Is the gay leather scene dying?

I hope so.

Me too. Those guys smell awful.

I'm a vegetarian.

Leather has always been icky. Plus those queens take themselves way too seriously.

I hope not.

R4, you're correct, I've always felt the same way, that guys into the leather scene take themselves way too seriously.

It's such a drag as well, because the right man in a harness, etc if incredibly hot. I love photos of hairy, fit men in their gear... but they never look like they'd have a laugh over a beer, or just let loose on the dance floor. It's all posing and looking down upon guys who aren't wearing a leather vest or chaps of over their jeans (or just chaps! - love that look, fine hairy ass on display).

It's harder to tell anymore where the leather chaps end and their booty begins.

I have a feeling it's dead and will not have a resurgence for at least another decade. Even then I think it will become a fashion trend among straight men, just like facial hair has.

I hope to hell it is.

I find leather hot sometimes, but it's mainly older men at this point that keep that tradition going. Guys like the one at R5 are so rare.

Not at all. Not my thing, but still going strong at gatherings and the few bars still popular (like the Eagle in NYC).

R10's correct that the young guy is a rarity in leather - it's usually the the fat guy in the back of that photo who shows up. Sorry man, if you're that fat, keep the leather to the privacy of your own home and definitely wear a fuckin shirt outdoors! Yes, yes, yes, I'm a terrible person, I know, I know, but it's true.

I never understood the appeal of this subculture!!

The prisspots are out on this one!

Gucci, Gucci.

Never got the appeal.

Though it was sort of comedy gold when you'd see one of them dressed up like the Village People guy and then he'd sound like Richard Simmons when he talked.

Not on my watch!

[quote] Though it was sort of comedy gold when you'd see one of them dressed up like the Village People guy and then he'd sound like Richard Simmons when he talked.

How dare you, R16!

Of course, without that leather gear, r5 would be the ugliest boy in any room he entered.

I was always under the impression it was a derivative of the SM scene which in turn was a result of post WWII social positioning and its effect on the children of that era - lots of sadomasochism in Germany and the US, respectively. Oncecthat generation is done spreading its joy, it’s boynd to fizzle.

Bound to fizzle

Lace/Taffeta, leather: what's the difference. It's all drag.

It’s a fetish.

R19 you must be that pick cunt in the other thread who never gets laid anymore.

It was sad seeing all these old guys with saggy asses wearing leather at the annual pride festivals.

Fix your sarcasmometer, r24. OBVIOUSLY he's not one bit unattractive.

He looks like the guy next door. The face is cute if a bit squirrelly and the body is fine! Hardly the ugliest man in the room.

It always looked like so much effort. Not just the get ups, but the whole scene.

I'm not into leather, but I do like the leather bars. They're usually alot more fun and down to earth than regular bars. Less pretense and not so many twinks

How many fraus have commented on this thread?

It’s a lifestyle.

I think some leather bits can look hot on the right guy, but I think the guys that make it into their whole lifestyle are truly laughable.

Obviously, R29 has never been to The Bike Stop in Philly, where pretention rules.

They've merged with and taken over the Bears. Or is that vice versa?

a) it's from another era b) the imagery that comes out of things like Folsom is usually gross and make us seem obsessed with inauthentic sex that must involve dress-up, masks, and degradation c) AIDS wiped out most of that generation d) those who dress in it now aren't usually that attractive.

what did I miss?

There were several years in the 80's when men went to bars and restaurants after work in suits and ties. I liked that scene.

I love leather but I can’t stand the BO. Years ago I went into a bar in San Francisco and I thought I was gonna vomit.

[quote]I was always under the impression it was a derivative of the SM scene which in turn was a result of post WWII social positioning and its effect on the children of that era - lots of sadomasochism in Germany and the US, respectively. Once that generation is done spreading its joy, it’s bound to fizzle.

I agree r20 but I think "gay leather" was a baby boomer things. Even though the Folsom St. Fair and similar stuff are very popular I'm guessing leather will sort of fade away. The sincere SM people will have a ways to connect but it won't be big part of the "gay scene."

I never had the slightest interest in leather but I inherited a few things and I wore them around for awhile. They looked sort of cool but I eventually gave them away. Sort of silly I always thought ...

