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{{Short description|American writer and leather activist}}
'''V. M. (Viola M.) Johnson''' (born 1950) is a leatherwoman, activist, author and archivist who embarked on her journey in the Leather/BDSM scene in the early 1970s. A strong advocate for the necessity of preserving leather/fetish/erotic history, Johnson speaks and writes with a single-minded focus on the broad spectrum of issues that concern her and her community.
'''V. M. Johnson''', also known as '''Viola Johnson''', born in 1950, is a [[leather subculture|leatherwoman]], leather activist and author.<ref name=LAM>{{cite web|url=https://leatherarchives.org/oral-history-exhibit |title=Oral History Exhibit|publisher=Leather Archives & Museum|access-date=24 April 2020}}<br>- {{cite book|author=Aspasia Stephanou|title=Reading Vampire Gothic Through Blood: Bloodlines|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8pCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT194|date=17 July 2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-34923-1|pages=194–|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=V. M. Johnson|title=Dhampir: Child of the Blood|publisher=Mystic Rose Books|year=1995|isbn=978-0-9645960-1-6}}</ref><ref name="PhD2009">{{cite book|author=Jay Stevenson PhD|title=The Complete Idi Guide to Vampires: Fascinating Vampire Lore from Eastern Europe, Greece, Italy, and the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_6UG5e1lmgC&pg=PA168|date=21 January 2009|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=978-1-101-02001-2|pages=168–}}</ref><ref name="leatherativi">{{cite web|url=https://leatherati.com/vi-johnson-receives-ngltf-leather-leadership-award-4a8a05cfc96 |title=Vi Johnson Receives NGLTF Leather Leadership Award|website=Leatherati |date=14 December 2011 |access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref>


==Life==
A mentor and confidante to many in the fetish world, she has a particular fondness for the ‘boys’ of the community, and those who choose to serve as slaves and submissives and is often referred to as the "Mother of all Submissives".
Johnson claims that when she was seventeen years old a vampire gave her some of his own blood to drink and thus she became a vampire.<ref name="PhD2009"/>


In the early 1970s, she joined the [[BDSM]] and [[leather subculture|leather]] scenes.<ref name="LAM"/> In 1988, she became an honorary member of Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Association (T.U.L.S.A).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tulsaleather.com/membership|title=Membership|publisher=T.U.L.S.A.}}</ref> In 2005, she started The Carter/Johnson Library & Collection, a "collection of thousands of books, magazines, posters, art, club and event pins, newspapers, event programs and ephemera showing leather, [[sexual fetishism|fetish]], [[sadomasochism|S/M]] erotic history".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leatherlibrary.org |title=Carter/Johnson Leather Library |publisher=Leather Library |access-date= 18 May 2014}}</ref>
== Biography ==
Mentor, “Mom”, and now “Grandmother” to many generations in the community, Johnson has a special place in her heart for those who choose to serve as slaves, submissives, boys/bois, and bottoms.


She was a judge for many leather-related contests, including Ms. World Leather.<ref name="LAM"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Andy Campbell|title=Bound together: Leather, sex, archives, and contemporary art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eirJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT238|year=2020|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-1-5261-4283-2|pages=238–|via=Google Books}}</ref>
In addition to being Jill Carter’s wife of more than three decades, Johnson is the bound property of Mistress Victoria of Atlanta, GA,


She is on the board of governors for the Leather Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://leatherhalloffame.com/index.php/board-of-governors.html|title=Board Of Governors|publisher=Leather Hall of Fame}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Johnson is a member of [http://www.tulsaleather.com/ Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Association (T.U.L.S.A.)], [[Lesbian_Sex_Mafia|Lesbian Sex Mafia (LSM)]], and [[National_Leather_Association_International | National Leather Association – International (NLA-I)]], and an honorary member of many other organizations.


Johnson has served as a board member of the [[Leather_Archives_and_Museum | Leather Archives and Museum]]; NLA-I; and [http://www.pantheonofleather.com/ Pantheon of Leather], and as an officer of The Toolbox Technicians; T.U.L.S.A., and Leather and Lace.
She was on the board of directors of the [[Leather Archives & Museum]] and is a member of the [[Lesbian Sex Mafia]]. She is married to Jill Carter.<ref name="leatherativi"/>


