Friday, November 28, 2014

Siouxsie Q on LMML

Siouxsie Q wrote a lovely article about the Little Miss & Mister Little San Francisco Contest.

Peter Pansexual: Adult Kids Do the Darndest Things


Backstage was all nerves and last-minute bobby pins. I was panicking because I could only find one of my frilly lace socks. Nearby, a 28-year-old man in underpants with rocket ships on them sneaked a peek through the curtains onto the stage where a 30-year-old woman wearing a ruffled pink dress sang a musical rendition of The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.
"Dammit!" he cursed. "I'm also doing The Jabberwocky for my talent! This is a disaster!"
Pageant life is no joke. Even if the prize is an ambiguous scholarship or, in this case, a leather patch and a giant stuffed animal, once the competition is underway, the contestants give it their all and the stakes somehow seem incredibly high. I eventually found my other frilly sock, that man in briefs brought down the house with his prose rendition of The Jabberwocky, and we were gloriously crowned Little Miss and Mister Little of San Francisco for 2012.
This Saturday, 10 full-grown adults will don onesies, glitz gowns, and even diapers to compete in the International Little Miss/Mister Little Pageant at the sex and BDSM conference known as Dark Odyssey: Surrender. In past years, the nation's capital was home to the international competition, while San Francisco hosted a regional contest. But when local producers Davina Darling, Scarlett O'Starlett, and Penny Barber learned that the international pageant had taken a hiatus with no plans to return, they rallied alongside the Dark Odyssey producers and purchased the rights to the name and the contest.
This pageant is about a little bit more than spray tan and rhinestones. For the folks who compete, it's a chance to showcase a very private part of themselves to a very public audience.
I'm a 29-year-old entrepreneur, writer, and activist. But sometimes, I'm also a 9-year-old girl who likes coloring books and ballet.
There are very few times in my adult life where I am allowed to be innocent, naïve, and carefree. Some people unwind with a bubble bath and a glass of wine at the end of a hard day; I unwind with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk in a Star Wars cup. Some women like to sleep with an eye mask and a pillow stuffed with lavender; I prefer to wrap myself in a My Little Pony blanket and hug my Build-a-Bear close. To each his own.
Role-playing as a naughty nurse or a superhero doesn't raise too many eyebrows, but role-playing as a little girl definitely does. Even within the BDSM community, age players are a smaller subset who are often seen as outliers.
Seeing a grown woman in knee socks and a schoolgirl skirt is infuriating to some, arousing to others, but undoubtedly prevalent in Western media. Women are infantilized on a regular basis — sometimes in television commercials and sometimes in person. Every time I glance at an American Apparel ad, or a stranger calls me "sweetie," I'm reminded that being taken seriously as a woman involves constantly reminding people that I am not a child.
So why put on a tutu and tights and showcase my "little girl" self in front of a crowd of hundreds of people? Because being "little" in a consensual context that I am in control of allows me to have zero tolerance for being treated like a child in situations where it counts.
There's also a part of being "little" that helps me be a better adult. The adult world tells us to only dream so big, but my "little" self believes I can do anything — she's not afraid of failure or judgment. She doesn't know anything about taxes or the criminalization of sex workers. She believes in the power of the Broadway musical, and is fairly certain she'll be president one day. When I'm "little," I can dream the biggest. My adult self needs a dose of that kind of wide-eyed optimism now and then. I think we all do.
"Seeing that spark in someone's face when they realize, 'Oh my God, I'm not alone and I'm not a weirdo, that's what fuels me to keep doing these events," says producer Darling.
This year's contest is sure to be the biggest little pageant San Francisco has ever seen.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Suggestions

A Little Decompression was lovely yesterday. The food and beverages at Wicked Grounds were, as always, delicious, and it was great to reconnect with everyone in a relaxed, friendly setting. Miss Lola Sunshine, Rizzo's Mommy, was an excellent facilitator of activities, and Rizzo was a gracious host. Both Rizzo and Jesbian wore their regalia, a step toward fulfilling their titleholder responsibilities.

We were also able to solicit feedback about ILMML 2014. If you have any further suggestions that you would like to add, please do so via the form below. Thank you!


  • Suggestions:

  • Should be Empty:

Friday, November 21, 2014

2014 Titleholders!

International Little Miss Little 2014
Jesbian

1st Runner Up
Bubbles

International Little Mister Little 2014
Rizzo

1st Runner Up
Davey

Fan Favorite
Colette

Mx. Congeniality
Zoey

Thank you to all our contestants, judges, producers, contestant manager, and other volunteers!

Thursday, November 20, 2014

A Little Decompression

Our 2014 Little Mister Little has decided to host a decompression at Wicked Grounds this Saturday!

