The past two decades have seen some outstanding leather women take the titles of International Ms. Leather; American leather Woman; Ms. World Leather; International Ms. Bootblack; Ms. Deaf Leather etc.

In 1987, Judy Tallwing-McCarthy became the first woman to be sashed International Ms. Leather. For the past 22 years, Judy, who is known for her beautiful Native-American spirit, has continued to uplift her “leather children” with her calm presence as only a “leather mom” could. That is, when she’s not rescuing an injured animal or mentoring a lost boy.

Judy’s peaceful earthiness was followed up with my bud, the hilarious and brutally honest comedienne, Shan Carr. Where Shan is brutally honest, her successor Susie Shepard was just brutal… in an S/m sort of way. After Susie, came the Australian blonde bombshell, Gabrielle Antolovich. Gabrielle was and still is one of the most outspoken International Ms. Leathers – especially when it comes to alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. Back in the day, when I ran a bar in San Jose, Gabrielle convinced the bar owners to sponsor a non-smoking bar night – which the patrons revolted against. Today, as we all know, smoking is no longer allowed in bars and we can go home after a night of intense bumping and grinding without smelling like the bottom of an old ashtray.

The 90s saw some of the most politically active leather women rise to the highest title in the world at that time. Kay Hallanger, Blair, Amy Marie Meek (my title wife), Spencer Bergstadt (who gave up the title after transitioning to a male), Cindy Bookout and Pat Ballie (who currently sits on the board of the Leather Leadership Conference) all made enormous strides in propelling the visibility of leather women. 1996 saw the first African American woman, Jill Carter, take the title. Jill had a new vision and new way of doing things and founded Ms. World Leather. San Diego’s Annie Romano was the first woman to hold that title. Genelle Moore, Megan deJarlais and Pam Meyer completed the 90s and the new millennium brought us San Diegan, Jo Blas.

Any person, leather or non-leather who is active in San Diego knows of Jo Blas. Like most of her predecessors, Jo’s reign as International Ms. Leather saw great strides for leather women and brought a new awareness to the plight of those suffering from Lupus. Today, in San Diego Jo Blas continues to lead, mentor and work hard both in front and behind the scenes of many leather- based activities. Jo was followed by Joni Perrie, Russ Cosgrove, Tammie Nelson, Lori Ellison, Jessi Holman Ahart, Lady Faye, Lauren and International Ms. Leather 2008 – Hobbit.

So, why the short history lesson of past International Ms. Leathers? From the beginning of the AIDS crisis to present day, leather women have been our sisters, mothers and friends. In the 80s and 90s it was the leather women who came to our rescue when members of the gay community were blaming AIDS on the lifestyle of leather men. Leather women have opened our eyes to the issues that face women (and some men) from breast cancer to lupus. They introduced us to new ways to play in the dungeon and new ways to relate to each other.

Last weekend San Diego welcomed Christi Campbell as Ms. San Diego Leather 2009. This weekend, while most of us will be welcoming a new Mr. San Diego Leather, International Ms. Leather 2009 will be chosen in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.imsl.org.

We sometimes forget the contributions and the legacies left by our leather sisters. Like the song, many of us consider this to be “a man’s world,” but it is “nothing without a woman or a girl.”

Good luck to IMsL producer, Glenda Ryder and the staff and volunteers. Glenda, girl you rock!