Folsom Street Fair Not For Children
Parents have mixed feelings about bringing their children to this year's bondage fest
by Poh Si Teng, Special to [X]Press
September 29, 2005 2:32 PM


Some of the most unlikely attendees of Sunday?s kinky leather fetish festival were under four feet tall.

Two-year-olds Zola and Veronica Kruschel waddled through Folsom Street Fair amidst strangers in fishnets and leather crotch pouches, semi and fully nude men.

The twin girls who were also dressed for the event wore identical lace blouses, floral bonnets and black leather collars purchased from a pet store.


Fathers Gary Beuschel and John Kruse watched over them closely. They were proud to show the twins off.

?They will see more than the kids with moms and dads in Iowa,? said Beuschel, who wanted to expose his children to San Francisco?s diverse community. ?Every parent has to decide for themselves what is right for them. And I respect that. And we decided that this is right for our children.?

Beuschel and his girls were at the 22nd Folsom Street Fair, an annual leather event in San Francisco?s South of Market district, which showcased outrageous costumes, fetish attire, and a community obsessed with bondage, whipping, and spanking.


Every year unsuspecting tourists and families stroll into the Folsom Street Fair. Some turn away at the gates after being warned by security officials about the event?s graphic sadomasochistic nature, while others saunter in with baby strollers and young children.
Event organizers said that parents are responsible in determining whether the fair was suitable for kids. However, some people said children should not be allowed inside.

?I don?t think that a 6-year-old can understand that S&M is about trust,? said Quincey Justman, a 28-year-old graduate student from the University of California San Francisco. ?Showing a kid a bunch of adults hitting each other would be damaging.?

As for Dylan Middlebrooks, it was his sixth year at the leather fair. He is 10 years old.

?It?s pretty nasty because a lot of people here are naked,? said Middlebrooks, who was there with his mother.

IF You can stomach the rest of this article go here..
http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/news/004352.html