Happy _________!

Happy holidays from the Leather Identity Project! This time of year family and friends tend to mean the most to us. It's a time to come together in celebration and hope.

This month I'd like to explore who you are spending the holiday season with. Whether that be with your biological family or the family you've made, this is a time to pull together. 

This survey is closed, you may review data by clicking here.

What are you into?

I started this survey as a fun way to explore the prevalence of kinks in the community and explore a number of talking points. Fetishes like "leather," "bondage," and "S&M" were nearly universal, but for many less common and less specific fetishes are what get them to come out in the first place. 

We are often talking about "inviting new people into the community" and how "the leather community embraces individuality," but we have a lot of rules too. Sometimes our "limits" turn off the newbies. 

Over 40% of those polled are into sports gear. It's one of the most popular kinks out there. Fewer than 3% consider it a limit. Given this disconnect why do I frequently hear about how "it's not appropriate." Similar stats are true for rubber and other gear fetishes. I'm not the first to suggest that Leather is gear, and although I agree that it’s HOT, it also has a high cost component. For many people sports gear, lycra, and neoprene are HOT for a lower cost. By limiting appropriate attire we are preventing those new to the scene from coming in at all. Sure, there are events like "Leather Cocktails" and other formal events where you wouldn't want someone in a wrestling singlet or football pads, but the success of events like CODE in DC show the power of inviting everyone out.

"Inviting young people into the community" is often a talking point in conversations. I was fortunate to have two sources of guidance when entering the community, my friend Ruff and the members of the DC boys of Leather. Both taught me that this community is about being yourself, playing safe, and having fun. By expecting a high standard for entry we are providing a disservice to those finding partners online and taking unnecessary risks. If you don't believe they are taking unnecessary risks I invite you to look at the "Safe Sex" data for HIV status in those 20-30.

Kinks are fun! For many this community is one of few places where you can explore them without judgment. I had the benefit of teachers who helped me explore my kinks safely, and I do my best to do the same for others.

- view the unedited raw data for this survey -

- send us feedback or help decide the next topic -

November Update

This is certainly a busy time for leather folks. There is a title almost every  weekend, and the colder weather makes wearing full leather more fun. Our "What are you into?" data will be coming out soon and the results are fascinating. I'm still debating how best to break it out, but there are some surprises in there.

As you probably already are aware we've launched the "Labels and Identity 2" survey this month as well. I'd like to take some time explaining why we're exploring the labels included in the survey and why others were excluded. As with most things, why not use a venn diagram to shed some light on the situation! This diagram is simplifies gender in the community a bit, but it does explain my dilemma.

One of the things I enjoyed about the "What is a boy?" data was the distinctive difference between how boys saw themselves verses non-boys. I wanted to do the same for other labels as well. Unfortunately that meant that we would not have enough identifying with female labels to create an accurate self image of Mistresses, Madamns, girls, ect. I also did not want to clump Mistress/Master together because they are two distinct identities. My solution to this problem is to allow those identifying with under-represented labels a chance to expand on their identity with a paragraph section of the survey. I'll be exploring these labels in a different way in the near future based on the result. In the mean time the female and trans folks in our audience can help increase awareness of the project by mentioning this site on Facebook, Twitter, and on your website or blog.

Current Surveys

	Labels and Identity 2 (Closes 12/31/11): This survey will take inventory of labels and percentage of people using them. The "What is a boy?" survey provided a dynamic image of boys beyond their often submissive role.  The "Labels and Identity 2" survey aims to do the same for other labels.
	Relationship Models (Closes 11/30/11): The second and final month  of the "Relationship Models" survey is here. This survey explores several common relationship models out there as well as their dynamic in terms of jealously and roles away from home. What kind of relationship works for you? The results of this survey will help us explore each model in more detail later.

Project Data

I would love to hear from you! My continuing goal is to keep this project interesting, unbiased and interactive. I am a one man show here, so I take your feedback to heart. Overall charts and graphs aren't as exciting as sex sites, but they do help us understand each other better when we're not getting it on.

