San Francisco, CA – Yesterday, Men magazine's special Fetish issue hit the newsstands. Promising to cover the forbidden fantasies from A to Z, the fall 2009 issue offers 'buff bods, dirty deeds and pervy play'. Snicker. It's actually kind of cute. And I mean no condescension here. I find it quite interesting and somewhat entertaining to examine how our fetishes are portrayed by the 'mainstream gay' press. Cough twice. One need only read the table of contents to determine this particular publication is geared toward a far more mainstream audience than the one I generally target my writing or other talents toward. So, you might ask why I'm pointing it out to you, here, now...

A few months ago, Winston Gieseke, the Managing Editor for Unzipped Media asked if I would be interested in writing an article for Men Magazine's upcoming, special Fetish issue. He gave me the run-down and told me they were looking for a thousand words on leather - a beginner's introduction to the scene from an insider's perspective. I agreed and started writing. And, a beginner's introduction is exactly what I wrote, albeit from my own perspective so you can imagine it's not the kind of article about leather most readers would expect. I was actually a little worried when I turned it in to the editors; I thought it might be rejected as missing the point. But, no, they said the piece was terrific ran it word-for-word, as far as I can tell.

In addition to my own piece, several others made contributions that caught my attention. Tober Brandt writes about how piercing became an expression of owning his own body and saying fuck you to his old man. Ken Knox's vivid description of denim captures the essence of the working man and at least one sense of the masculine ideal. Rob Rosen's account of his voyeuristic beginnings reads like a dirty little secret. And Stéphane Donaldson, our current Mr International Rubber 2009 gives a great interview to Winston Gieseke and Sean Moran discussing all things; yes you guessed it, rubber.

And there are plenty of other fetishes covered in a variety of ways: armpits, bears, cops, feet, foreskins, golden showers, jockstraps... the list goes on. Each with pictures or illustrations that exemplify the topics covered. So, if you're the type of fag, who likes to leave copies of Unzipped, Men, and People [Yawn] magazines in the downstairs bathroom to entertain guests, Men's Fetish issue is a must. You know every one of your friends will find something in its pages to titillate them, if they're lock behind closed doors.

For those of you who lay claim to your own fetish(es) or identify as part of the fetish/Sm community, I suggest you check out Men magazine's special Fetish issue and ask yourself a couple questions. First, what rings true to you and your experience? And second, what is missing?

For me, what rings most true, are the moments of self actualization shared in some of the accounts. They offer glimmers into both the psyche and the experience at the root of the fetish. It's fascinating stuff. Clearly, what's missing, at least from my perspective, are some of the activities that become fetish as well. Perhaps, sometime in the future a similar issue will include articles about CBT, Fisting, Puppy Play, Knives and Blood (to name a few).

I encourage you to pick-up a copy at your local newsstand that carries adult material, order a digital copy, or call 1 (800) 338-3701 to purchase a hard copy.