Date & Time: Saturday, November 22, 2014; 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Location: Wicked Grounds 289 8th St., San Francisco
Cost: The cost of a treat, drink, or merch at Wicked Grounds!
Dress code: Anything comfortable!
Description: After and AMAZING time at the International Little Miss & Mister Little Contest and a super cool time at Dark Odyssey: Surrender, let's have some time to just unwind, relax, and hang out with our friends!

We'll be meeting at Wicked Grounds around 1:00 pm so we can talk about our experiences at DO:S and of course ILMML! Who better to talk to about this wonderful experience than the people you experienced it with?

This munch is open to anyone, but espeially those who participated in ILMML.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Scarlet O'Sarlet on Competing in LMML San Francisco

I was a contestant in the 2013 Little Miss & Mister Little Competition. Competing in an age play title contest was probably completely different than any other leather title contest that currently exists, as it had a more playful element that followed the format of a children's pageant.

My background with this contest actually started as a supporter in 2012, when another Little friend decided to compete. I immediately fell in love with the concept of a pageant designed for age players and planned to compete the following year.


About three months before the 2013 contest, my Little's life changed drastically: I was ending the most important age play relationship I had ever experienced and I nearly did not go through with the contest because I was afraid of doing it alone. I originally planned to drop out when I attended the contest's Meet and Greet, but surrounded by other Bigs and Littles who were sympathetic and encouraging made me decide to go ahead and do the contest.

What many people do not realize is that the this contest was set up in a way to support Littles that had Bigs as well as Littles who were not partnered. In fact, the year I competed, three of the other participating Littles had recently ended relationships with their Bigs.
The contest had backstage Bigs to help keep things running smoothly by keeping the Littles organized and encouraging us. Throughout the journey and even during the contest, I felt that I developed a deeper understanding of my kink. It really was not about winning the competition, it was about being recognized as an age player and having a place in the kink and leather community.



I was honored to have won the title Fan Favorite 2013. What I remembered most about the contest was not actually what happened during the contest. My favorite memories were after the contest, when several of the Littles went to a restaurant and ordered all manner of comfort food, colored, and laughed. We had people coming up to us telling us how wonderful we each did and how it really opened their eyes to the age play community. I felt embraced by the kink community and encouraged to be myself, walking around with a stuffie and unashamed of having an often misunderstood kink.

This contest turned me into a Little advocate and during the past year I have performed, blogged, and taught about what the age play community is, what it is not, and how to be a better age player at every opportunity. While I cannot say what would have happened had I bowed out of the contest, I can say that being in the Little Miss & Mister Little Contest took me deeper into the community and into understanding who I am.


What did you do as a Big handler? My friend was a contestant for the first year in the San Francisco contest and I really didn’t realize what I was getting into. I was her support system, because I was still pretty new to the idea of the age play scene. I ened up becoming a middle, really a sister role. I was like a big sister in middle school who helps you go to your first dance and helps you with your routine and get your make up together. It was an interesting role, but one that I never planned to have, but it was a lot of fun.

What was the hardest part of competing? My Little has been out to munches, people knew that I Littled, taking my Little from this persona that I had at munches and making it something that I presented to  larger audience was intense. It was almost like being in a scene in little mode for the entire weekend to be ready for my act. I was also a little nervous ‘cause it was the first time I presented this secret part of my personality to a larger audience that might not be accepting of this.

What would you have liked to see done differently? I think there needed to be a little more organization in the back part where we were getting ready. Almost having little sections for each little to be so that not all things were hanging together and making sure that the music worked before. That was one of the issues, my music was not ready for me to come out onstage so I had to be moved to the last. Even though I’d given it, it was not functioning. It was scary for a minute. I didn’t know if I could do my performance.

What have you changed now that you’re a co-producer? One of the things that I’ve been trying to do with Littles is helping them build their talent and help them find talents that fit their personality. I was a hula hooper. I was able to take something that really is an age play experience for me and something that is outside of the kink world a passion of mine and be able to combine the two to share who I am as an age player: a goofy, little rambunctious age player! So, helping Littles to find their niches for talents so there’s not so much of the same talent. There are some that I helped to do their talents already. Just be prepared, Judge!


How was it decided that this year’s contest should have a theme? It’s a very common process in contests and pageants in the age play realm for there to be a theme. I think as an age player, a direction to go as to what they might want to do with their talent, it’s a little more focused. Sugar Plum Dreams was a good suggestion I thought because, whatever holiday you do or not celebrate, there’s a bit of childhood represented with the month of December. The theme is like a focal point to plan their personality and decoration. Makes it a little bit more real, I think. Like going to a much, those munches have theme nights. It gives people a way to connect. It will give people in the audience a way to connect, too.

How did you become a co-producer? *laughter* Okay, so. Last year I came in first runner up. The winner has not had any more interest in going on to pursue the international title and that was something that I did want to do. The title, we found out, was no longer existent. Davina and I had become closer and she asked if I wanted to be a co-producer and help her with the contest. I decided to bow out as a performer because I felt like I could contribute as a collaborator.

