Arts & Entertainment
The evolution of leather
Changes in ownership, location, technology contribute to morphing BDSM scene
(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
There’s a lot of change in the air with the D.C. gay leather community. As Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend is in town for its annual festivities, we decided to ask around and see if the changes are just coincidental, natural evolution of a maturing scene or indicators of a larger cultural shift of some type.
The bottom-line answer, not surprisingly, is that it depends whom you ask.
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But first, the particulars.
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• The Leather Rack, still gay-owned but under new management, has a new name. Now known as Adam & Eve, it’s still at 1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W. (location of the nearly 40-year-old business since 1991) but is a slightly different shop.
“We felt the name attracts a broader audience, not just gay guys into leather” current owner Russwin Francisco, who bought the business from James McGlade (who’d owned it since 1994), wrote in an e-mail. “We do love gay leather guys and we’ll support the leather community in any way we can. We simply want to ensure that other folks with other sexual fetishes feel as comfortable in our store regardless of gender, sexual orientation or identity. Consequently we are offering women’s fetish wear, toys and accessories along side our men’s [items].”
Francisco is gay, married to a man and has been in Washington for more than 30 years.
McGlade didn’t respond to requests for comment but said in a press release issued when the change became official in November that he was “grateful for our time here as the Leather Rack” and “we wish to thank you for your patronage and endorsement over the years.”
“Jim is a good friend,” Francisco says. “It was a natural transition.”
• As has been widely reported, the D.C. Eagle’s days at its current location at 639 New York Ave., N.W. location are numbered. The most recent official comment was that owners would be there through the end of March via an agreement with the developer of a high-rise office complex that will displace the Eagle and other businesses in the area.
Eagle owners and management staff are being tight-lipped on their plans. Repeated phone calls, e-mails and Facebook messages to Ted Clements, Peter Lloyd and Carl Domer went unacknowledged this week.
Eddie Ortiz, president of the D.C. Boys of Leather, says he sees Clements regularly and though he can’t offer anything official, he understands an announcement is imminent. The Boys have a monthly bar night at the Eagle, as do many of the local gay leather groups.
“I understand the owners do have a location identified, but they haven’t given me a location yet,” Ortiz says. “I think they’re going to announce it over MAL weekend. Ted is the one I talk to a lot.”
David Merrill, who’s gay and DJs the monthly fetish/gear party CODE, says it’s never wise to count the Eagle out.
“We’ve heard rumors of the Eagle’s imminent demise multiple times in the past and, of course, those rumors turned out to be greatly exaggerated,” Merrill says. “I’m certain they’ll open in a new location.”
• The Baltimore Eagle, however, hasn’t been as lucky. It closed last month at its 2022 N. Charles Street location and its fate remains uncertain. The estate of former owner Richard Richardson, who died suddenly in 2007 (he’d purchased it from Tom Kiple in 1995), had been running it in recent years. New owner Charles Parrish did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
In the meantime, many in the Baltimore gay leather community have moved over to Leon’s Leather Lounge, known casually as “the Triple L” at 870 Park Ave.
Rodney Burger, president of the ShipMates Club, which had called the Eagle “home” since the bar opened in 1991, said the last night it was open was memorable.
“It is my understanding that the new owner plans to turn it into office space,” he wrote in an e-mail. “How fitting that the last Saturday the bar was open was our ShipMates’ Daddy Christmas benefit. The bar was packed and we raised $3,000 for Moveable Feast. We closed the bar with a bang.”
He also said Triple L owner Ron Singer made “a nice offer” and they plan to continue meeting there.
“I just hope we can get in there to clear out our trophy case and banners,” Burger said later in a phone interview. “There’s the entire history of the Baltimore leather scene in there including banners from some clubs that haven’t existed for 30 years or more. I’m actually having nightmares about losing this stuff — we need to make sure we can get in there and get all that safely out. I hope it’s OK and doesn’t end up in a dumpster somewhere.”
