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Saturday, Sep 06, 2008
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Sex Talk by Simon Shepard |
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| Leathermen | ||
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It's an instantly recognizable, very hot archetype: the gay leatherman, with his gleaming black jacket, chaps, and peaked motorcycle cap. Though Mr. Biker may seem like an eternal icon, he's only been around for 50 years or so - the first gay motorcycle clubs were born in the 1950s, around the time Brando was riding his chopper in "The Wild One". Says one observer of the queer scene, "The leatherman can carry a multitude of meanings. Though he's usually dressed in motorcyclist drag, he may not even have ridden a scooter, much less a Harley. And while plenty of men wear leather to signify their interest in SM, there are dedicated bikers who are totally vanilla, as well as very kinky vegans who wouldn't be caught dead in cowhide." There are three major, separate-but-overlapping leather/sex connections. At a basic level, black leather conveys "butch," and the erotic charge that hypermasculinity carries. It may matter little that the man beneath the chaps is a hairdresser or an opera queen: when he's dressed top-to-toe, he looks tough...even if he's a great big bottom. "When I see a big, bearded guy in full leathers, I'm a little intimidated," says one twink, "and more than a little turned on." On the other hand, there are hardcore fetishists whose cocks get hard at the smell and feel of leather. Our scene observer continues, "Some of that may have to do with the supposed maleness of leather - never mind that plenty of femmy women wear it as well. But basically, fabric fetishists love what they love - be it rubber, silky undies, or gleaming hides. Could be big black boots, could be penny loafers." And then there's "leathersex." Though that can apply to roughish, cowhide-adorned coupling, it more often denotes sadomasochistic play, from bondage to whips. Both the infliction and endurance of pain can be viewed as male rites of passage, so it's little wonder that those involved in flogging are more likely to don leather jackets than business suits. Some guys "live in leather," making the scene a primary source of self-identification. Others are weekend leathermen, donning hides to go to kinky parties or to leather contests that are equal parts Miss America and the Marquis de Sade. To outsiders, it might all seem like dressing up, but to aficionados, the wearing of the skins exerts a powerful sexual mystique. One fellow who serves as a "dungeonmaster" monitoring SM orgies, enthuses, "There's nothing more exciting than a dimly lit cellar filled with leathermen working each other over." Some items of leatherwear, like studded collars, carry overt sexual connotations, while others - most notably open-crotched chaps - seem custom-built for playing while partly clothed. And a whole range of sex toys, from cockrings to slings, come in studded black leather, perfect fashion accessories for the perverted. The world of leathermen may seem forbidding from the outside. But, our dungeonmaster says, that's not necessarily the case. "In days gone by, the so-called Old Guard ran things like a secret society. Things have loosened up since then, and, though a referral might be required to get into the more exclusive leather parties, there are also discussion groups, street fairs, and the like, where a novice can get to know more experienced leathermen. And, of course, there are always the bars." Not everyone is thrilled about that state of affairs. Says one aging member of the Old Guard, "Anyone can go out and buy himself a black leather jacket. But being a good SM player requires experience, and the sort of knowledge that's best handed on from one leatherman to another. Sorry to sound grumpy, but there are just too many posers and wannabes out there." The leatherman may have come a long way from his first incarnation as a 1950s figure of freedom and rebellion, but the mystique of the masculine stranger in leathers still packs a punch. Whether a grizzled veteran of the roads in well-worn jacket or a kinskter in his gleaming new harness, many a man would agree with the guy who says, "There's just something hot about putting on full leathers. It makes me feel stronger, more manly. Sexier." Clothes, even cowhide ones, may not always make the man, but they sure have been known to make guys' dicks hard. So slip on those chaps, chap, and grab a whip or two. You, too, can be a leatherman. "Simon Sheppard is the editor of Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica, and the author of Sex Parties 101, Kinkorama, and In Deep: Erotic Stories, and can be reached at SexTalk@qsyndicate.com. Visit Simon at www.simonsheppard.com". |
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