Why were you afraid of doing the contest alone? In September I had broken up with my first real Daddy, my first “You are my Daddy, I am your little girl” role. I went to the Meet and Greet originally just to say, I’m not sure if I can do this, and when I got there, there was so much support for me and I realized that this is something that I still wanted to do and that I had support to do. Age play is an experience that is better when other people are involved in some way. In childhood, most good memoried are with adults, other people involved.

How did others encourage you to compete? Muffy, who was going to be the backstage mom was like, “Do it or yourself! I’ll be backstage to help you and support you and be there for you. “ Brie, I remember Brie being like, Brie had also lost her--we became orphans. I’m trying to remember exact details, but they were like, “I’m competing, I lost my Daddy recently, too. We can be in this together.” I can’t remember the exact words, but suddenly I was not alone and the others encouraged me even though that made me competition.

Did you feel that most Littles needed encouragement? Even though this is a contest and there is a leather title with it, I really like to compare it to a scene to anyone who is a part of it. There's so much energy and excitement. “Where are my bobby pins? Where’s my left shoe?” There are so many crises. For me, the person who was supposed to help me wasn’t there until the middle of my act. But then everyone started helping each other. There’s an intense energy, but, “I have bobby pins! Here’s your shoe! I found it! Do you want to hold my stuffie?” After the competition there were emotions. After we went out to a bar--I should say a restaurant. We all had ice cream. We needed after care. It’s a good time, but the reality is that this is still a scene.



How did the contest help you develop an understanding of your kink? There’s an aspect about private play as oppose to not just public, but in a contest. You end up looking at yourself. How am I presenting? What am I doing? People, after the competition, had all these questions about age play for us. I felt like I had to understand a lot about age play. I started reading more about age play. One of the books was Age Play: From Diapers to Diplomas--and I read your book, too. Just understanding the different roles involved. Age play is not just as simple as “Oh! It’s a little girl and a Daddy or a Mommy and a little girl!” There’s so much psychologically going on as in any other scene.

Is age play an activity, fetish, or identity for you? Something else? That’s a good question. It’s always fluctuating within myself still. I have Hello Kitty underwear, which is certainly a fetish item, but it’s just a childhood character on my panties. There’s a child within all of us I believe. How much we let this child out and how much we show varies. This is as much a part of my identity as a kink.

Why do you think that you won Fan Favorite? I was really touched that the audience supported me. I felt like I was myself throughout the contest and did my best.

How do you feel about the judge’s decision about who won 2013 San Francisco Little Miss Little over you? It was my first time meeting her and I did not see her presentation so it’s hard to really say anything one way or the other. As much as it would have been awesome to have won, my age play experience does not depend on having a title.

What is your favorite memory of the contest? Dancing on the stage with other contestants. We had completed everything and it was fun just to be able to relax.


You’ve had a number of roles in connection with Little Miss & Mister Little: handler, contestant, co-producer. Which has been your favorite? Each role really had things that made it great. I loved supporting my friend the first year, I loved being a contestant, and this year it is a huge honor to get to actually help produce the contest.

What have you done to promote the contest? I have encouraged other age players to compete over the past year. As a co-producer I have continued to do that and have been reaching out to different groups and venues to raise awareness of the contest.

What would be your ideal Little Miss or Mister Little? They are both passionate about age play and supporting awareness in the kink community and active in their local community. They do not have to be leaders as much as being people who are doing good things such as teaching, advocating, writing, and/or organizing events.

Where would you like to see the contest in five years? I would like to see it represent the different flavors of age play throughout the world. I imagine littles coming from other states and countries to compete.

Do you plan on co-producing next year? I hope to or at the very least be supportive in continuing to build the contest.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Interview with Davina Darling

Davina Darling is the producer of the San Francisco Little Miss & Mister Little Contest and this year's International Little Miss & Mister Little Contest. She produces local age play events, was an ABDL model, and is active in the BDSM community at large.

How did the contest come into being? It's a really silly story, really. Siouxsie Q and I were in a pup tent watching Toddlers & Tiaras and we kept talking about how cool it would be to bring something like this to San Francisco. We did our homework and found out nothing like it had ever graced San Francisco, so Little Miss Little was born.

We thought we were being original with the idea. When we Googled the idea to see if we were gonna step on any toes, we saw that it was a thing that was happening in DC. We thought the name was very cute and we got permission to use it for San Francisco. We really thought we were being original. We came up with that exact name!

Has the pageant turned out how you thought it would? And more. beyond my wildest dreams. I thought we could have fun, very casually, and now it’s an International Leather Title. I would say it turned out beyond my wildest expectations ever. We’re finding people who are excited about it.

I feel it’s grown and it means a lot more to people. What started off seeming to be a silly thing for fun has turned into a serious advocacy for our community.