Those active in the Baltimore leather scene say they’re hearing the Eagle could reopen elsewhere, but nothing definite is known.
“I’ve heard everything from three to five months, I’ve heard longer, the rumor mill is full of stuff,” Rik Newton-Treadway, known as “Hooker” in the leather community there, says.
MAL appears to continue thriving and local gay leather enthusiasts say it’s a major highlight of their year and remains popular with both locals and those who come from out of town.
“There’s always a huge percentage of local people at MAL,” Merrill says. He’ll be spinning his “deep house” and “progressive tribal” music at two special CODE parties at the Crucible this weekend. “I think most local guys into some part of the leather scene make it to at least one of the MAL events. There are so many things to do over the weekend — dance events, play events, times to socialize, the cocktails the Centaurs do — there’s a little something for everybody. That’s one of the great things about the leather community — it’s so diverse.”
Ortiz, whose Boys group is having its own free party/dance tonight at 10 in the Congressional Room at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill (the sold-out host hotel), says he “can’t wait to get going and start dancing.” Though married to his partner of 14 years who’s not into the leather scene, Ortiz is in a slave/master relationship with a leather lover in Michigan whom he sees about once a month and who will be here this weekend for MAL.
“It’s such a fun time,” he says. “It’s great to see people you haven’t seen since last year and it gives us a chance to really hang out in our leather, do play scenes in a safe environment, be who we are, make new friends and also see some of the local people who don’t come out as much unless it’s for MAL.”
Ortiz, by the way, says the Boys club, which even has a couple female members, is about having a boy mindset.
“It’s how you identify in your heart,” he says. “It’s who you are on the inside. There’s no certain way it has to be, but it does tend to be more service oriented. You don’t have to be a complete bottom. Boys can top, but it’s about taking care of a dom or having someone be in charge of you and dominating the play scene.”
With trust and communication in his marriage, he says his other relationship is “working out great for us.”
As for the D.C. scene overall, some say it’s just natural evolution.
Woody says it runs much deeper than simply who owns a leather bar at any given time or where it might be located.
“The smartphone has brought with it a lot of degrading factors,” he says. “There are all these mobile apps now — Scruff, Growlr, Grindr — all these things we didn’t have before. Now I can find a trick a half a mile from me with my GPS-embedded tracker and there are people coming up with different websites all the time. … You can order up anything you want, so there are not as many people interested in romance anymore. Yes, there are still softies with good hearts who want relationships and certainly gay men have always had their hook-up side, but I think there’s a higher turnover ratio when everything’s online.”
Newton-Treadway, who says lots of guys from Baltimore come to D.C. for Leather Weekend (“Are you kidding? It’s practically in our backyard — it’s like a giant cheesecake for everybody who’s supposed to be on a diet.”), says the changing leather scene is much deeper and more complex than it may initially seem.
“I think there are aspects of the lifestyle that in a way are becoming more underground, less in your face,” he says. “I think the economy hasn’t helped. The Internet hasn’t helped. It’s many, many, many different things. I would say long gone are the days when a leather bar could count on the gay leather community to keep it open. With everything out there online, you don’t need to go out. Not long ago, there wasn’t any AOL, hell, we didn’t even have cell phones. You had to go out for dick. It didn’t come to you unless you were in the middle of the gay ghetto and sitting on your front porch. So there’s a lot of change occurring and a lot of contributing factors. And even when you do go out to the bars, everybody’s got their nose in their phone. They might even be texting to someone who’s right there in the bar, but they won’t go over and talk to them.”
But the bar scene in the leather world is far from dead. Jacob Pring, who organizes CODE and the XXX parties at Green Lantern and the Crucible, says he sees lots of younger guys coming to his events and gets anywhere from 100 to 150 guys to an average event.
“There’s always new people coming in,” Pring says. “People bring their friends. It’s fun. No attitude, no drama.”
Ortiz says he’s not so sure it’s changing as much as everybody says.
“I still go out,” he says. “I don’t just sit at home online all the time. I know lots of people who go out and support the clubs.”
