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The following
Interview was built with the aid of ten questions sent to the group
earlier this year. Lube are the organisers of Irelands leather, rubber and
fetish club.
Lube
was started in November 1999, when 17 men turned up at OUThouse after Joe
Harnett wrote a letter to GCN see LUBE web page for text.
The letter was basically a call to Leather men to get together to
try and created an affirming space to men into Leather, Uniforms, Bears,
Rubber, Skinheads etc. Joe
had returned to live in Ireland the previous June and was disappointed to
experience the lack of a Leather scene in Dublin. While abroad he was involved in different groups in Chicago,
including the Leather Archives and Museum and other clubs.
The name was arrived at by one of the members after many
attempts to find a name that would be representative of the different
constituent groups in the organisation. The name and constitution was formally adopted in April 2000
at our first AGM.
LUBE
meets the second and last Wednesday of every month at OUThouse at 8:00
p.m. The first meeting every
month is primarily social in nature, with films, parties, and general
chat etc. The other meeting,
or Forum, is basically an information night with topics for discussion or
demonstrations of interest to the members.
LUBE has c28 full members. Membership
is open to men who identify as gay or bi, who have attended 3 of our
regularly scheduled meeting at OUThouse and who support our aims and
objectives. New and non-members are encouraged to come along.
Membership is encouraged but NOT enforced.
Likewise we encourage attendees to wear their fetish gear of
choice, but again this is not enforced.
We get between 15 and 30 people at each meeting.
LUBE
is founded on the principle of participation.
Its only by working together, Leather men and Bears, Skins and
Rubbermen, people into S&M and Uniforms etc., that we can have an
impact on the scene in Dublin. For
too long we have existed in isolation and many of our members were
getting fed up having to go abroad to play.
By being hidden it is also difficult for men coming onto the scene
to find a safe space. We emphasise Safe Sane & Consensual play.
Since its foundation LUBE has worked closely with the owners of
both the Vortex and Lynches. We
have a Committee with officers and are planning to affiliate with the
European Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (ECMC).
If we are visible and active we can get well established and
encourage visitors from overseas which is happening already.
The
other main LUBE event is at Lynches. We
have held 4 parties so far with 140 men at our last
event. These parties
have grown out of a very close collaboration with the owners of the bar.
We enforce the dress code, at the wish of our member. Enforcing
the code helps to create a good atmosphere and is typical of more
established bars across the US and Europe. We appreciate people going to
the trouble to get into the gear. These
parties are the ONLY time when we can wear our gear in Dublin and not be
in the minority. It does not
take a lot of effort to get the gear either.
Basically second hand army gear, boots and a T-shirt, or jeans and
boots, will get you in.
The
group is structured towards the needs of gay and bisexual men.
It is our belief the women and non-gays have different needs and
issues when it comes to leather, fetish and S&M, particularly at this
early stage of our formation. We are open to supporting women in setting up their own space
/ group and women are welcome to contact us about this. Our long-term goal would be to have a diverse queer community
in Dublin made up of different established sub groups that hopefully
could play and work together.
As
to the future we would like to see the group grow. Just by turning up at the meetings or Lynches, people are
making a statement of support. If
no one had turned up for the first meeting we would not have a group now.
After that, men can get involved at whatever level they feel
comfortable. We would also
like to have more forums and demonstrations from experienced players from
Dublin. We also want to attract more visitors from abroad.
We are looking to hold a weekend event in 2001.
We also would like to see even more collaboration between LUBE and
the owners of commercial establishments in Dublin.
We have all benefited greatly from the work together so far and it
can only get better.
See
the LUBE Web page
for extensive information on our Aims and Objectives, history,
description of our dress code, reports on our meetings & activities
and schedule to events.
LUBE's Next Dress code Party is
held on 29th December in Lynch's bar - 144 Thomas Street
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