V. M. Johnson

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.

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".

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.

In addition to being Jill Carter’s wife of more than three decades, Johnson is the bound property of Mistress Victoria of Atlanta, GA,

Johnson is a member of Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Association (T.U.L.S.A.), Lesbian Sex Mafia (LSM), and 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; NLA-I; and Pantheon of Leather, and as an officer of The Toolbox Technicians; T.U.L.S.A., and Leather and Lace.

She has given the keynote address and/or presented at numerous events in the United States and Canada, including (but not limited to) Leather Leadership Conferences; Boys Training Camps; Beyond Vanilla; Black Beat; JustUs – Women and Kink; Master/slave Conference; Thunder in the Mountains; Dressing For Pleasure; Black Rose; Masters and slaves Together; Living in Leather, National Leather Association International; Lesbian Sex Mafia; WULF; Menamore LLC; and New York Women of Color.

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.

Johnson has served as head judge or judge for Ms. World Leather, and many other contests across North America. Johnson has given academic lectures at Newark State College (now Kean University), Orange Coast College, Bard College, Bryn Mawr College, Barnard College, and Oklahoma State University. 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. Johnson lives in the Northeastern United States.

Writer

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.

"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.

Other Publications

Contributing Author, Anthologies

• 1995: Some Women, ed. Laura Antoniou

Contributing Author, Periodicals

• Bitches with Whips
• Black Leather in Color [1]
• Black Mistress Review [2]
• 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
2000: Pantheon of Leather Woman of the Year
1995: National Leather Association Lifetime Achievement Award [3]

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 600 sq ft (56 m²) room and includes fetish publications and material that compare in volume and content to the 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

See also

• 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

• Vi's LiveJournal (blog)
• Viola Johnson - Iron Rose's webpage dedicated to Viola Johnson
• Colors of Leather website