Reviewing some mid-year membership mailing materials caused me to stop and ask myself what it means to be a member of GMSMA. If we take a few moments to consider why we're members of GMSMA and why GMSMA is an important organization to us, I think we'll have a substantial message beyond just the celebration and sheer ecstasy of the moment that we can share with our s/m leather fetish brothers and sisters and the larger communities as well.

There are a variety of reasons why men initially come to GMSMA: to satisfy a curiosity about "kinky sex" that may have been only a fantasy until then; because they're looking for "hot men and a good lay"; because they're just looking for an organization to "belong to"; or, because they're disillusioned with the usual gay venues such as the bars.

There are almost as many different reasons as there are men who come to their first GMSMA meeting. The majority probably find some things different from the way they expected them to be. Some leave and never come back after that first meeting. Many, however, stay and eventually become members.

Becoming a GMSMA member is extraordinarily easy and simple. You complete a membership application and sign it. Your signature indicates that you're a male over 19 years of age and that you subscribe to GMSMA's Statement of Purpose. You're a member once you submit your completed application along with the required dues. (And even the dues are subject to your ability to pay.)

In his editorial "Beware the Politically Correct Sex Police" (Drummer No. 168), Guy Baldwin decries those who, in the name of what they perceive as political correctness, look askance at choices he makes about where he plays and with whom. Whether or not you agree with Baldwin that politics and "community" are things that happen above the neck, GMSMA has never proscribed politically correct sex or made specific sexual expression a condition of membership.

There are a few other things that are not required for GMSMA membership. You are not required to wear leather, let alone leather of a certain color. You are not required to wear a patch, an emblem, or a uniform. You are not required to attend a certain number of meetings or go through a "pledge" period. You are not required to demonstrate or prove your s/m preferences or proficiencies or to "play" in public. You are not forbidden to be a member of other organizations.

What GMSMA is has been eloquently yet simply expressed in our Statement of Purpose. Although no test of loyalty to or understanding of the purpose is ever given to members, it's the one specific and tangible subscription a man makes when he becomes a member of GMSMA.

The first sentence in our statement of purpose states who we are and what brings us together.

GMSMA is a not-for-profit organization of gay men who are seriously interested in safe, sane, and consensual s/m.

Our membership is limited to men. Although we have been actively increasing our interaction in common pursuits with le