Merrill says it is changing but it’s futile to pine for the past.
“Every community changes over time,” he says. “It’s not gonna be 1975 forever. I don’t know what things will look like in another 10 years, but I’m looking forward to finding out.”
Books
Laverne Cox, Liza Minnelli among authors with new books
A tome for every taste this reading season
Spring is a great time to think about vacations, spring break, lunch on the patio, or an afternoon in the park. You’ll want to bring one (or all!) of these great new books.
So let’s start here: What are you up for? How about a great new novel?
If you’re a mystery fan, you’ll want to make reservations to visit “Disaster Gay Detective Agency” by Lev AC Rosen (Poisoned Pen Press, June 2). It’s a whodunit featuring a group of gay roommates, one of whom is a swoony romantic. Add a mysterious man who disappears and a murder, of course, and you’ve got the novel you need for the beach.
Don’t discount young adult books, if you want something light to read this spring. “What Happened to Those Girls” by Carlyn Greenwald (Sourcebooks Fire, June 30) is a thriller about mean girls and a camping trip that goes terribly, bloodily wrong. Meant for teens ages 14 and up, young adult books are breezier and lighter fare for the busy grown-up reader.
If you loved “Boyfriend Material” and “Husband Material,” you’ll be eager for the next installment from author Alexis Hall. “Father Material” (Sourcebooks Casablanca, June 2) takes Luc and Oliver to the next step. First was dating. Then was marriage. Is it time for the sound of pitter-patter on the kitchen floor?
Maybe something even lighter? Then how about a book of essays – like “The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay” bycomedian and writer Eliot Glazer (Gallery Books, Aug. 11). It’s a book of essays on being gay today, the irritations, the joys, and fitting in. Be aware that these essays may contain a bit of spice – but isn’t that what you want for your reading pleasure anyhow, hmmm?
But okay, let’s say you want something with a little more heft to it. How about a biography?
Look for “Transcendant” by Laverne Cox (Gallery Books, June 9), or “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This” by Liza Minnelli (Grand Central Publishing, March 10), and “Every Inch a Lady” by Audrey Smaltz with Alina Mitchell (Amistad, July 14). Keep your eyes open for “Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge” by Harvey Brownstone (ECW Press, May 26) or “The Double Dutch Fuss” by Phill Branch (Amistad, June 2).
Then again, maybe you want some history, or something different.
So here: look for “Queer Saints: A Radical Guide to Magic, Miracles, and Modern Intercession” by Antonio Pagliarulo (Weiser, June 1) for a little bit of faith-based gay. Music lovers will want “Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000” by Barry Walters (Viking, May 12). Activists will want “In the Arms of Mountains: A Memoir of Land, Love, and Queer Resistance in Red America” byformer Idaho state Sen. Cole Nicole LeFavour (Beacon Press, May 26).
And if these books aren’t enough, then be sure to check with your favorite bookseller or librarian. They’ll have exactly what you’re in the mood to read. They’ll find what you need for that patio, beach towel, or easy chair.
Music & Concerts
Gaga, Cardi B, and more to grace D.C. stages this spring
Shake off your winter doldrums at a local concert
D.C. shakes off its winter blues this spring as the music scene pops off. We all know the big star is coming: Lady Gaga will perform at Capital One Arena on March 23. But plenty of other stars, big and small, will grace D.C. stages, including many LGBTQ and ally artists.
March
3/15, 9:30 Club, St. Lucia – Indie electronic music project known for its synth-pop sound, which blends ‘80s influences with electronic and indie rock elements.
3/31, Lincoln Theatre, Perfume Genius – Indie/pop singer/songwriter Mike Hadreas, also known as Perfume Genius, has toured with a full band, but he is stripping things back for this tour.
April
4/8, Capital One, Cardi B. Cardi B, from New York, unapologetic and proud, is the first solo female artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. This year, she’s on her Little Miss Drama Tour, in support of her second studio album, “Am I the Drama?”
