Is the gay leather scene dying?--Two
Not long ago, many clubs catered to enthusiastic leathermen. But predatory property developers, changing attitudes to gender and the rise of rubber threaten the scene’s existence
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 204 | June 5, 2020 2:05 PM
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[quote] But predatory property developers, changing attitudes to gender and the rise of rubber threaten the scene’s existence.
Interesting comment on contemporary life, OP.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | November 18, 2019 5:07 PM
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I thought rubber was for watersports?
by Anonymous | reply 5 | November 18, 2019 6:20 PM
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[quote]Please let it be true.
NEVER!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 9 | November 19, 2019 4:40 PM
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It seems dated. Who wants to look like a 70s or 80s throwback.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | November 19, 2019 4:55 PM
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It is true. If it weren't, you wouldn't be asking.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | November 19, 2019 5:00 PM
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I think it’s due to the demise of the working class.
Without as many blue-collar workers, nobody wears or cares about leather anymore. It makes you look like trash.
And biker culture was a Boomer thing that’s largely evaporating, too.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | November 19, 2019 5:10 PM
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It's ridiculous - it's like - how can I put on the most menacing masculine costume of all time? And then they open their mouths and a pink purse falls out.
For a small part of the scene, leather is about S&M play and all that goes with it. For the vast majority, it's just an outfit they put on to feel masculine.
I've always thought it was an expression based on internalized shame and homophobia. No one thinks you're masculine by wearing it. Absolutely no one.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | November 19, 2019 5:17 PM
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the pups now outnumber the leather enthusiasts
by Anonymous | reply 15 | November 19, 2019 7:15 PM
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Some of the outfits are borderline Nazi looking. I don't like that look at all.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | November 19, 2019 7:59 PM
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Bad boy Nazis with hot bodies are hot
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 17 | November 19, 2019 8:01 PM
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Tom of Finland isn't drawing those images anymore and the Nazis and bikers who wore those uniforms are long gone, too.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | November 19, 2019 8:22 PM
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Leather is sexy when models wear it.
In real life, leather is usually worn by wrinkly old men
by Anonymous | reply 21 | November 19, 2019 8:22 PM
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I thought it died alone, a long long time ago.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | November 19, 2019 8:30 PM
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It'll go away, and then it will come back again. I think it looks ridiculous and I feel bad for the guys who spend $150 at Mr. S. for the equivalent of a belt but there are plenty of guys who are into it.
That said, do they still use real leather for these getups? Now that fur is almost entirely taboo, it seems like leather would be next. Animal-friendly pleather doesn't sound like it carries the same macho cache.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | November 19, 2019 8:38 PM
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The leather scene died when all the exclusively male gay spaces became vilified. The only bar still catering to the leather crowd in my area only does so with one night weekly, and then that night is open to all leather enthusiasts, not just gay men. Add in the "pup play" stuff, and the leather scene is reduced to just another form of cosplay.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | November 19, 2019 8:46 PM
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It looks ridiculous. Especially the hats.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | November 19, 2019 9:20 PM
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[quote]It looks ridiculous. Especially the hats.
Oh... I don't know....
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 26 | November 19, 2019 10:20 PM
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The Leatherman is still doing brisk business on Christopher Street with both the wimps AND the gimps.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 31 | November 19, 2019 10:46 PM
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I love the leather crowd, a very non-judgemental group of men. you don’t have to be a skinny Twink or. muscle queen or some thing like that. You can have a belly and still be sexy which by the way I do have a belly and I am sexy. I love it, I’m not into the hard-core stuff, fisting blood or things of that order, but at least I know when I’m too old to there’s gonna be scene for me, regardless my age or shape.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | November 19, 2019 11:23 PM
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Isn't it an Eldergay jam?
by Anonymous | reply 38 | November 19, 2019 11:38 PM
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It can’t be dying off, I just saw Terry Miller the other day in his full leather regalia. So it must still be a thing
by Anonymous | reply 39 | November 19, 2019 11:41 PM
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Of course it's a thing for Terry, Tom of Finland pays him.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | November 20, 2019 12:47 AM
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Never liked it. Unless it was flawlessly done.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | November 20, 2019 1:07 AM
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[quote]Of course it's a thing for Terry, Tom of Finland pays him.