Send us feedback or help decide the next topic

Labels and Identity 2

A lot has changed since I launched the first "Labels and Identity" survey almost three years ago. I've also learned a lot from the "What is a boy?" survey. I toyed with exploring "puppies" this month, and "slaves" a few months after that, but it seemed to make a lot more sense to look at as many labels as possible all at once. 

Like my original survey I'll be taking inventory of the labels and percentage of people using them. I'll also take a much narrower focus than my original by exploring things much as I did for "What is a boy?" For many, labels are an important part individual identity. They allow us to destinguish ourselves from others while simultaneously connecting with something bigger than ourselvs. They tell others who we are without requiring explanations. The negative side to labels is that they also invite generalizations. The "What is a boy?" survey provided a dynamic image of boys beyond their often submissive role.  The "Labels and Identity 2" survey aims to do the same for other labels.

You may participate in this survey by clicking here.

Switch Up!

Role reversal and switching can often be a contentious issue in discussion groups. Interestingly enough, the community is fairly unified on this topic. Role reversal is most debated in circles which emphasize fixed roles, often those in D/s relationships. Our "Relationship Models" survey explores the prevalence of different relationship models including D/s ones where protocol plays a visible role.

This survey deliberately applies its questions to individuals. Its data shows that the community is fairly unified in their approval of role reversal.

Why the uneven breakdown of age groups? Each age group has greater than 25 participants.

Any number fewer than 25 is too few to be considered random. 

To view the unedited raw data for this survey click here

October Update

Onto month five in our rebooted experiment. We've put out two data sets and will be releasing the "Switch Up!" data this month. We're also finally attracting more women and trans folks to the project. All I can say is "welcome and please be patient." Right now we are male heavy and breaking the data apart by gender wouldn't present a fair sample of women and trans folks, but that day is coming. Things are getting interesting and soon enough we'll be able to combine data across surveys to see a bigger picture.

Current Surveys

	Switch up! (Closes 9/30/11): This survey explores roll reversal and switching within the community. Do you think it's ok for a Dom to be a sub on a occasion? How about a sub as a Dom? Should exploration result in a fixed role? We'll stop collecting data in a couple days and releasing the report this month.
	What are you into? (Closes 10/31/11): "What are you into?" is a basic question we've all heard before. How prevalent are different kinks? How about different limits? Perhaps that secret fetish of yours isn't so unusual. Go ahead, it's anonymous,  you don't need to be shy.
	Relationship Models (Closes 11/30/11): Describing relationships in the kinkster lifestyle can be complicated. This survey explores the complexities of different relationship models.

Project Data

Safe Sex

One of the leather community's greatest strengths is its acceptance of HIV positive individuals. While stigma is still prevalent, members of the community tend to be more educated about the risks and how to "play safer" than their non-leather counterparts. How does increased acceptance effect how the community views bareback sex and bareback porn? Could it be possible that our emphasis on acceptance increases our tolerance of what others consider high risk behavior? These questions inspired this survey. Its data is outlined below.

This chart separates the data by HIV status and raises some interesting questions. HIV positive individuals are split on their views of the banning of bareback porn despite their higher likelihood to engage in bareback sex, approve of the selling and showing of bareback porn. Inversely, HIV negative individuals generally do not seek out bareback sex, disapprove of showing bareback porn at bars, but oppose its being banned.

What was most compelling was the differences between the 41-50 age group and the <21-30 age group. These groups have the highest rate of self reported HIV infection. They have very different views on banning of bareback porn, despite their common views about showing and selling it. Can this difference at least partially explained by their different views about whether or not bareback enthusiasm is a lifestyle?

In previous surveys I've realized that I should have asked more, or different questions. The same is true here. This data would have been more clear if I had asked "Do you enjoy bareback prorn?" or "Have you purchased bareback porn?" Perhaps we can explore this issue differently in the future.

Click the link here if you would like to see the unedited raw data of this survey.

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