==Notable awards==
She has given the keynote address and/or presented at numerous events in the United States and Canada, including (but not limited to) [http://www.leatherleadership.org/ Leather Leadership Conferences]; Boys Training Camps; [http://www.beyondvanilla.org/ Beyond Vanilla]; [http://www.blackbeatinc.org/conference.htm Black Beat]; JustUs – Women and Kink; Master/slave Conference; [http://www.thunderinthemountains.com/ Thunder in the Mountains]; [http://www.dfp.com/ Dressing For Pleasure]; [[Black_Rose_(BDSM_organization) | Black Rose]]; [http://www.mast.net/ Masters and slaves Together]; [http://lil.nla-i.com/ Living in Leather], National Leather Association International; Lesbian Sex Mafia; WULF; Menamore LLC; and New York Women of Color.
*1995: [[National Leather Association]]'s Jan Lyon Award for Regional or Local Work<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nla-international.com/list-of-winners-3.html |title=List of winners |publisher=NLA International |date=14 March 2019 |access-date=8 May 2020 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103035259/https://www.nla-international.com/list-of-winners-3.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*1995: [[National Leather Association]] Lifetime Achievement Award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nla-i.com/html/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=47 |title=All NLA-I Awards |publisher=NLA International |date=5 November 2019 |access-date=22 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206062431/http://www.nla-i.com/html/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=47 |archive-date=6 February 2012}}</ref>
*1995: Pantheon of Leather Lifetime Achievement Award<ref name="Cruz2016">{{cite book|author=Ariane Cruz|title=The Color of Kink: Black Women, BDSM, and Pornography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6gXvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA236|year=2016|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-1-4798-6532-1|pages=236–|via=Google Books}}</ref> (Johnson was the first person to receive the [[National Leather Association]] Lifetime Achievement Award and the Pantheon of Leather Lifetime Achievement Award in the same year.)<ref name="masterslaveconferencevi">{{cite web|url=http://masterslaveconference.org/portfolio/vi-johnson/ |title=Mama Vi Johnson, Carter Johnson Leather Library|publisher=Master/slave Conference|accessdate=25 April 2020}}</ref>
*1998: Pantheon of Leather Couple of the Year award (shared with Jill Carter and Queen Cougar)<ref name=PoL>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theleatherjournal.com/pantheon-awards/recipients|title=Pantheon of Leather Awards All Time Recipients|website=The Leather Journal|access-date=2020-04-22|archive-date=2020-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201228055005/https://www.theleatherjournal.com/pantheon-awards/recipients|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*2000: Pantheon of Leather Woman of the Year<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theleatherjournal.com/newsrssfeed/item/35-2000 |title=2000 |website=The Leather Journal |access-date=22 April 2020}}{{dead link|date=November 2021}}</ref>
*2005: SouthEast LeatherFest Jack Stice Memorial Community Service Award<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seleatherfest.com/our-history/js-award |title=Jack Stice Memorial Community Service Award|publisher=SouthEast LeatherFest|accessdate=25 April 2020}}</ref>
*2005: [[Master/slave (BDSM)|Master/slave]] Conference slave Heart Award<ref name="archive1">{{cite web |url=http://www.masterslaveconference.org/history-awards.html |title=Master/slave Conference Awards |publisher=Master/slave Conference |via=Archive.is |archivedate=11 August 2013 |access-date=22 April 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130811102637/http://www.masterslaveconference.org/history-awards.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
*2005: Pantheon of Leather Forebear Award (tied for the win with David S. Kloss)<ref name=PoL/>
*2007: Black Beat Lifetime Achievement Award (This was the first Lifetime Achievement Award given by Black Beat.)<ref name="masterslaveconferencevi"/>
*2012: [[Master/slave (BDSM)|Master/slave]] Conference [[Guy Baldwin]] [[Master/slave (BDSM)|Master/slave]] Heritage Award<ref name="archive1"/>
*2012: [[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]] Leather Leadership Award<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theleatherjournal.com/news/leather-community-arts-society/item/705-viola-johnson-accepts-ngltf-leather-leadership-award |title=Viola Johnson Accepts NGLTF Leather Leadership Award |publisher=The Leather Journal |access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref> (Johnson was the first woman to be given this award.)<ref name="leatherativi"/>
*2018: The Carter/Johnson Library & Collection received the Nonprofit Organization of the Year award as part of the [[Pantheon of Leather Awards]].<ref name=PoL/>
*Unknown date: Induction into the [[Society of Janus]] Hall of Fame<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.erobay.com/calendar/Calcium40.pl?CalendarName=Janus&Op=ShowIt&Amount=Day&NavType=Both&Type=List&DayViewHours=1&Date=2019%2F7%2F20 |title=Society of Janus |publisher=Erobay |date=29 July 2019 |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref>
*2021: [[Leather Archives & Museum]]’s [[Chuck Renslow]] & [[Tony DeBlase]] Founders’ Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://leatherarchives.org/support/30-30-anniversary-campaign/|title=30 30 Anniversary Campaign – Leather Archives & Museum}}</ref>