Terry Miller
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 43 | November 20, 2019 1:16 AM
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When I was a 17 yo gayling with a fake ID, I remember being simultaneously turned on and terrified at the sight of the two leathermen in line ahead of me to enter Herbie's Ramrod Room in Boston's Fenway district circa 1971 or so. They were large and hairy and covered with animal hides from head to toe and, to my young eyes, beyond butch.
Until I got close enough to hear one telling the other how you had to chop the walnuts - but not too finely - before adding them to the banana bread batter.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | November 20, 2019 3:16 AM
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Lol R46 - exactly. I never liked the play acting butch thing. SF was the epicenter of that. Now in Amsterdam and Germany you got some real butch guys in leather - that could be hot. But those days are gone. I don’t miss them. Like women wearing stripper lingerie for their husbands.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | November 20, 2019 4:03 AM
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I had no particular view of the leather scene until asked by a dying friend to return a leather hat belonging to his estranged lover. Given the name of the venue and told tuesday’s were leather nights I turned up looking for my friend’s ex. At first a hotel full of leather men had little effect until I noticed the wash of sibilant ’S’s and sea of girly gossip. The contrast between the visuals and the ‘soundtrack’ was so odd I got the giggles just as I get the giggles when watching prissy queens trying to look butch bootscooting. In case that makes me sound like a homophobe, I’m camp as a row of pink tents myself.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | November 21, 2019 2:50 AM
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R13 - I think you just spilled your lipstick and pocketbook in your lap.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | November 23, 2019 2:03 PM
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Some of it can be hot, but a lot is repulsive. Not every man can carry it off
by Anonymous | reply 57 | November 23, 2019 2:41 PM
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Most of the 'hot' pics in this thread are of men with great bodies, who, frankly, would look good in anything - and better in something different than leather.
You can't gauge leather by a pic of a model in leather. That's just not reality. As most of said, leather is worn by older men with lackluster bodies who put on this menacing look.
I see it as a sign of low self esteem.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | November 24, 2019 1:50 AM
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I remember when I first went to Pride parades in NYC and Bostonnin the 80s, and when the leathermen groups would walk by, I was so enormously disappointed.
I was hoping for hot musclemen in leather like the ones depicted at r17 and r31, and instead they all looked like David Cross in leather at r28.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | November 24, 2019 10:20 PM
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R54 - my experience exactly. Sexual acting always grates on me. Be who you are.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | November 26, 2019 11:21 PM
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I will never forget being chastised at The Eagle in nyc one night by a very tall, very built German guy in leather. He was pissed at me cuz he could smell my deodorant. What the fuck. Later I saw his alpha male ass dancing to Erasure and I had to laugh.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | December 4, 2019 5:57 PM
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German are/were the real deal. The only leather men who could really pull it off we’re German.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | December 4, 2019 6:49 PM
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Tom of Finland and men.com are trying to bring back leather, baby! They just announced a partnership with multiple porns and they're going to have celebrities like Casey Spooner, Terry Miller and Matthew camp in the movies.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | December 4, 2019 6:53 PM
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Relying on Terry Miller for advertising ?! Are they hoping to bring down the age of leather men from 80 to 60?
“When you can no longer get it up, dress up”
by Anonymous | reply 70 | December 4, 2019 7:03 PM
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Casey Spooner, Terry Miller AND Matthew Camp? Such star power! Leather will be back in a big way soon, no doubt.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | December 4, 2019 7:09 PM
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When I was 20 years old I thought it was the hottest thing ever. The way the Leatherman carry themselves, their attitude, and the smells!
Now that I'm older the scene just looks silly. I just see a cosplay version of Lord Humungus from The Road Warrior!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 74 | December 4, 2019 8:55 PM
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Elements of the leather scene have leaked into the gay social scene. Seeing queens with hot pink leather harnesses are circuit parties are all the rage now. It’s ridiculous and denigrates the actual leather scene... but what are ya gonna do?
by Anonymous | reply 77 | December 5, 2019 7:54 PM
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Let's get serious. The majority of leather men are old wrinkly men. Every now and then they're a young cutie, but rarely.
All the photos on this thread are models, not people in the leather world
by Anonymous | reply 78 | December 5, 2019 8:06 PM
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I thought going to International Men of Leather in Chicago would be so hot until....I saw pictures of men in leather who actually attend.
