Reverence: Bootblacking and the Legacies that Bind Us

IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

• This event is happening at TV Eye in Ridgewood, not at the CUNY Grad Center
• RSVP guarantees entry so it is required and limited for this event 
• We are not livestreaming this event online; a recording will be posted YouTube in the weeks after
• This free panel will be immediately followed by a ticketed Kink Out event at the same venue. Purchase tickets separately for the Kink Out party here.
• You will be turned away if you did not RSVP to this event, even if you have a ticket to the Kink Out party

REVERENCE: BOOTBLACKING AND THE LEGACIES THAT BIND US

Bootblacks connect the leather community to its roots – its lust for leather, the queer intimacies and archives forged through revered objects, its commitments to mutual aid, and the scent of Huberd’s in a dark, crowded basement. As an intergenerational practice passed on through mentorship, most bootblacks carry on the legacies of those who came before them; legacies they massage into the leathers of those lucky enough to take a seat on their stands. In this conversation moderated by Tina Horn, Daijah Flames (Northeast Bootblack 2024), Q (International Ms Bootblack 2008, Southeast Leatherfest Bootblack 2007), Rocket, and Tamara Santibañez will discuss bootblacking as a practice of leather care, leather community, and leathersex. 

ABOUT THE SERIES:

This event is part of Power of Leather, a series of in-person dialogues, interactive performances, and community events exploring leathersex, sadomasochism, and leather culture. The series is presented by CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at CUNY, in collaboration with Kink Out, and organized by Laura Westengard and Kassandra Sparks. You can find the full lineup here.

RSVP IS REQUIRED:

RSVP is required for this event. Unlike prior Power of Leather events, RSVP guarantees you entry, so it is required and limited. You will be turned away if you do not have an RSVP!

GET TICKETS FOR KINK OUT INCARNATE HERE

Reverence: Bootblacking and the Legacies that Bind Us is a free event, and it will be immediately followed by KINK OUT INCARNATE, a ticketed Kink Out party in the same venue. While you’re welcome to only attend this free panel, you will need to get a separate ticket for the Kink Out party in order to attend both!

When you arrive at the venue for the panel, you will be given a wristband to mark whether you have purchased a KINK OUT INCARNATE ticket or not. After the panel ends, if you have a KINK OUT INCARNATE ticket, you can enter the party venue. If you have not purchased a KINK OUT INCARNATE ticket, you might be able to purchase one at the door (we will update ticket sales closer to the event) or otherwise will be asked to depart. We strongly recommend purchasing tickets in advance, since we anticipate this party will sell out!

SPEAKER BIOS:

Tina Horn is a writer, educatrix, and award winning pornographer. She is the author of Why Are People Into That?: A Cultural Investigation of Kink, based on her indie podcast, as well as the sci-fi comic book series Safe Sex (SfSx), and the cult detective thriller Deprog. Her journalism on sexual subcultures has appeared in Rolling Stone, Playboy, Wondery’s Operator podcast, and elsewhere, along with numerous anthologies including We Too: Essays on Sex Work and Survival, which she also coedited. She is a LAMBDA Literary Fellow, an AVN nominee, and the recipient of two Feminist Porn Awards. 

Daijah Flames (pronounced Day-Jah) is a gender expansive Afro-Latina leather middle, service cat, feral feline, and native New Yorker recently moved to Chicago. Daijah is Northeast Bootblack 2025, a full member of Onyx Pearls NY NE and in service to House of Kush She has bootblacked and taught bootblacking at spaces such as Folsom Street East, Submit NYC, Low Key Kink, Sanctuary Events, IMsLBB, SheMagik Events, The ColosseumNY, NJ Leather Family Beer Bust, Westcoast Bound, SPLF, South West M/s, Northeast Pet and Handler 2024, Kink Out, and Obscenity NYC. 

Q first encountered bootblacking while attending his very first leather event, Together in Leather in 2005. His next exposure to bootblacking at Frolicon 2006 started Q on his journey to learn more regarding this art. Q was honored to receive the title of International Ms Bootblack 2008. 

Rocket is a transsexual wizard and hedonist who lives in a trans commune in the Hudson Valley. They have been in the leather scene for 15 years and learned to bootblack from the tranimals at Switch and TOFcon, and they are begrudgingly beginning to identify as Old Guard. By day, Rocket is probably your lawyer, and by night, they write surrealist spells to bring down the empire, glue rhinestones to things, create anarchist Jewish ritual, and teach about ancestor veneration, bootblacking, and transformative justice at places like the Queer Porn Film Festival, Yale Divinity School, and the American Bar Association.

Tamara Santibañez is an interdisciplinary artist and oral historian based in Brooklyn, New York.

ACCESSIBILITY: 

• This panel will not be livestreamed on Zoom — there is no virtual attendance. We will post a recording to the CLAGS Youtube page in the weeks after. Since we are not at the CUNY Graduate Center, we don’t have the technology required to stream an outdoor event via Zoom. To our prior virtual attendees, you will all be missed! 
• The panel is happening outdoors in a patio area on concrete. There is one step to enter the building and then it’s all one level after that. Attendees using wheeled mobility devices can access the patio on a flat path via the driveway. The doors are not electric.
• There is a wheelchair accessible toilet in the main restroom.
• All restrooms are gender neutral. 
• Microphones and a sound system will project audio for attendees.
• ASL interpretation will be provided for live attendees. ASL interpreters will not be seen in the video recording on YouTube, but it will be captioned
• Chair, bench, picnic table, and ground seating will be available, as well as space to stand. Some chairs will be moveable and many seating options have backs. 
• Wearing masks is preferred (grab one at the door or from a safety monitor!). Attendees are also encouraged to test beforehand and stay home if they are feeling unwell. 

This event was made possible due to generous funding from the New York City Council Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual Caucus and the Office of the Mayor, supported by The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives.