These photographs are from events at Skandalous, Den Nights and Sunday Socials of Bears Perth in 2006 when James was Editor in Chief and Chief Photographer and we've painstakingly provided photo details on each of the images with labels by Event.
Interestingly this title really was an IQ test for folks. The lesser lights would seriously assert that it was wanky as if Paul and James didn't know what they were doing. The toxic culture of the Bears required a job title that ended the petty infighting and micromanagement from the peanut gallery and to get the job done someone had to be given the authority to press print. In this regard the title worked very well and the next Editor really was the biggest beneficiary of James' new print policies.
For those who passed the IQ test the title was a source of amusement and it was recognised as a nod to "Mary-Jane" the Media Annuncio and Senior Sister of the Perth Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Abbey of the Black Swan. We all know the Sisters love a good meaningless grandiose title and it certainly did take the piss out of the low IQ peanut gallery who can't read irony and satire. See the cover of the July 2006 Newsletter below!
Remember, the Bears were known for their toxic management culture. Every time Paul Hayter tried to innovate or promote the club there was someone from the Bears as a Sex Club era white anting and this even led to fisticuffs and screaming matches at Committee Meetings which was one of the reasons why in the end James accepted an offer of another position.
It remains true that before James and Paul, Bears Perth were a small local sex club that had a monthly orgy at a Sauna that was known to harbour crabs, scabies and other STIs. When James completed his tenure Bears Perth were internationally known as evidenced by the fact that the club were sending candidates to National and International Bear Competitions.
These photographs also provide the evidence of how Paul and James were able to attract new members and people came to Perth for vacations planned around Bears Perth Events. Sadly the old guard sex club did let down the club with their rudeness to HIV+ visitors and their refusal to even say hello to visitors from Asia.
It is a real indictment against the education of the WA AIDS Council #WAAC, that at Bears Perth which they sponsored, there was a culture whereby shaking hands and saying hello to HIV+ visitors was seemingly considered a high risk for HIV transmission!
This is why the Newsletter included serious health promotion that was designed to end the ubiquitous stigma and endemic culture of discrimination that was obvious and we believe that this was successful with the younger hipper Bears but we admit to having mixed results amongst the hard core sex club elements.
Fagmedia recognises these photos are a mixed bag from the Newsletter so some of them are odd sizes from the editorial process requiring cropping of images to fit in the print publication. It was a tough gig taking photographs in dimply lit saunas and in other venues like Club West which seemed to have candles for lighting that were not media friendly for anyone!
Above: One of the Advantages of having a real Photographer & Photomedia Graduate in charge of the Newsletter was that James was able to negotiate media partnerships with venues such as Skandalous and as a result the Bears were able to have free club advertising which was one of the reasons for the huge increase in Memberships that occurred.
Above and Below: These are a mixed bag of images from Skandalous, Sunday Socials and Den Nights!
The Gallery, Above, contains the jpg screen grabs of the July 2006 Newsletter for historical narrative context and your viewing pleasure.
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