4/13, Lincoln Theatre, The Naked Magicians. Australia’s The Naked Magicians are two performers who deliver live magic and laughs while wearing nothing but a top hat and a smile.
4/18, Capital One, Florence and the Machine. Longstanding indie rock back from Great Britain, much-loved for lead singer Florence’s powerful vocals. On their Everybody Scream Tour.
4/16, Capital One, Demi Lovato. Singer/songwriter from Texas, who came out as nonbinary, is traveling on her “It’s Not That Deep Tour.”
4/21, The Anthem, Calum Scott. Platinum-selling gay singer/songwriter Calum Scott released his latest project, Avenoir, last year. Scott rose to fame in 2015 after competing on Britain’s Got Talent, where he performed a cover of Robyn’s hit “Dancing on My Own“.
4/26, Atlantis, Caroline Kingsbury. American queer pop musician from Los Angeles. She released her debut album in 2021, and has two additional EPs. She’s played Lollapalooza 2025 and All Things Go 2025, as well as gone on a co-headlining U.S. tour with MARIS. Shock Treatment is her latest EP.
4/26, Anthem, Raye. This bisexual artist, known for her current chart-topping “”Where Is My Husband!” single, blends pop, jazz, R&B, and more.
4/30, Union Stage, Daya. This bisexual singer/songwriter is on her “Til Every Petal Drops Tour,” touring the album of the same name that was released last year.
May
5/1, The Anthem, Joost Klein. Eurovision comes to D.C. in Joost Klein: Originally a Youtuber, he was selected to represent the Netherlands at Eurovision in 2024 with his song “Europapa.” He released a new album on New Year’s Day.
5/1, Fillmore, MIKA. MIKA is on his Spinning Out Tour. Born in Beirut and raised in both Paris and London, MIKA sings in multiple languages and has co-hosted Eurovision.
5/7, 9:30 Club, COBRAH. Clara Christensen, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and club queen, making electronic dance music.
5/19, Atlantis, Grace Ives. New York-born singer/songwriter, known for her high-energy synth/electronic, bedroom-pop-style music.
June
6/2, The Anthem, James Blake. English crooner got big from his self-titled debut album in 2011. He won two Grammys and just released his 7th album,Trying Times, in March.
It’s surely a sign of the times that this year’s spring preview of upcoming screen entertainment doesn’t hold nearly as much boldly out-and-proud queer content as we would like – but then again, there are only a small handful of noteworthy titles overall – especially on the big screen, where, just like any year, the top-grade content is being saved for summer.
Even so, we’ve managed to put together a list of the movies and shows on the horizon that offer a much-needed taste of the rainbow; a mix that includes returning favorites, “don’t-miss” events, and a few promising big screen crowd-pleasers, it should keep you occupied until the summer season brings a fresh new crop of (hopeful) blockbusters with it.
Scarpetta (Prime Video, March 11). Proving once again that she’s on a quest to accumulate more screen appearances than any other actor in history, Nicole Kidman returns for another star turn by way of this true-crime-ish mystery series, adapted from the bestselling “Kay Scarpetta” novels by lesbian author Patrica Cornwell, as a “brilliant and beautiful” forensic pathologist who uses her knowledge to solve murders. If that’s not enough to draw you in, her co-stars include fellow Oscar-winners Jamie Lee Curtis (as her feisty older sister) and Ariana DuBose (as her nosy lesbian niece), as well as Bobby Cannavale and Simon Baker.
It’s Dorothy! (Peacock, March 13). Filmmaker Jeffrey McHale first won our attention with his fun and insightful “Showgirls” documentary, and now he’s back with a look at perhaps the ultimate queer icon in popular culture: none other than Dorothy Gale, that Kansas farm girl who taught us all that “there’s no place like home” in L. Frank Baum’s classic novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its sequels – and of course, in a certain movie adaptation starring Judy Garland. Charting the journey of the fictional heroine across a century of cultural reiterations – on the page, the stage, the screen, and beyond – with a mix of archival material, artistic interpretations, and commentary from queer and queer-friendly voices such as John Waters, Rufus Wainwright, and Lena Waithe, it’s sure to be required viewing for every “Friend of Dorothy” – and all of their friends, too.
