Yo! It’s yr girl, yvette, and welcome to the inaugural newsletter. I met up with our pals at Luke & Jack recently and they told me, “You need a mailing list. We’re not kidding you actually need a mailing list,” and here we are! Most of the relevant info is gonna be front-loaded but read on if you want other such dykery. Happy October, at any rate. Here’s to another weird autumn.

Upcoming Events

Bootblack Circle

This will be on Wednesday 15th of October, at Adrian’s on Victoria Road (G42 8RW) from 7pm till 11pm(ish). This one is for the Govanhill crowd (well, it’s for everyone interested in bootblacking, but it is also especially for the govanhill crowd). Bootblack Rowan and I will bring some extra bootblacking gear, as well as some extra leather wear in case people need stuff to use/work on, so don’t worry if you’re totally new to all this. It’s not really going to be a class on leathercare, but there’ll be peer-support and camaraderie and that sort of thing. Photographer Rowan (there are two, yeah) is going to be there, hopefully, to take some shots of people’s gear (with permission). Vibes are gonna be chill, though don’t worry if this isn’t your jam – we’ll see you at the next bar night.

If you’re curious about resources in advance of the bootblack circle, here’s a short tutorial, a demo and discussion, a list of basic kit items, and some general info on kit, technique, and types of leather, h/t Bootblack Rowan. This is in no way required reading or anything for the event, just if you’re interested then here’s some stuff to look at.

Category Is Leatherdyke History

This will be on Thursday 16th of October at Category Is from 7pm, and WE’RE NOT RUNNING IT but some of us will be in attendance. Wanted just to shout that one out. Bootblack Rowan has suggested this timeline as something to check out if you’re interested in Leatherdyke history as well.

SQIFF – Squad Goals

This will be on Wednesday 29th October at Boardwalk Theatre (G1 1TF) from 9pm. It’s a screening run by SQIFF of a few queer short films, but our own Bootblack Rowan will be there on the panel repping us Leatherdykes. (I will also be there though not on the panel.) Come, watch it, say hi, and listen to us talk about chosen family (which we want to abolish, so it should be a lively discussion). Thanks to SQIFF for inviting us!

Bar Night

The fourth Glasgow Leatherdykes Bar Night will be on Wednesday 5th of November, at Game Over, Drury Street (G2 5AA) from 7pm till 11:30pm(ish). Put it in your calendars! We’re not doing anything special for bonfire night, but there’ll be fireworks going off presumably and maybe more chancers at the door than usual.

Leatherdykes recommend…

SugarButch Blog (Milo)

"Mostly sharing this for the essays (I haven't read much of the erotica yet!), both SugarButch's own and others platformed. There's some good writing on D/s protocol and relationships, and I particularly liked the anonymously-authored essay "This Is A Conversation About Duties: On M/s Language””

You can find it here.

Sex, or the Unbearable (Yvette)

This is a series of conversations between queer theorists Lauren Berlant and Lee Edelman about sex, or the unbearable. The first chapter was originally part of a Gayle Rubin retrospective, so there’s your leatherdyke connection. It’s also got a really tight Lydia Davis short story in the appendix of which they present alternate close readings. If you’re interested in the idea of “sex without optimism” and some of the queer nihilism that underpins my personal philosophy of this whole leatherdyke community thing, then this is the book for you. Fight the future, as per Mulder & Scully. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a copy hanging out in the theory section at Cat Is, but don’t quote me on that.

Blog

So we’re a few months into this and things seem to be going pretty well! I’m certainly pleased with turnout at the bar nights, and I’m excited to see how the bootblacking circle goes. If it’s attended well enough, we’ll try moving to a bi-monthly schedule (as in, twice a month), where we’ll have the bar night at Game Over on the first wednesday and a more chill night at Adrian’s on the third wednesday. This’d be for people who are into, like, the technical side of leather and want a place to talk and develop skills, so we’d be expecting a lower attendance at the third week events but that’s kinda the point.

We’ve got a few other projects in amongst ourselves on the way. The photos Photographer Rowan took at the most recent bar night using a different sort of film than before (Tungsten? ask them) are still in/awaiting development, so get hype for those. I’ve finished a first draft of a booklet of some smut called UNTITLED LEATHERSEX TRIPTYCH, so if that’s your sorta thing, hopefully that’ll be available by the end of the year. Bootblack Rowan & I are going to be writing a zine titled ANTI-PROTOCOL, which is a critique of high-protocol dynamics and a manifesto for an anti-protocol, developed along our own particular relationship anarchist lines. (This is part of a broader project to theorise a relationship anarchy that isn’t awful lmao.) Anyway, keep your eyes open for all that.

Thanks!!

That’s the first newsletter! Get ready for more of this in your inbox over the coming weeks/months/years(???). Keep yourself warm and keep your leathers clean & conditioned with all this rain.

As always, check the linktree for email, safeguarding, accessibility, and socials.

With more love than my heart can bear,

yr girl, yvette, for Glasgow Leatherdykes