“Leatherman” is a frequent buzzword in the glbt scene, especially the gay scene. But what does it mean to be a Leatherman?
Spoiler alert: it’s not about the fabric. If it were, we’d have “cottonmen” or “nylonmen” based on their attire.
What is a Leatherman
Being a Leatherman is about authenticity and living a meaningful identity, not just wearing leather. It’s about embodying values you truly believe in. But to understand this, we have to first analyze how we got to where we are, today.
Many gay men today have at least one piece of leather – fetish wear in their wardrobe. Globalization and the internet have exposed our tribe’s unique lifestyle to the masses, further popularized by artists like Touko Laaksonen (aka Tom of Finland).
But how many of these men truly identify as Leathermen? And how many of those who do have a clear idea of what it means beyond just the historical context? Is it just about buying some gear? Wouldn’t that be tragically shallow?
Many people assume that if a man wearing rubber is a “rubber man,” then a man wearing leather is a Leatherman. However, being a Leatherman has deeper meaning, tied to identity and community. For some, being a Leatherman means belonging to a community that shares a sense of hierarchy, protocol, etiquette, and Domination/submission dynamics, rooted in Old Guard Leather culture.
Memorial Picture of Old Guard Leather Bikers of Satyr's Club in Los Angeles from https://satyrsmc.wordpress.com/
The value of words, titles and identities
Unfortunately, today’s trend is to self-assign titles like Daddy or Bear or Master or slave, based on superficial traits. True meaning and power in these words have been diluted.
Instead, truly words have a meaning and a power, and one can’t conveniently cling to a “culture” when it’s conveniente to their agenda, but then deny it when they want to be part of what’s trendy.
Being a Daddy used to mean living lead by a sense of fatherhood, the need to teach and inspire youngers, taking care of them, and have a sense of satisfaction by taking the role of the educating and leading figure. It means taking responsibilities. Yes, also when it comes to just a one night stand. It’s an identity thing. Wether you’re cut for it, or you’re not.
Being a Bear used to mean you don’t give two shits about trends and fashion, and you like to eat like a beast, drink and do as you please; this sort of lifestyle leads to become big or overweight, and not caring too much about manscaping. People into Bears see masculinity and power in the body size and the brute-like traits. And so on.
The Roots of the Leatherman’s Culture
So, being a Leatherman means adhering to the lifestyle of one. Brotherhood, camaraderie, behavioral pattern deriving from ages in which men were shaped in the military forces (and surely not from woke culture). So where did it all started?
As we have explained in our article about the Roots of Old Guard Leather, in the days when Old Guard was respected, it was common for men with military backgrounds to wear leather and ride motorcycles. This lifestyle fostered a sense of brotherhood and a rejection of mainstream societal norms. Old Guard Leathermen adhered to values of integrity, strictness, structure, and stability, while others embraced a rule-free lifestyle as sexual rebels (sexual outlaws is a term you’ll often hear) in a way.
Both groups shared the belief that Leathermen live by their own values, rejecting societal hypocrisy. Old Guard Leathermen followed strict rules, while renegades valued complete freedom from rules.
So the Symbol of a Leatherman’s Uniform (where the fact that it is a Uniform and not a singlet or else should speak clearly about what being a Leatherman is about) comes from those values carried on, from the times in which men lived together as an Army of Brothers, and started to become in the larger gay community a symbol of freedom and sexual liberation.
The difference from wearing Leather and Leather – Fetish Wear
Tom of Finland and his Leathermen
Tom of Finland’s art, while iconic, isn’t specifically about Leathermen. No introduction is needed for Touko Laaksonen (but if you need one, there is a well built Wikipedia page and an official website of the Tom of Finland Foundation); his work represents in gay culture a beacon of freedom and rebellion to oppression, and contributed to fight against the stereotypes of that era. Of course nowadays there might be woke people claiming it’s sexist, toxically masculine, and more silly talk.
His work is homoerotic art features characters like cops, cowboys, sailors, and truckers. The association with Leather culture came from the widespread popularity of his art in gay clubs, and the character of Kake, a motorcycle rider wearing Leather.
In the 40s and 50s, depicting homoeroticism was illegal. Tom’s drawings, featuring men in leather, were exported to the US and distributed in gay clubs, helping to popularize the leather look. Motorcycle clubs also became more inclusive, spreading Leatherman symbols further.
However, the tragic HIV epidemic took a heavy toll on the community, leading to the loss of many Leather Masters and Leathermen (along with many queer and non queer folk too). While the experienced thought leaders disappeared, Tom’s drawings remained, becoming an accelerator to the commercialization the leather look but often lacking the authenticity and context of true Leather culture, which needed people, to be carried on.
What does being a Leatherman mean today?
The right to wear Leather
Enjoyed reading what i am and been for many years. Proud to be part of the concept of years . i can proudly say that i played a part in the old guard culture. Before coming out in the gay scene leather was part of my dress . Enjoyed wearing my motorcycle jacket engineer boots trucker wallet as part of who I am . i entered the leather scene and adapted to the chaps etc because it attractedto the sub culture of sm sex and being part of a subculture a different breed of a man. Today im comfortable in not having to wear any leather exhibit but I know that I am still that old guard leather man. No form of leather exhibision is needed for my psyche. Baut in order to draw those guys into leather for a sex desire the costume is a helpful tool. Unfortuanately in all honesty we are a dying species
My friend: we are a dying species only if we measure our species towards what the “scene” is today, aka a commercial bi-product of flattening any diversity and authenticity, under the advertising of promoting diversity.
Leathermen are Leathermen, and we are alive, and we exist. We simply stopped showing up at what have become circuit parties for tourists.
Our species isn’t dying, as long as Masters are training Leathermen.
Lupus
I am starting to grow old.I am a leather man,but am finding it difficult to walk around in leather boots.I seem to have aged with covid affecting us.I am having to deal with erectile disfunction.I wearing a leather vest all the time ,I shpo;d be looking for a boot boy to dress me.I am beginning to feel that things are never going to be the same ever again.
I do understand how you feel, and you’re right when you think that these things will never be the same again. Things are different now. Now there is a vaste majority of the “gay community” who is totally disconnected from any commitment, capable of believing in something greater, and to adhere to integrity, respect for Elders, hierarchy and structure. But you know what? They’re all lacking something. They’re all experiencing a void inside of them, and some of them are still looking for what Old Guard Leather offers. It’s ok for them to be a small number out in the large crowd. The big mistake done was the utopia of believing that this lifestyle would be fit for everyone. It isn’t. It’s fit for those who align with it, for those who feel they need something more. Personally, I think it’s very ok to be a minority, and I can tell you that in my Family, both the inner circle and the expanded one, we are a growing number of Leather men who are proud not to be the same as everyone else, proud to be a few, because you can’t be a family and open to the whole world at the same time. Leather keeps on living as long as there are Leathermen inspiring men and forming them into Leathermen themselves, without shortcuts, without giving it out easy just for the fear of being lonely. I understand that your age and conditions might make you feel the way you speak, and I respect that Sir. But don’t you worry. Me and other Leather Men will keep fighting and keep our stand.
Lupus