TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT...
I LOVE LEATHER!
Events planner, fashion designer and marriage officer, Johann Jooste is the third winner of the Mr SA Leatherman title, inaugurated in 2009. About 300 people packed Beaulah Bar in early December to witness the 50 year old Capetonian earn the privilege of representing South Africa at the 35th International Mr Leather (IML) Contest in Chicago, Illinois, over the Memorial Day weekend at the end of May. OUT met with Johann to find out more about the man behind the title. OUT: Tell us a secret… JJ: I used to train models and therefore can do a killer runway walk in 6 inch high heels, better than most women. I can even dance (follow as well as lead) in heels. Is that secret enough? OUT: What item in your closet could you not do without? JJ: I’m not very fond of clothing and will go without if it wasn’t for “public indecency”, cold weather or the “fig leaf” incident in the Garden of Eden. However, I love a good jacket OUT: Tell us what not to wear this season JJ: Those bloody pants that hang halfway down your ass…what’s the point in that? Also a bad and judgemental attitude. OUT: Is leather a fetish, a fashion accessory or a lifestyle? JJ: Leather has become many things to many people so it could be any of or a combination of the above, depending on the individual. Leather is a headspace, a state of mind, an attitude, a mode of perception. We choose lifestyles that reflect our inner feelings and then create our experiences in and around those feelings. For those who dress in leather for the purpose of a certain look at a fancy dress party, it’s a fashion accessory. For those who dress in leather for a certain sexual experience, it’s a fetish that could also develop into a lifestyle from there. I think fetish/lifestyle goes hand in hand. If “wearing leather at all times”, defines it as a lifestyle, I don’t think our weather is conducive to that practice. Hardly anyone wears leather 24/7 due to the public perception of leather and therefore express their leather fetish/lifestyle only at certain events and /or venues. Some people wear leather just for the sake of wearing leather with no particular explanation for it. Mag 20
OUT: Is leather another form of drag? When a man puts on a dress, he loses his inhibitions and adopts a different persona. Is it the same for leather queens? JJ: Oops, I think you’ve just bruised the masculine ego by using the term Leather Queens. All clothing is signifying . . . I’m sure that for some it might be a platform to adopt a different persona and live out a certain fantasy, and that’s OK. For me personally, whether I’m dressed in my pinstriped suit or full leather, I’m still the same Johann Jooste. However, having said all of that, when you meet someone in a club or a bar dressed in leather, you do anticipate a certain type of play. There is also a masculinity and testosterone level attached to wearing leather that is a certain turn-on for some. Then again…that does not mean that all drag queens are bottoms. OUT: When did you realise you were drawn you to leather? JJ: When I was in a saddle on the back of a horse as a child. I always liked leather, but only recently started to express it publicly by wearing it more frequently. OUT: Do people in general, gay and straight, misunderstand the leather scene? JJ: Most definitely. Many of my friends and family, gay and straight, frown upon the idea of me liking leather and even taking part in the Mr SA Leatherman Competition.
Help Johann get to IML in Chicago. Donations and sponsorship welcome. Contact Johann at johann@jjooste.co.za or 083 269 7172 if you can help
OUT: How can misconceptions be changed? JJ: Misconceptions can be changed by being visible in the mainstream. It’s everyone’s right to ask questions about a certain group of people and their behavioural patterns, but at the same time, please have respect for their privacy. And by privacy, I do not mean secrecy. Hiding is the same as labelling oneself.