The 37th Annual GLAAD Media Awards (Hulu, March 21). Sure, it’s already happened and you already know (or can find out with a few quick taps of your phone screen) who and what the winners were – but, hey, we already know that the Oscars aren’t going to offer much in the way of queer victories (since there are only a small handful of queer nominees), so why not plan to watch the GLAAD ceremony (recorded live on March 5 for later streaming)?
The Comeback: Season 3 (HBO Max, March 22). Another returning gem is this inventive “mockumentary” style sitcom-about-a-sitcom, starring Lisa Kudrow as a “B-list” television star trying to revive her own faltering career. Slow to catch on in its first season (which originally aired in 2005), it won acclaim (and new fans) when it was rebooted in 2014 by Kudrow and collaborator/co-creator Michael Patrick King (former executive producer of “Sex in the City,” and now returns after a 12-year hiatus for another installment, which tracks “never-was” has-been Valerie Cherish through yet another attempt to make stardom happen. If you like cynical, sharp-edged satire, especially when it’s aimed at the behind-the-scenes world of show-biz, then you’ve probably already discovered this one – but if you haven’t, now’s your chance to jump on board.
Heartbreak High: Season 3 (Netflix, March 25). Fans of this imported Australian teen “dramedy” series – itself the “soft reboot” of another popular Australian series from the ‘90s – will be thrilled for the arrival of its third and final installment, which picks up where it left off in the lives (and sex lives) of the students and teachers of a suburban high school. As always, it can be expected to push the envelope (and some buttons) with its irreverent treatment of issues of class, race, and sexuality – and to deliver another season’s worth of the colorful and striking costume designs that have been acclaimed as a highlight of the show. And yes, it includes a refreshingly significant number of variously queer characters, so if you’re not already on board with his hidden gem of a streamer, we suggest you should give it a shot – you can probably even catch up on the first two seasons before this one drops.
Pretty Lethal (Prime Video, March 25). Fresh from a March 13 debut at the SXSW Film and TV Festival, this girl-power fueled action thriller from director Vicky Jewson and writer Kate Freund centers on a troupe of ballerinas who, while en route to a prestigious ballet competition, are stranded by a bus breakdown and must take shelter at a remote roadside inn run by Uma Thurman as a ruthless crime boss. Needless to say, the girls are forced to adapt their dance prowess into combat skills before the night is over. With a cast that includes Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Avantika, Millicent Simonds, and Michael Culkin, our bet is that it’s sure to be campy fun with a feminist twist.
Forbidden Fruits (Theaters, March 27). Adapted from the play “Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die” by Lily Houghton (who co-wrote the screenplay with director Meredith Alloway), this comedy/horror film about a group of young witches who operate a “femme cult” out of the basement of a mall store called “Free Eden” looks like another campy treat, full of witchy wiles and bitchy rivalries, but something about its theatrical pedigree tells us it will also be more than that. Even if we’re wrong, though, we’ll be perfectly happy; why would anyone say no to a delicious piece of camp, especially when it has a cast led by Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, and Alexandra Shipp, with creator/influencer Emma Chamberlain in her film debut and heavyweight talent Gabrielle Union thrown in for good measure? We’re ready to join the coven.
Club Cumming (WOW Presents Plus, March 30). Queer icon Alan Cumming (currently riding high as host of “The Traitors”) takes us inside his NYC East Village gay bar, nightclub, and showplace for a behind-the-scenes reality series that spotlights the talent, fashion, and fabulously queer vibe that makes the establishment one of queer New York’s most iconic nightspots. Cabaret singer Daphne Always, go-go dancer and drag performer Michelle Wynters, Drag queen Brini Maxwell, Drag king Cunning Stunt, and Comedian Jake Cornell are among the many reasons why this little slice of the queer New York scene is reason enough alone to become a subscriber to World of Wonder’s streaming platform – though if you’re a “Drag Race” superfan, chances are good you already are.
