but proudly boasted about it from the stage at Rich’s during the March 19 contest. Offstage, Kurt is personable and easygoing but also passionate and dedicated about serving his community and his fellow human beings. He eagerly agreed to a Zenger’s interview and talked about the role of the title contests in the Leather community, his ambitions as a community leader and how he hopes being Mr. San Diego Leather 2011 will help him grow both personally and as a member of the Leather community.
Michelle Jackson: Sign-Language Interpreter, First Female San Diego Leatherboys President (tags)
Michelle Jackson knew she was going to be interested in languages from the age of five,when her father took her across the border from San Diego to Tijuana and she heard Spanish for the first time. In college she studied American Sign Language (ASL) and ultimately made her living as an interpreter for the deaf community. It was a job she took to interpret at a San Diego Leatherfest that led her to the Leather/kink/BDSM community — and she's become an energetic activist in it, serving as Ms. San Diego Leather 2005 and recently being elected the first female president of the San Diego Leatherboys.
Join this Tuesday evening for ...Los Angeles Day of Remembrance. (tags)
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held globally every November 20th .