IML SPEECH FOR JAY HARCOURT
Below is the text of Jay Harcourt's IML speech that was written for IML (but not presented), reproduced here with his permission.
Jay Harcourt was Mr. Hayes Valley Leather, from San Francisco, California
The photos to the left are by Andy Mangels, Jazz Thomas, and Don Hood.

Good Evening.

Change. We’ve certainly heard some concern about it lately. We know the old adage—change is inevitable, but how we deal with it is not. We can watch it happen, or we can direct it towards an evolution for the future we want. There are a few things I think we can do to help guide us in that direction:

First: Involve our History

Yes, it’s necessary for us to document our past with projects like the Leather Archives, but we cheat ourselves out of crucial knowledge if we simply “preserve” the experiences of those who came before us without actively involving them as participants in our community.

Second, is Mentoring:

How we individually welcome, teach, and involve newcomers is important. But another kind of mentoring--institutional mentorship, is also essential. For our continued success, we need to find room to bring new people into our groups and organizations and prepare them to be able to take over responsibility.

Finally:

In this increasingly conservative environment, we must always be prepared to respond to attacks on our personal, legal, and erotic freedoms. Only by protecting these freedoms will we be able to both continue to celebrate our sexuality and sustain a strong community.

We have a reputation for coming together to be proactive and innovative in overcoming challenges. I believe that if we strive to live up to that reputation, we can create the future we choose.

Thank You.

JAY HARCOURT
Mr. Hayes Valley Leather
Personal Site
Mrhayesvalleyleather05@earthlink.net