==Works==
Her keynote address at Beyond Vanilla, presented in Dallas in 2007, resulted in the formation of KinkyVoter.com, an organization dedicated to increasing the visibility and political clout of sexual minorities, and encouraging those minorities to vote.
'''Books'''
*V. M. Johnson, ''[[Dhampir]]: Child of the Blood''. Mystic Rose Books, 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-9645960-1-6}}
*[[Laura Antoniou]] (ed.),''Some Women''. Masquerade Books, Inc, 1995 (contributed "Journal entries")<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34697142 |title=Some Women|editor= [[Laura Antoniou]]|year=1995 |publisher=Masquerade Books, Inc |oclc=34697142 |access-date=25 April 2020}}</ref>
*V. M. Johnson, ''To Love, to Obey, to Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave'' Mystic Rose Books, 1999. {{ISBN|978-0-9645960-2-3}}


'''Contributing author, notable periodicals'''
Johnson has served as head judge or judge for [http://www.msworldleather.com/ Ms. World Leather], and many other contests across North America.
* ''Black Leather in Color''{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
She has also given academic lectures at Newark State College (now Kean University), Orange Coast College, Bard College, Bryn Mawr College, Barnard College, and Oklahoma State University.
* ''Black Mistress Review''{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
As an archivist, Johnson has amassed a collection of more than 9,000 pieces of erotic fiction, non-fiction, periodicals, club histories, ephemera and travels with that collection to events across the country.
She currently lives in the Northeastern United States.


== Writer ==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
Viola is the author of two books, "''Dhampir: Child of the Blood''" and "''To Love, To Obey, To Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave''." Her third book has a projected publication date of fall 2008.


==External links==
"''To Love, To Obey, To Serve. Diary of an Old Guard Slave''" has served as life preserver to many people whom have come to their desires and fantasies and ran screaming for the woods. Her book is not comforting because of it warmth but because it lets a person know that they are not alone in the sexual desire to serve. She has been touring the country since 1994, at the request of people that have found her book and want to better understand how she got though what she presented in the book. And she was often was called upon to comfort those who had gone though similar experinces.
* [http://www.leatherlibrary.org The Carter/Johnson Library and Collection]


{{Authority control}}
== Other Publications ==
==== Contributing Author, Anthologies ====
* 1995: Some Women, ed. Laura Antoniou

==== Contributing Author, Periodicals ====
* Bitches with Whips
* Black Leather in Color [http://www.iron-rose.com/vijohnson/thoughts.htm]
* Black Mistress Review [http://www.darkconnections.com/history/history01.htm]
* Corporal
* Dominant Mystique
* Mistress Mine
* Obeah
* Ouch
* Passion
* The (NLA-I) Link

== Major Awards ==
2007: Black Beat Lifetime Achievement Award
::S.W.E.A.T. Legacy Award
2005: Master/slave Conference Slave Heart Award
::Pantheon of Leather Forebearer Award
::SouthEast LeatherFest Jack Stice Memorial Community Service Award
2001: Lesbian Sex Mafia Legend Award<br>
2000: Pantheon of Leather Woman of the Year<br>
1995: National Leather Association Lifetime Achievement Award [http://www.nla-i.com/html/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=47]
::Pantheon of Leather Lifetime Achievement Award

== Other achievements ==

She is currently traveling and telling stories of the leather subculture with a library that fills a {{convert|600|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} room and includes fetish publications and material that compare in volume and content to the [[Leather archives and museum|Leather Archives and Museum]]. This is part of her taking up the role of the tribal "grandmother" for the leather subculture.

