Whether you are brand new or have been around the BDSM scene for a while, you’ll find something to entice you at our annual Novice Night.
We start with a panel of women with varying amounts of experience in the kink community, who share their stories and experiences with us.
Then we encourage everyone to peruse a variety of sampler stations that provide opportunities to experience both the top and bottom sides of various BDSM activities – including flogging, spanking, play piercing, caning, rope bondage, and much more. Those staffing the sampling stations have the kind of expertise and seasoning to provide meaningful guidance to all.
We’re excited to have the following people on our panel:
 Queen Cougar |
 Mazikeen |
 Angela di Tenebre |
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 Little Bad Daddy |
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About our Panelists:
Queen Cougar began her BDSM experiences publicly in 1991. A native of New York City, she became active in the SF leather community as a titleholder and participant in a wide variety of events, educational groups and supporter of scene related fundraising activities. Cougar holds the titles of Ms. Headquarters Leather & Ms. SF Leather, both in 1993. Over the years she has developed her skills as a top Emcee, well respected judge, a popular entertainer and workshop presenter for BDSM and Leather related events throughout the United States. Her credits include appearing in “Safe, Sane & Consensual”, “Bloodsisters” and “Kink Crusaders” scene related video documentaries. Over the years she has received numerous certificates, awards and in 2013 the SF Leather Community held a tribute in honor of her 20 years of service. Among the tributes were proclamations naming it Queen Cougar Day and recognition from the SF Supervisors and the State Assembly. Being named a Leather Grand Marshall that year and riding down Market Street in the Pride Parade in a human-horse driven carriage was great fun and a particular thrill for the Queen!
Mazikeen is a queeromantic asexual demigirl. She’s been in the kink scene for 6 years, has taught classes on duct-tape floggers, and is the current Secretary of the San Francisco girls of Leather. Xe’s a switch into pain play, role-play, and needles and has been a frequent DM and volunteer to the community. Her pronouns are either she or xe.
Angela di Tenebre has been active in the San Francisco kink and leather community since 2001, serving the community as both an educator, and a leader in multiple leather organizations. She was on the Advisory Committee for SF Citadel and LLC-XII, and was a member of the organizing committee for LLW and Northwest Leather Celebration for several years. She worked as an officer of the Society of Janus in multiple capacities from 2002 – 2014, is a member of Mama’s Family in Leather (Mama’s Leather Spirit), and is a member and past officer of SF Defenders. She has been both an Independent and Organizational Director of the SF Bay Area Leather Alliance since 2012, served as a judge for the 2012 Ms. SF Leather contest and 2013 Mr. Santa Clara County Leather Association contest, and in March 2013 received the SF Leather Alliance Community Award for “Woman of the Year.”
Best known for her work as part of EduKink, for over a decade, Angela spent her first and second Thursday nights each month introducing hundreds of newcomers to kink and BDSM technique through the Newcomers Series and Paideia playshops. In addition to those series, she has taught a broad spectrum of leather education programs for local organizations and national conferences, both individually, and with her partner, Iain Turner. She and Iain were also the owners and producers of the Dog and Pony Show animal role play weekend in San Francisco for ten years, and producers of the Primal mixed queer energy parties in San Francisco for several years.
Outside the kink community, Angela has provided information on BDSM for the Berkeley Free Clinic’s volunteer training and the SF Regional Mensa’s “Brilliance by the Bay” conference, lectured for the National Sexuality Resource Center’s Summer Institute at SFSU, and is a Pomeroy Distinguished Lecturer and adjunct faculty member for the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. She and Iain were named to the “Who’s Who” of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas for their contributions to the field of sexology and erotology.
Kenzi is a late-transitioning trans woman, who has been out much longer as queer and kinky (~15 years) than as a woman (1.5 years). She has been the part of a lot of different sex and bdsm scenes. From cofounding then leaving a popular bdsm club that tried to bring some of the style and community of queer leather into a broader pansexual/straight kink space (the Katthaus Club), to being put to use at a gay male warehouse party, to discovering how kinky Utah girls can be, she tried to find a home that fit, and finally did in the local women’s leather community. In this community she has since helped start a series of femme4femme dungeon parties as well as help cofound a leather femme4femme facebook group, and attends every women-centered queer leather event she can find.
As such she has both the perspective of both fresh meat here and an old hand in other scenes, and can discuss norms and cultures across those experiences. She is primarily a giggly, top-leaning but still switchy sadomasochist, comfortable across a wide range of modalities of styles of play within that umbrella. She flags orange (ask at the panel) mostly to see if anyone comes up with anything new and interesting, though her current standbys lately are cigars, boots, singletail (as well as a wide range of impact), pressure points and rough body play (including kicking and stomping), and knives and various bloodplay and piercing approaches, all in either role, and rope as a bottom (preferably suspensions).
She will be providing singletail topping or bottoming as part of the sampler after.
Little Bad Daddy identifies as a Sadistic, Leather Dyke Daddy BootBlack, Woman of Color and has been serving the leather community for over 14 yrs. Ms San Francisco Leather 2015 is an active BDSM educator, a leather community organizer geared around fundraising, a member of New Mexico Leather League, Mama’s Family, the Exiles and can be seen singing/performing onstage around the country; she gets around. She is currently a project manager for Saturnalia, Dark Moon Rising Events, and the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Woman’s History Project. She has served as Folsom Board Associate as Venus’ Playground Lead, IMsL Silent Auction Coordinator, NMLL Graphics designer, and Ms San Francisco Leather Art director. She believes walking with honesty, integrity, and compassion in leather are beyond measure, to work hard: play harder, and to always remember to smile.
Beth Downey has been involved with the leather community for over 30 years, first in Southern California where she grew up, and then in San Francisco since 1991. Beth was an organizational director with the SF Bay Area Leather Alliance for 5 years. She has worked as stage manager or director for the past 7 years for several leather contests, including Ms. San Francisco Leather, Mr. San Francisco Leather, International Olympus, International Ms. Leather Contest, and International Person of Leather. Ms. Downey is a 2008 graduate of the Journeyman III Academy. She was Headmaster of Journey-SF in 2013, Jr. Headmaster for the Leatherquest class of 2016, and is now the Leatherquest Headmaster. Ms. Downey was Ms. Golden Gate Leather 1996-1997, and is a member of Mama’s Family.
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The Exiles is an inclusive and sex positive space for all people whose gender self-identification is other than male, regardless of level of experience. All such people are welcome, and racism, transphobia, classism, ageism, size discrimination, and other forms of discrimination have no place here.