The Boys: Season 5 (Prime Video, April 8). Amazon’s violent superhero satire, complete with its divisive and deliciously challenging emphasis on queer storylines and its in-your-face caricature of contemporary American “culture war” politics, returns for its fifth and final season, along with all the thorny issues of racism, nationalism, and xenophobia it has showcased all along, and an ensemble cast that includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, and the rest of the usual players. A decidedly queer-informed game-changer in the mainstream fan culture, it’s a show that will be sorely missed – but with several spin-offs already in existence (including the even-queerer “Gen V”) and another (“Vought Rising”) on the way, we can take comfort in knowing that its influence will live on.
Euphoria: Season 3 (HBO Max, April 12). The controversial Sam Levinson-created drama that is HBO’s fourth most-watched series of all time is back after a lengthy hiatus, rejoining the lives of its dysfunctional characters – queer struggling addict Rue (Zendaya), trans teen Jules (Hunter Schafer), abusive sexually insecure football star Nate (Jacob Elordi), and the rest – a full five years later, away from the social traumas of high school and settled into what we can only assume is an equally-dysfunctional life as young adults. Renowned for its cinematic visual styling and its no-holds-barred treatment of “triggering” subject matter, this long-awaited return is likely to be at or near the top of a lot of watchlists – and ours is no exception.
Mother Mary (Theaters, April 17). One of the most promising (and queerest) offerings of the season is this psychological thriller set in the world of pop music, helmed by acclaimed filmmaker David Lowery (“A Ghost Story,” “The Green Knight”) and starring Anne Hathaway (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Les Misérables”) as a pop singer who becomes entwined in a twisted affair with fashion designer Michaela Cole (“I May Destroy You,” “Black Earth Rising”). Besides its two queer-fan-fave stars, it features trans actress Hunter Schafer (“Euphoria”), FKA Twigs, and Jessica Brown Findlay (“Downton Abbey”) in supporting roles, and to top it all off, it includes a soundtrack full of original songs. With a celebrated director behind it and an award-winning pair of leading ladies, this one has all the potential of a future classic.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Theaters, May 1). Meryl Streep is back as Miranda Priestley, need we say more? We know the answer to that is “no,” but we still need to remind you that Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci are all part of the deal, too, as this hotly anticipated sequel hits the screen just ahead of the summer rush. Along for the ride are Kenneth Branagh, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, B.J. Novak, Conrad Ricamora, Sydney Sweeney, Rachel Bloom, Donatella Versace, and Lady Gaga herself. We trust that will be sufficient to ensure that you will show up on opening day – dressed accordingly, of course.
The Sheep Detectives (Theaters, May 8) Rounding out our roundup with a fun-for-the-family treat that blends live action with animation for an inter-species “whodunnit” with an all-star array of talent, this adaptation of Leonie Swann’s 2005 novel “Three Bags Full” centers on a flock of sheep as they attempt to solve the murder of their beloved shepherd. Boasting onscreen performances from Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Braun, Nicholas Galitzine, and Molly Gordon, along with character voices provided by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein, and Rhys Darby, this one might be just the kind of lightweight entertainment we all need as we move deeper into the confounding year of 2026.
And if not, stay hopeful – the films and shows of summer will be here soon enough.
Gay Venezuelan man ‘forcibly disappeared’ to El Salvador files claim against White House
Trump proclamation targets trans rights as State Dept. shifts visa policy
Adolescentes trans en Ecuador podrán cambiar datos en su cédula, pero con condicionamientos
Gay Cameroonian immigrant will be freed from ICE detention — for now
Laverne Cox, Liza Minnelli among authors with new books
Trump will refuse to sign voting bill without anti-trans provisions
Man stuck in Lebanon as Iran war escalates
Owner of D.C. gay bar Green Lantern John Colameco dies at 79
PHOTOS: ‘Defrosted’
