Gay leather culture

A Brief History Of Leather And The Gays

Give to me your leather, get from me my gays…

By Fraser Abe

Cubs, pups, otters, silver foxes and bears, oh my. The queer ecosystem has a affluent taxonomy of subcultures that all somewhat stem from one Adam(4Adam)’s rib – the leather community. It’s been around since the 1940s, when the notion of otters and the like were just a twink-le (get it?) in some queen’s eye. We’re here to break down the history of leather for you, going all the way back to the greatest generation.

It’s generally assumed that leather customs got its start in the 1940s, as an offshoot to post-World War II motorcycle clubs that began popping up around the same time. Gays had flocked in droves to large cities obeying Blue Discharges from the army, a way of removing homosexuals from service, as dishonourably discharging and imprisoning gays became impractical with the huge number of recruits during WWII. It led to big groups of homosexuals in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

Meanwhile, a dissatisfaction with the post-WWII white picket fence view of America was building, especially as seen in films like 1953’s The Wild One, starring Marl

The Importance Of Leather To Queer Communities

Have you ever seen a leather coat in a thrift store with a hand-done layout in the back? Have you wondered what the leather trend was all about? Or maybe you are wondering how leather relates to the LGBTQ community. We examine these questions further.

Leather was more than a develop of self-expression for members of the LGBTQ/queer community, it was a establish of protest, a way to empower relationships, and community. By the 1960s clothier Alan Selby who saw immature gay men in motorcycle wear. He was inspired and went on to find Mr. S Leather, this helped solidify the design and role of leather in the queer community. The style involved leather chaps, uniforms, harnesses, motorcycle jackets, and peaked hats. Although there was kink involved, kink entity individuals preferred sexual practices, fantasies, or non-conventional sex practices. To the leather community, it was about so much more than sexual relationships. It was about mentorship between an older homosexual person and a younger one. It was about having someone help you navigate the struggles of being a gay man in a time when lots of abhor and s

What’s in the Archives? Leather!

Leather in the Archives

by Gordon Richardson, with assistance from Alan Miller and Michael Holmes (photography)

Leather subculture

The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities. Leather tradition is most apparent in gay communities and most often associated with queer men (“leathermen”), but it is also reflected in various ways in the gay, lesbian, attracted to both genders, and straight worlds. Many people associate leather culture with BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, Sado/Masochism) practices and its many subcultures.

Gay male BDSM leather culture grew out of post-WWII biker culture. Some men returning from the war received surplus motorcycles, leather jackets, and other military gear. Wearing jeans and a T-shirt with a leather jacket and cap riding a motorcycle created an iconic image that was adopted by the first gay leather people. The first gay leather bars were the club houses of premature biker clubs that opened later to the public. Pioneering gay motorcycle clubs included the Satyrs, established in Los Angeles in 1954; Oedipus also in Los Angeles in 1958, and the New York Motorbike