A rare public presentation by the celebrated author and preeminent historian of leather, Gayle Rubin. Gayle will discuss prominent figures, events, and subcultural trends in the heyday of San Francisco men's leather, from the 1960s to the 1980s, and bring us a slideshow of photos, ephemera, and artifacts (including literary) from her private archives. You won't want to miss this once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity.

GAYLE RUBIN, Ph. D., is a scholar and activist who was one of the founders of Samois, the first lesbian SM support group, in 1978. She has been conducting research on leather culture and history since the late 1970s, and has been deeply involved in the preservation of leather archives and artifacts. She served on the Board of Directors of the Leather Archives and Museum from 1992 to 2000 and has helped build the leather collections of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society (GLBTHS). In 1991, she became the first woman to judge a major national gay male title contest (Mr. Drummer). In 2000 Rubin received the National Leather Association Lifetime Achievement Award and was selected by the Leather Archives & Museum as a “Centurion” – one of twenty in the 20th century recognized for outstanding contributions to Leather.

Rubin is a college professor who teaches classes in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender studies. Newest in her distinguished list of publications are her collected essays in DEVIATIONS: A GAYLE RUBIN READER and VALLEY OF THE KINGS: LEATHERMEN IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1960 – 1990, scheduled for publication next year but already hailed as the most authoritative history of gay men's leather in San Francisco.