An unassuming brick building stands at the end of a residential street in Rogers Park, and the only sign of what’s inside are two banners with boots on them and big block letters saying LA&M. Though you could walk by without noticing it, the building actually holds a museum documenting one of the most taboo topics in society: leather fetishes and alternative sexual practices. Welcome to the Leather Archives and Museum.
LA&M exhibits many items that you might expect, such as whips, erotica paintings and fetish dolls. This is not just a closet full of toys, though. Everything holds significance in the fetish culture. For example, a bright-red, custom-designed spanking bench on display did not just serve one person’s fantasy. The “Infamous Red Spanking Bench” was first used at a private BDSM (bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sado/masochism) party and traveled through various parties for two years before a Chicago BDSM club took it permanently.
“There’s definitely an educational opportunity here,” says museum director Rick Storer, who holds a master’s degree in library science. “I think one of the common misconceptions that people have of the museum is that it’s kind of this dark and seedy thing in the back of a rough leather bar. We are professional archives, professional library, professional museum. We handle the subject matter just as the people at the Art Institute or the Museum of Science and Industry do.”
The LA&M started as an archive of special items from Chicago’s annual “International Mr. Leather” contest, a conference and competition in the leather community. As the collection grew, it needed more space for public display. By the end of the ’90s, LA&M moved to its current location at 6418 N. Greenview Ave., about five blocks from Loyola University. It gets about 15 visitors per weekend, but when events such as International Mr. Leather occur, up to 100 people may stop by.
The museum has an extensive archive stored in a special temperature-controlled room, as well as eight public exhibits. One of the “to see” displays is the Leather History Timeline. Starting as early as Joan of Arc, the timeline includes historical captions and objects of interest, such as the first Mr. Deaf International Leather’s sash.
Photo by the author.
“I like it because it exhibits that people have been kinky and doing various sexual activities back since the beginning of time,” Storer says. “It’s not a new phenomenon.”
LA&M also has an unsurpassed collection of paintings and drawings by Etienne, an erotic painter whose work decorated one of the first leather bars in the world: the Gold Coast in Chicago. The LA&M was created in part because no other outlet would permanently hold Etienne’s work.
Although the structure resembles any other museum, LA&M does have one “darker” room. Called “The Dungeon,” this unique exhibit displays BDSM toys from history, including a leather sling and that red spanking bench. It used to be a boiler room, and unlike the museum’s other exhibits, “The Dungeon” is designed to create a sexually charged atmosphere.
Because it is a museum documenting a subculture of sexual fetish, most of its contents are graphic, and no one under 18 can visit.
“I think if you have a bias against people being able to explore their sexuality in a consensual way, you might be bothered here,” Storer says. “It takes an open mind about sexuality to experience the museum.”