They all looked so pathetically dweeby
by Anonymous | reply 79 | December 5, 2019 8:08 PM
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I think it was a unique and special thing when it was done in the 70s, 80s and 90s. But it was adopted by more mainstream gays.
I still remember being at a Levis and leather place about 20 years ago. All these gruff guys, no eye contact, dimly lit room, etc. They were playing an old boombox in this space (it was a basement bar - a bigger club was upstairs). Suddenly, Cher's "Believe" came on. These formerly gruff, butch men suddenly sashayed as if the rent was past due and they were being paid to priss and sissy it up.
I just find a lot of the leather guys as sad as the bear guys. Both seem to have no identity other than the club they've joined. There's not a lot of "there" there. Give me a confident guy who's not desperate for attention, doesn't have anything to prove, and likes to have fun in leather - that sounds like a lot more fun.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | December 16, 2019 8:21 PM
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[quote]The majority of leather men are old wrinkly men.
You should hope to one day become an old wrinkly man.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | December 16, 2019 8:59 PM
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The guy in R80 looks like he's wearing a bustier and/or auditioning for the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The guy at R83 is what I was talking about a bit in my post.....there's the ubiquitous bear claw and "woof".....just seems so fake and forced.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | December 16, 2019 11:11 PM
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The rise of rubber is killing leather?
by Anonymous | reply 92 | December 16, 2019 11:12 PM
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Predatory property owners? What a dopey and misleading remark OP.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | December 18, 2019 2:52 AM
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I just remember being at the Lure one Wednesday night during Pork and looking around at all the guys and I just started laughing because all the guys looked like some kind of caricature or cartoon character. The majority of the crowd at Pork on Wednesday's was hot but it did look like a cast of cartoon characters.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | December 18, 2019 3:55 AM
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I think the look and feel of leather gear is hot as fuck and I like to get leathered up for sex from time to time, but I'm not into the scene at all. It's like a lot of gay cliques, if you don't know all the rules and follow everything to the letter you're shunned and I can't be bothered with that fuckery.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | December 18, 2019 3:26 PM
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OP's guy is hot as hell. I want that body one way or another.
by Anonymous | reply 102 | December 20, 2019 2:00 PM
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It’s just another form of drag. Expensive drag.
I wear leather every day - I ride a motorcycle - but leather queens sneer at me because my jacket is faded and I wear a reflective safety vest over it. And I’m not muscular. And I don’t have thousands of dollars to blow at Mr. S on perfect harnesses and boots and chaps.
Good for them if S&M (standing & modeling) makes them happy. Too bad so many of them are Mean Girls.
by Anonymous | reply 103 | December 20, 2019 2:01 PM
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R103 - id fuck you over those “stand and model” queens any day.
by Anonymous | reply 104 | December 20, 2019 2:08 PM
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I thought the leather "scene" meant S&M, not just dominant/submissive role play... but actually sadism/masochism. More than just the visual dress up, it was indicative of sexual preferences and practices. Is that not true?
by Anonymous | reply 105 | December 20, 2019 2:22 PM
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A twink who puts on a harness does not instantly become a “leather man,” any more than a lifelong Manhattanite who dons a Stetson and a pair of pointy boots becomes a “cowboy.”
by Anonymous | reply 107 | December 20, 2019 5:58 PM
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The leather scene bores me. I like kinky stuff but all the get-ups are either boring or funny looking.
by Anonymous | reply 109 | December 22, 2019 4:29 AM
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Kinky stuff as a whole seems to be dying out in the wake of the #MeToo movement. People are scared to explore because they don't know what they could be used against them and defined as rape in the Orwellian world of today's kangaroo court.
by Anonymous | reply 110 | December 22, 2019 4:30 AM
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Soy slowly killed the leather scene
by Anonymous | reply 111 | December 22, 2019 4:46 AM
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I find a leather-wearing partner very sexy in bed, but the scene is pathetic. Tons of definitions and names.
by Anonymous | reply 112 | December 22, 2019 12:44 PM
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Have you seen the leather guys who go to Chicago’s IML?
Rarely is there a hot guy as seen on all the links on this thread. Most are nerds and dorks in harnesses. It’s hilarious
by Anonymous | reply 113 | December 22, 2019 2:22 PM
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I recall a few years back in RI Pride parade there were the Lawn Chair Bears marching. And let's just say for a moment I kind of like the bears.
by Anonymous | reply 114 | December 22, 2019 6:11 PM
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No, it's not dying. Just as there will always be drag bars, there will always be leather bars.