== Related Personalities ==
* [[Catherine Gross]]

* [[Gloria Brame]]

* [[Jack McGeorge]]

==See also==
* [[BDSM]]
* [[Domination and submission (BDSM)|Dominance & submission (BDSM)]]
* [[Servitude (BDSM)]]

== References and further reading ==
*V. M. Johnson '''To Love, to Obey, to Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave''' Mystic Rose Books (January 1999) ISBN 978-0964596023

*V. M. Johnson '''Dhampir: Child of the Blood''' Mystic Rose Books (June 1995) ISBN 978-0964596016

== External links ==
* [http://vicscatnip1.livejournal.com/ Vi's LiveJournal (blog)]
* [http://www.iron-rose.com/vijohnson/ Viola Johnson] - Iron Rose's webpage dedicated to Viola Johnson
*[http://www.colors-of-leather.com Colors of Leather website]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, V.M.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, V.M.}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:African-American writers]]
[[Category:American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:BDSM activists]]
[[Category:BDSM writers]]
[[Category:BDSM writers]]
[[Category:BDSM]]
[[Category:Leather subculture]]
[[Category:BDSM activists]]
[[Category:American lesbian writers]]
[[Category:African-American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Women erotica writers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American people]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:African-American women writers]]


{{LGBT-bio-stub}}
{{US-writer-stub}}

Latest revision as of 13:47, 26 September 2024

V. M. Johnson, also known as Viola Johnson, born in 1950, is a leatherwoman, leather activist and author.[1][2][3][4]

Life

[edit]

Johnson claims that when she was seventeen years old a vampire gave her some of his own blood to drink and thus she became a vampire.[3]

In the early 1970s, she joined the BDSM and leather scenes.[1] In 1988, she became an honorary member of Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Association (T.U.L.S.A).[5] In 2005, she started The Carter/Johnson Library & Collection, a "collection of thousands of books, magazines, posters, art, club and event pins, newspapers, event programs and ephemera showing leather, fetish, S/M erotic history".[6]

She was a judge for many leather-related contests, including Ms. World Leather.[1][7]

She is on the board of governors for the Leather Hall of Fame.[8]

She was on the board of directors of the Leather Archives & Museum and is a member of the Lesbian Sex Mafia. She is married to Jill Carter.[4]

Notable awards

[edit]

Works

[edit]

Books

  • V. M. Johnson, Dhampir: Child of the Blood. Mystic Rose Books, 1995. ISBN 978-0-9645960-1-6
  • Laura Antoniou (ed.),Some Women. Masquerade Books, Inc, 1995 (contributed "Journal entries")[20]
  • V. M. Johnson, To Love, to Obey, to Serve: Diary of an Old Guard Slave Mystic Rose Books, 1999. ISBN 978-0-9645960-2-3

Contributing author, notable periodicals

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Oral History Exhibit". Leather Archives & Museum. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
    - Aspasia Stephanou (17 July 2014). Reading Vampire Gothic Through Blood: Bloodlines. Springer. pp. 194–. ISBN 978-1-137-34923-1 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ V. M. Johnson (1995). Dhampir: Child of the Blood. Mystic Rose Books. ISBN 978-0-9645960-1-6.
  3. ^ a b Jay Stevenson PhD (21 January 2009). The Complete Idi Guide to Vampires: Fascinating Vampire Lore from Eastern Europe, Greece, Italy, and the Middle East. DK Publishing. pp. 168–. ISBN 978-1-101-02001-2.
  4. ^ a b c "Vi Johnson Receives NGLTF Leather Leadership Award". Leatherati. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Membership". T.U.L.S.A.
  6. ^ "Carter/Johnson Leather Library". Leather Library. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  7. ^ Andy Campbell (2020). Bound together: Leather, sex, archives, and contemporary art. Manchester University Press. pp. 238–. ISBN 978-1-5261-4283-2 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Board Of Governors". Leather Hall of Fame.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ "List of winners". NLA International. 14 March 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  10. ^ "All NLA-I Awards". NLA International. 5 November 2019. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  11. ^ Ariane Cruz (2016). The Color of Kink: Black Women, BDSM, and Pornography. NYU Press. pp. 236–. ISBN 978-1-4798-6532-1 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ a b "Mama Vi Johnson, Carter Johnson Leather Library". Master/slave Conference. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  13. ^ a b c "Pantheon of Leather Awards All Time Recipients". The Leather Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  14. ^ "2000". The Leather Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2020.[dead link‍]
  15. ^ "Jack Stice Memorial Community Service Award". SouthEast LeatherFest. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Master/slave Conference Awards". Master/slave Conference. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2020 – via Archive.is.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ^ "Viola Johnson Accepts NGLTF Leather Leadership Award". The Leather Journal. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  18. ^ "Society of Janus". Erobay. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  19. ^ "30 30 Anniversary Campaign – Leather Archives & Museum".
  20. ^ Laura Antoniou, ed. (1995). Some Women. Masquerade Books, Inc. OCLC 34697142. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
[edit]


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