Cynthia Slater
Cynthia Slater | |
|---|---|
| File:CynthiaSlater.jpeg | |
| Born | August 7, 1945 |
| Died | October 26, 1989 (aged 44) |
| Occupation | Activist, sex educator, dominatrix |
| Subject | Activism, BDSM |
| Notable works | Co-founding Society of Janus |
Cynthia Slater (August 7, 1945 – October 26, 1989) was an American sex educator, HIV/AIDS activist, and dominatrix. She was the co-founder of the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society),[1] a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group known as the Society of Janus, which she founded with Larry Olsen in August 1974.[2][3]
Work
Cynthia Slater and the Catholic Priest", Jack Fritscher. Drummer 27, February 1979.</ref> According to the Leather Hall of Fame biography of Slater, she said of the Society of Janus,
- "There were three basic reasons why we chose Janus. First of all, Janus has two faces, which we interpreted as the duality of SM (one’s dominant and submissive sides). Second, he’s the Roman god of portals, and more importantly, of beginnings and endings. To us, it represents the beginning of one’s acceptance of self, the beginning of freedom from guilt, and the eventual ending of self-loathing and fear over one’s SM desires. And third, Janus is the Roman god of war—the war we fight against stereotypes commonly held against us."[2]
Death
On October 26, 1989, Slater died of AIDS complications.[4] She is among those commemorated in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.[5]
Awards and honors
In 1989, she received the National Leather Association International’s Jan Lyon Award for Regional or Local Work.[6] In 2003, she received the Forebear Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.[7] In 2007, the National Leather Association International inaugurated awards for excellence in SM/fetish/leather writing. The categories include the Cynthia Slater award for non-fiction article.[8] In 2014, Slater was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.[2] In 2017, the art installation known as the San Francisco South of Market Leather History Alley was installed; in it Slater is honored with a metal bootprint displaying her name and a short statement about her.[9][10] She is an inductee of the Society of Janus Hall of Fame.[11]
References
- ↑ Margot Weiss (20 December 2011). Techniques of Pleasure: BDSM and the Circuits of Sexuality. Duke University Press. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-0-8223-5159-7.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "2014 Leather Hall of Fame Inductee Cynthia Slater (1945-1989)". Leather Hall of Fame Inductees List.
- ↑ Ortmann, David M., and Richard A. Sprott. 2013. Sexual outsiders: understanding BDSM sexualities and communities. p.156
- ↑ "Cynthia Slater". Leatherhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
- ↑ Lateef, Yasir. "The Names Project – AIDS Memorial Quilt". Archived from the original on 2020-01-06. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
- ↑ "List of winners". NLA International. 2019-03-14. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ↑ "Pantheon of Leather Awards All Time Recipients - The Leather Journal". www.theleatherjournal.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
- ↑ "NLA-I Accepting Nominations for Writing Awards". Chicago Den - The Midwest's Fetish Newspaper. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ↑ Cindy (17 July 2017). "Ringold Alley's Leather Memoir". Public Art and Architecture for Around the World.
- ↑ Paull, Laura (21 June 2018). "Honoring gay leather culture with art installation in SoMa alleyway – J". J. Jweekly.com. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
- ↑ "Society of Janus". Erobay. 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2020-04-21.