In 1986, the gay leather magazine Drummer published a "Maimed Beauty" issue on the eroticism of men with disabilities. The issue featured contributions by Michael Agreve, Felice Picano, Mark I. Chester, and photographer George Dureau.

Nearly twenty years later, True Tales reunites the original four contributors and adds new perspectives on leather and disabilities from Jack Fritscher, Rob Ridinger, Aubrey Hart Sparks, and others.

The August 2005 issue of True Tales also includes news on the International Deaf Leather and International Deaf Bear contests, D.C.'s Capital Pride Parade, the Master/slave Conference, and a proposed M/s and D/s Flag.

EDITORIAL: Hidden in the Dark: Leather Bars, Disabilities, and the Life and Death of Erotic Photography. Facing the danger that we may be thrust back into the erotic closet.

I'd been reading about gay leather for three months when I first visited a leather bar. I didn't expect to be surprised by the obvious.

FEATURE: Leather and Disabilities: A Links Directory. Links related to the contributions to this issue.

FICTION: Other Bodies. By Michael Agreve. The erotic secret that gay men keep from each other, brought out into the open.

For years he sat in his wheelchair, his right hand supplying the closet thing he would ever come to a love life. Then, one day, somebody looked at him. Somebody looked at him real strange.

NONFICTION: Historical Note to "Other Bodies". By Michael Agreve.

POETRY: The Deformity Lover. By Felice Picano. A man searches for what others pass over.

For him a chiselled profile is fine, but handsomer with a speech defect.

NONFICTION: Historical Note to "The Deformity Lover". By Felice Picano.

NONFICTION: Maimed Beauty. By Mark I. Chester. What can you do when you stand out from the crowd? . . . An updated version of the author's erotic narrative.

Others stand out no matter what they do. Brilliant flames against a darkened sky. It's not a matter of desire. They simply have no choice.

They are uncompromising explorations into the heart of homoeroticism – portraits of black men brimming over with sensuality; images of physically different men, seen through the eyes of love.

NONFICTION: Drummer Readers on the Eroticism of Disabled Men. The "Maimed Beauty" issue prompted a "torrent of letters," according to the Drummer staff. Here are excerpts from the letters.

"Even [among leathermen], there often exists a belief that there is some sort of line you do not cross."

NONFICTION: When Cameras Collide: Dureau, Disability, and Dueling with Mapplethorpe. Interview by Jack Fritscher. In a March 1991 interview, the New Orleans photographer George Dureau discusses with a former Drummer editor how his photography of disabled men demonstrates his differences from photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

"You don't say, 'Well, let's throw out this little Roman sculpture because it's partly broken.'"

NONFICTION: How to Find Love with a Fetishist. Bob Guter interviews Alan Sable. The editor of BENT: A Journal for CripGay Voices talks to psychotherapist Alan Sable about the difficult dynamic between men who desire disabled men and the objects of their desire.

"Now here is where the big question, the startling question, arises: Is it possible that the fetish element might be useful to disabled men?"

NONFICTION: Speaking Hands and Hearts: The Deaf Leather Community. By Rob Ridinger. The leather world's most vocal disabled minority group is the deaf. Leather historian Rob Ridinger presents a history of deaf leather contests, organizations, and artifacts.

The difficulties [faced by deaf leathermen] are most visible in bar interactions, with many hearing leathermen suddenly finding that the man they have been trading glances with all evening is actually deaf.

"Bob, you want to be my friend, you want to be in love with me, but you have never adapted so that we might communicate better."

This would be a primarily Deaf event with a few hearing judges, so I was going to be voicing almost the entire time.

NEWS: Who's the Boss? M/s Conference 2005 Reveals How Slaves Can Be Dominant for Their Masters, and How Masters Can Serve Their Slaves. Illustrated with photos by Lance. Disabilities, illness, ethical or spiritual frameworks, and practical considerations are among the factors that can reverse expected behavior in a master/slave relationship, revealed speakers at the second annual Master/slave Conference in Washington, D.C.

"By the end of our visit," said an attendee at the plenary session, "the restaurant staff wanted to know who the master was, so that they could serve him first."

NEWS: A Flag for Unity: How the M/s and D/s Flag was Created. Illustrated with photos. It took seven months for a master, his slave, and a girl to create a proposed flag for the master/slave and dominant/submissive communities.

When his master awoke, slave andrew said, "Oh, Master, I played with this. What do you think?"

In our community I have seen a need. A need for unity and self recognition.

One man, sighting the Brother Help Thyself float, would shout over and over, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"