The International Mr. Leather competition is one of the most beloved gatherings for kinksters across the globe — a celebration of leather, love, and lifelong friendships. The world class leather competition is underway in Chicago. But this year, the community is grappling with a disturbing controversy. Durk Dehner, a longtime fixture at IML and co-founder of the Tom of Finland Foundation, was removed as a judge after images surfaced of him wearing Nazi regalia. The backlash was swift. Dehner stepped down from his role at the foundation, which he co-founded in 1984 with Touko Laaksonen — the original Tom of Finland and one of the most influential gay erotic artists in history.
The Foundation apologized, affirming it “does not support hate in any form.” Still, the damage was done. Pup-Diego Onyx, Mr. Bullet Leather 2024, and the first to post the images, said, “The first time I saw the photos a few years ago, they made me extremely uneasy and uncomfortable…I mentioned it to others in the Los Angeles leather scene, and most people brushed it off.”
But when he saw Dehner would be a judge at this year’s IML, he decided to make a Facebook post, and when IML removed Dehner just 12 hours after the post, Onyx said, “For once, I felt like our voices were heard.” The scandal has forced many in the leather scene to ask hard questions. Tom of Finland’s art is iconic, but Laaksonen admitted some inspiration came from SS uniforms. What began as queer subversion of masculine power now walks a razor-thin line between fantasy and fascism.
Beatrice Stonebanks, a leather veteran and business leader, said, “Consent is the ethical line,” and Dehner crossed it — not just in what he wore, but in exposing others to painful imagery without consent. Queer News Tonight Executive Producer Al Ferguson spoke to a key leader of the Wilton Manors Leather community about views over fascist imagery.
He spoke on the condition of confidentiality saying, “It is a dirty little secret. Like Log Cabin Republicans, there seems to be a contradiction with many in the gay leather community… support of fascist symbols and images. It’s confusing. How can you be gay, celebrate who we are, then celebrate those that labeled us in World War II and put us in concentration camps?”
In the end, this moment may be a reckoning — not for the kink itself, but for how the community ensures its joy remains a refuge from the forces that once sought to erase it.