You'll see leather guys at pride marches and in major metropolitan areas. The leather scene will be located in the industrial and manufacturing neighborhoods of major metropolitan communities. They are located in remote areas of cities that don't typically see much business activity after sundown.
by Anonymous | reply 115 | December 22, 2019 6:17 PM
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Of course, there will ALWAYS be a gay leather scene! Do you realize how many leather craftsmen will be put out of business if the gays stopped buying leather?
by Anonymous | reply 116 | December 22, 2019 6:34 PM
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I hope so leather guys are nasty.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | December 22, 2019 6:45 PM
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Leather should be banned, period.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | December 22, 2019 6:55 PM
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R110 = Kevin Spacey. Hi, Kevin! Kinda thought you were lurking here.
by Anonymous | reply 119 | December 22, 2019 6:59 PM
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[quote]Kinky stuff as a whole seems to be dying out in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
Are you high on meth?
by Anonymous | reply 120 | December 23, 2019 1:59 PM
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I'll just let this sit here....
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 121 | December 30, 2019 2:43 PM
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[quote] Is the gay leather scene dying
Yes.
This needed two threads to examine?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 124 | January 7, 2020 5:07 PM
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Pictures of porn stars in leather couldn't be further from reality
by Anonymous | reply 125 | January 7, 2020 5:21 PM
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I hope not because, to me, there's nothing hotter than a hot guy in leather.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 126 | January 13, 2020 5:06 PM
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... and then she opened her mouth and her purse fell out.
by Anonymous | reply 127 | January 13, 2020 6:21 PM
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I'll never forget the time I went to Ramrod in Fort Lauderdale & two Manhattan leather queens were lecturing about no-load mutual funds to a dozen guys hanging on their every word. Utterly fucking surreal.
Then, there was the hairy fat alcoholic guy who kept getting caught sucking guys off on the back patio & didn't seem to grasp that the employees really, truly were *not* amused by his antics, and he just seemed really tragic.
Personally, I think most leather guys stink to high hell because their clothes can't be washed & end up smelling like old muddy shoes.
by Anonymous | reply 129 | January 14, 2020 8:03 AM
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"Gay" culture overall is a shadow of what it once was. Marriage which normalized it, and the rise of the nonbinary etc people, which sidetracked it, have been the causes. And the internet as a way of meeting up and making connections.
by Anonymous | reply 132 | January 21, 2020 11:23 AM
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Leather guys are the worst.
by Anonymous | reply 137 | January 22, 2020 12:46 AM
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Apparently not as much as the trans community of color is.
by Anonymous | reply 139 | January 22, 2020 11:35 AM
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Here's a piece for discussion....
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 140 | January 23, 2020 3:25 AM
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Seeing shit like R140 makes me kinda hope the next asteroid doesn't miss.
by Anonymous | reply 141 | January 23, 2020 9:32 AM
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It's all about the creepy "puppy" stuff now.
by Anonymous | reply 142 | January 23, 2020 10:03 AM
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The pup guys are quickly approaching furry levels.
by Anonymous | reply 143 | January 23, 2020 10:19 AM
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Obviously latter is for eldergays. Only works for perverts.
by Anonymous | reply 144 | January 23, 2020 10:31 AM
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I think it's fucking silly. You have to wear something like that to get hard? Ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous.
by Anonymous | reply 145 | January 23, 2020 10:32 AM
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Hot jacked muscly guys sometimes do the harness and leather jock strap because it's a way for them to showcase their bodies. It makes more sense than going out in underwear or a jock strap all the time. Most aren't really into the leather culture, they just want to wear as little as possible to the party. The actual leather scene these days is a throwback and mostly old guys who think it's someone's idea of hot.
by Anonymous | reply 152 | January 28, 2020 6:28 PM
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I would like to see the bloke in the R131 clip do that to a couple of people I know who are ex football firm/crime family employees. Seriously hard people don’t play dress up.
by Anonymous | reply 155 | February 14, 2020 11:28 AM
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Do any of you wear leather pants? I read they are fashionable again thanks to Theresa May.
by Anonymous | reply 156 | February 14, 2020 12:42 PM
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shit it died 25 yrs ago......isn't even covered in gay mags no more.
dirty stuff
by Anonymous | reply 157 | February 14, 2020 12:46 PM
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[quote]isn't even covered in gay mags no more.
