We wanted to include a history of women’s leather in the SF Bay Area, as this is the history of the Exiles. As with all history, accurate documentation is needed, and there are often different versions and views of history.
Drake, who was a former co-coordinator of the Exiles, wrote up “History of Our Leather Women’s Group in San Francisco” which was published in 3 parts in 2007. Later, Gayle Rubin, who is not only a historian, but has been a member of our community for years, wrote a response to this history, containing some corrections and alternate views.
Rather than try to reconcile these two versions, they are both included here.
History of Our Leather Women’s Group in San Francisco by Drake
Comments on the above article by Gayle Rubin
Kea joining Ms. Cat as a Co-Coordinator in April of 2019, enabled the Exiles to be categorized as a POC-led organization for 2 years. This opened the Exiles to auto-listings and inclusions to a demographic that previously the Exiles had not had access to. The Exiles soon added the “Diversity Corner” to the Fringe Newsletter, dedicated to highlighting social and educational activities that focused on various multi-cultural, gender-variant, accessibility, and age specific issues and events within our demographic. –Ms. Cat