People expressing their sexuality in public by dressing up in kink fashions — leather, rubber, furry, dom and a whole other universe of expressions — have been mainstays of Pride parades and festivals since the earliest celebrations in the 1970s. But as these celebrations have slowly mainstreamed, some groups say the kink factor should go down, if not disappear altogether. And the attacks aren’t coming from the right. Today, we talk about kink — what’s its role in Pride, and how does its expression there benefit not just those who partake, but society in general? Our guests are Yale University professor Joe Fischel, who recently wrote an essay in the Boston Review advocating for kink to stay at Pride, and we also talk to the president of San Francisco’s Leather and LGBTQ District — yeah, it’s a thing.

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