Gay magazines still exist? REALLY?
by Anonymous | reply 158 | February 14, 2020 1:19 PM
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^Is he waiting for the leather bus?
by Anonymous | reply 162 | February 24, 2020 3:30 PM
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Meh, almost always looks costumey and desperate. No posing stereotypes, please. Much prefer a man without the pageantry. Sexy men don't need costumes.
by Anonymous | reply 163 | February 24, 2020 4:33 PM
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We can only hope Op and that it's a quick death and also painless of course. ;-)
by Anonymous | reply 168 | March 10, 2020 9:09 AM
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One thing to note is that most of the pictures posted in this thread are NOT typical of the usual leather guys. The guys in the pics are generally hot and built, whereas the majority of guys on the leather scene are not.
I'm discovering that I'm more into neoprene these days, for a number of reasons: it's not as expensive as leather, it's more comfortable to wear, it's easier to clean, it's easier to get on and off. It gives a similar 'look' as you can get leather-esque harnesses and jockstraps. I'm considering becoming vegan in the near-ish future too so the fact it's not an animal product is also appealing.
by Anonymous | reply 169 | March 10, 2020 9:41 AM
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Honey it died fifty yrs ago.
by Anonymous | reply 170 | March 11, 2020 4:46 PM
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And unrepresentative photos of muscle Mary's decked out in the skin dead animals is not going to bring it back...
by Anonymous | reply 171 | March 11, 2020 4:52 PM
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Is that what that smell is?
by Anonymous | reply 173 | March 12, 2020 12:08 PM
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their nasty bars helped foment all kinds of lethal viruses and diseases......we aint seen nuthin yet....
by Anonymous | reply 176 | April 1, 2020 5:13 AM
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The only leather guys who look like that in any way shape or form are the beauty pageant contestants.
by Anonymous | reply 178 | April 20, 2020 10:12 PM
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I think it’s due to the demise of a true ‘gay’ male identity (witj men BORN men) in place of Transmen or ‘sexually fluid’ Millennial and Gen X gender warriors.
by Anonymous | reply 181 | April 28, 2020 12:44 PM
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oh no! Folsom is cancelled! what will the leather kinksters do?
by Anonymous | reply 182 | April 28, 2020 6:20 PM
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Deargod, I hope so. Silly queens in leather drag just look so fucking dumb.
by Anonymous | reply 183 | April 28, 2020 7:14 PM
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I recall years ago there was a leather and levis bar called The Yukon Trading Company in Providence, RI. I loved the place until they shut down and became a drag bar.
by Anonymous | reply 185 | May 6, 2020 12:55 PM
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Property development, or redevelopment, is a fact of life. It's not as if the leather scene was particularly targeted by the real estate industry. If it had ever been extremely popular, there would have been leather bars right and left.
by Anonymous | reply 186 | May 6, 2020 1:04 PM
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Just announced: the Washington DC Eagle is shuttering. Yes, it's dying.
by Anonymous | reply 187 | May 6, 2020 1:30 PM
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Really sad about the DC Eagle, r187. Although often under subscribed it could get quite randy in there.
by Anonymous | reply 190 | May 9, 2020 11:59 AM
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Feels like a phase most gay men go through in their 30’s. We work on our bodies and want to show that off. But bar culture is evaporating, so there are fewer places to wear a leather harness in public. Walking into a crowded gay bar with men of all types, including leather men, is sadly, a thing of the past. There was nothing most thrilling. But do keep your apps, I sure swiping right or left has the same excitement.
by Anonymous | reply 191 | May 9, 2020 12:16 PM
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I hope it dies soon so we can bury the body and then salt the earth.
by Anonymous | reply 192 | May 13, 2020 7:32 AM
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Why would wearing leather make someone feel sexy? I don’t get it.
by Anonymous | reply 193 | May 13, 2020 7:34 AM
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The leather scene in Scotland seems to be quite limited, with occasional club or pub nights in Glasgow and Edinburgh. They tend to go to a lot of events in Amsterdam and Barcelona from what I’ve been told.
by Anonymous | reply 200 | May 23, 2020 9:48 AM
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Figures that whore would pop up anywhere there were cameras.
by Anonymous | reply 202 | May 26, 2020 11:00 AM
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