Do you ever miss it being more for fun? I do not. I love the direction it’s taken and giving the community a voice is, I think, its greatest accomplishment ever.

When did you start thinking that the contest should be made into a leather title contest? After the first year. It went so well, our contestants worked really hard. I thought that we wanted to expand and really be something acknowledged by the leather community.



What does the contest aim to do for the age play community? Promote awareness to the [leather] community as a whole. Clear some taboos and misconceptions as well as serve as a basis of education.

Can you please describe your ideal titleholder? In my eyes, they are out and about in their community. They’re not only showing up to events, but participating, hosting, and promoting events. Active in on and offline discussions. Taking initiative to do something that might never have been done before. That’s literally my deal: someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty not to promote themselves, but to promote their community.

What’s your favorite thing about your local community? The excitement around events and ideas. I can literally throw out ideas and generate an entire party based on the enthusiasm. It gives me my fuel to keep going.

How does International Little Miss & Mister Little differentiate from other leather contests? There's not a huge difference really. We judge our contestants on dress, talent, and a pop question.

How did you get involved with the Littles community? PamperedPenny.com. I was dipping my feet into the modeling world and I got contacted by you to appear on your site. And I was like, I’ve never heard of that before. Sounds like fun. And I found it to be quite fun! I creeped you out! And then I felt shamed for it. I dove right in. To the point of creeping out Penny Barber. Sorry about that.

What’s the hardest thing about producing the contest? That not everyone can win! Everyone in the contest is so talented and driven to represent their community that it's so hard picking just one winner. Also, funding and sponsorship. Age play is still such a taboo subject it's hard to find people to help fund the contest, most money does come out of pocket.

In the past, you’ve produced the local Little Miss & Mister Little. What new challenges or perks have you encountered upon going International? International is a much bigger arena. We are following more leather contest rules and the contestants will have more expectations for what they will do for their communities.




Do you ever wish that you could compete? Every single year! The biggest reward for me, though, is knowing that we are bringing this event to a community that never had it before. That's more pride than a title will ever give me.

What advice would you give someone on the fence about entering? Do it! The friends you will make and the service to your community if you win will last a lifetime. Don't be shy. Let your little shine.

Who is eligible to enter? Anyone who considers themselves a "little" and wishes to serve their community.

Have you encountered any opposition on the way? Can you tell us about it? Of course. We've been told that age play is more of a fetish than a leather community. To that I say, look around our community. We've formed discussion groups for age players, scout troops, national conventions, and specialty parties. The littles community is fast-growing and stronger than ever.

There’s been some controversy over the gendering of the titles. Can you tell us about that? There's been controversy. [We,] as producers and judges, have agonized for hours over this. Unfortunately, the original contest was started as a gendered contest and we've tried changing it--with no luck of a new title catching on. We hope [that] with popularity over time, we will be able to get funding and sponsorship to allow us to add more gender neutral titles.  

Are there any contest events coming up? Tons! We are having our ice cream social fundraiser! Our Halloween party! As well as our Registration Meet and Greet. Come out, get more information, and hang out! Check out our website for more info.

How can someone who isn’t involved in the contest help out? Contact us! Show up to events, let us know you want to help out! This is run mostly by volunteers so help is always welcomed.

The contest has a theme this year. How was it chosen and how can contestants help to promote it? The theme this year was chosen by our head judge, Penny Barber, and by our co-producer, Scarlet O’Starlet. We wanted to add a theme that people could work. Contestants can help promote by dressing in theme: Nutcracker, ballerina, etc.

What has been your most successful fundraiser attempt? Just recently, would be our raffle/Halloween party where we did trick-or-treating in the SF Citadel. We had such a large turnout--the largest turnout for any age play party that the Citadel has ever had.

What advice would you give someone starting their own LMML? Patience. Be able to take criticism. And able to listen to others’ ideas.

What is your favorite talent that you’ve seen? Clarinet by far. We had a Little girl in a girlscout uniform come up. She played it like a six-year-old, but a six-year-old who wanted to be good. She really embodied her age. She was dressed perfectly.

What could someone do to help promote the contest? Link our blog, talk about it in your local communities, send people to our site, come to our events, support our events. Tweet. Facebook. Tumble!

How do you choose judges? I choose my judges based on their roles in the age play community as well as their integrity. I want to see people who I would respect judging me. I try to get a well-known educator, top, Mommy, Daddy who is also well-respected in our community.

Who would be your dream judge? Angelina Jolie. She’s, like, the biggest Mommy ever. She could wear her Versace child-print dress. Oh! No! Can I go back? Christopher Malone. Oh my god. He’s such a Daddy. He’s like “I’m gonna protect the children!” and he has, like a broad Daddy chest. Him and Angelina Jolie. For community purposes, not for my own.