This collection includes records of the former pansexual newspaper "Cuir Underground," which covered the queer erotic scene in the Bay Area from 1994 to 1998. It contains administrative records; correspondence; materials related to magazine production, distribution and publicity; materials related to Venus Infers and Black Mass; and articles and ephemera collected by the staff.

According to their “Mission Statement/Plan,” Cuir Underground was a free, monthly, pansexual leather calendar and newspaper. Its primary purpose was to unite and inform the varieties of SM communities in the greater Bay Area; its secondary purpose was to make money and support perverts doing pervert-related work. The paper debuted at the Folsom Street Fair in September of 1994. It covered the pansexual erotic scene in the Bay Area from 1994-1998. As used by the paper, “pansexual” was a term that embraced a wide range of transgressive sexualities and gender arrangements, including people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, leather, practitioners of SM and other kinkiness of all sorts.

1 linear foot (3 boxes)

Copyright has been assigned to the GLBT Historical Society.

Collection is open for research, with the exception of staff, volunteer and subscription lists. Please contact the managing archivist for more information. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).