If you live in Melbourne and you are into leather chaps and big black boots, you could visit the Laird Hotel to relax in the gear you feel horny in and have a couple of frosty beers with your mates at the bar.
If you live in Sydney and you are into BDSM or watersports or using Crisco™ for purposes other than baking cherry pie, then Headquarters may be the place to be seen.
But, in Perth…? *shrug*
For fellas who like to explore the realms outside vanilla sex, Perth has lacked a place to gather without being looked down upon by the ‘good gay’ citizenry.
That is until recently. Now there is a place to go, to chill out, to pick up gloves, rubbers and lube and to kick on – Harness; a once-a-month, social, non-sexual evening held on a Friday night between 8pm and 10pm at Bar 138 in the city. And it’s free.
We put Harness together especially for guys out there into leather/rubber/latex, and any other fetish you can think of, so they can meet other guys into the same things. It started in April last year with a few guys. Now we have a regular crowd with more and more new guys coming every month.
Harness is also a great way for the Project-X team to connect with this group of fellas, to speak to them about their sexual health and ask them what sorts of resources specific to their needs that the WA AIDS Council (WAAC) may be able to offer. We want to help them to keep doing what they do safely for a long time to come.
Harness grew out of the Sexually Adventurous Men (SAM) Forums run at WAAC in 2010. We workshopped the sexual health needs of gay men who liked fetish play. But, feedback from guys who attended was that they craved a space where they could meet, network and keep informed about sexual health information in a less ‘teacherly’ manner.
Hence, Harness was born – a night and a social space for gay men into fetish to discuss their special crafts,pick up safe sex hardware and to get up-to-date info on sexual health.
If you would like to learn more about Harness, maybe join the membership, then send an email of interest to info@projectx.net.au or call one of the Project-X team on 9482 0000.
Written by Steve Fragomeni, Project X
