You are not “too fucked up” for therapy just because you haven’t found someone who gets you. Therapy is a gatekept profession, meaning it is filled with a lot of privileged people who are out of touch with the complexities of survival and the impacts of whorephobia. Any shame you have felt from a therapist is a reflection on them and the therapy industry, not on you.

As we step into 2025, we find ourselves navigating a political climate that feels more volatile and divided than ever before. History has shown that when conservative leadership takes the reins, the effects inevitably trickle down to marginalized communities, including our local kink circles. These challenges remind us of the critical importance of solidarity—working together, showing up for one another, and fostering spaces where everyone feels seen, supported, and celebrated.

The history of the leather community is as varied and, in some ways, as complicated as the LGBTQ+ community itself, even as a subset of the BDSM world. I spoke a bit about this last fall at The Las Vegas PRIDE Festival on the PROUD & Kinky stage when I gave a brief history (I called it a “Leather TED Talk”) and found that many of our community are unaware of where we came from.

I made my debut as a stage kitten at Lilith: A Ladies Night, an all-female-produced burlesque show that happens here in Las Vegas. I wanted to be a part of the show but wasn't ready to step into my burly shoes just yet. Stage kittening was my way into the world so that I could be surrounded by those people & start seeing burlesque in its many forms.