1) I am not sure that it is hokey. Taking the image of the Last Supper, spreading the Leather Pride Flag in front of it, having Jesus as a Black leatherman, and evoking all the ritualistic aspects of bdsm (which include the St. John's Cross) within this context (which has its own history of bdsm behavior) is smart in a tongue-in-cheek way. Then add in all the agitating that the Christian Right does against the bdsm community, and you have a clever riposte. Maybe hokeyness is in the eye of the beholder.
2) Why do we have to wait for Christians to play with their imagery before we in the bdsm community do so?
> On the contrary it seems to be confined to
exceedingly lame Protestants under 30.
What makes you say that?
> One could argue, as it appears Doug and Andie would,
that the advertisement in question is really an artistic
expression playing on the undeniable fact that
Catholicism has some sort of relationship with BDSM.
&
> I just don't buy it.
Why? The intertwining of the two paradigms is fascinating. Next time you are in town I will take you on a dungeon crawl.
> Rather, it was published "gratuitously, almost accidentally"
for no other reason than that people would find it cute or
provocative or blasphemous.
The clever and intricate nature of the ad seems to belie any notions of it being either gatuitous or accidental.
> If the ad is a statement beyond 'come to the Folsom Street
Fair' that statement seems to be nothing more than '!!!ha,
look how provocative I am!!!'
It is much more than that. It is a statement of both the seriousness and sense of play that the bdsm community has with regard to itself. Some members argue for a strong spiritual aspect to wiitwd. Here is a link to a fairly good book on the spiritual side of fisting.
> I just continue to take issue with the advertisement -- although I
readily acknowledge that maybe I shouldn't.
Maybe you just do not like to see religion mocked.
Brian