It's fine if the guys who practice the craft are manly men. I've met quite a few who looked like hot leather studs only to turn out to be mincing sissies once they opened their mouths to speak. I hate that.

[quote] I love leather but I can’t stand the BO. Years ago I went into a bar in San Francisco and I thought I was gonna vomit.

Shit smell, too.

My favorite is when the leather guys go on and on about how masc they are. Meanwhile they are acting like high school girls.

Is there an echo in here?

At least they make an attempt to not sound like a bunch of queens in Taylor Swift's girl gang.

[quote]It's fine if the guys who practice the craft are manly men. I've met quite a few who looked like hot leather studs only to turn out to be mincing sissies once they opened their mouths

That's your prejudice r39. Other may feel completely different. It's a big world and lots of ways to do things

It's a costly community to join. In part, that skews it a little older.

It's just a costume for a lot of guys. They take it off and they put it on. They aren't living the life. Just another form of cosplay - Its a fun way to hang around a bar with likeminded guys (and the occasional bikers).

Losing appeal just like those hoop earrings that were popular in the 90's. You don't have to dress in leather drag to be masculine which I think is the reason men dress in leather. Most of the men in leather bars look like they need a good bath. And i agree that the smell is a turn off. One armband is hot.

Heavy guys and older heavy guys like to dress in leather. Just a fantasy

[quote]Losing appeal just like those hoop earrings that were popular in the 90's.

I beg to differ. Hoop earrings are a classic and every woman should own several pairs.

No, it's not costume. It's not dress up. It's not a fashion statement. Men in the leather community are much more dominant and male identified. Many have a military or LEO background, and have little tolerance for the feminization some gay men present. It has nothing to do with World War II or the 90s.

Lol @R50. Mmm ok.

I truly hope so. Most of them smell bad 🤮

I know many leathermen (I live in SF and I’m over 50) and hardly any of them has any sort of military or LE background. Most of them have ordinary 9-5 jobs, or else they’re in real estate. Or they’re therapists or writers.

As mentioned above, leather gear is really expensive - which doesn’t keep tech kiddies from swarming me. $ Leather on Folsom Eve so they can buy the same $250 bulldog harness as everyone else. But I digress.

^^^ I meant “Mr. $ Leather”, obvs.

... and as far as World War II is concerned, the man who did more than anyone else to popularize the hyper-masculine leather look was Tom of Finland, who was inspired by the soldiers (including German ones) that he fucked during the war.

My God, almost no one seems to know much about leather. It predates the boomers--started in cities with large blue collar populations. I think Cleveland has the oldest leater bar in the Midwest. NYC &SF leather scenes developed among ex-military types after being demobilized from WWII.

Yes it's expensive (hasn't always been) and half the guys have purses in their mouthes despite the macho psosturing and yes it's role place and drag just like wearing a tutuand heels, but it makes a different kind of statement. yes there can be a lot of pretense, but stand and pose places and other subculture-oriented groups can be labelled the same way.

The decline in discrimination, rise of gay marriage, etc. are supposed to "normalize" gaylife, but leather isn't going away. The bars are threatened in places for the same reasons gay bars have had to adapt to bigh rents, internet hookeups, etc. Gay circuit parties, if anything, seem to be getting better. Yes, i can almost LOL when I see the solemnity some guys attach to leater customs, gear and rituals, but I can say that about a lot of gay stuff. No worse than listening to some queen defending Judy Garlard or (even worse) Jessica Lange.

"It’s a lifestyle."

Oh, that's why it doesn't resonate. I have a life, not a lifestyle.

Gay dress-up is so dated...unless you're a Furrie!

Still, it's all so exhausting.

I used to like going to gay bars back a few decades ago, but at some point it took a strange turn. Guys started to look increasingly odd as they get into accessories and piercings, tattoos, kilts, there's the image, and then there's the reality.

Reality:

Depends. Are millennial guys into the leather scene?

Quenny men trying to look butch in leather. Ha!

The only men that look good in leather are hot cops.

I used to love it back in the '70s going to The Spike and The Eagle and the guys at the bar in the heaviest leather drag were arguing in their nelliest voice who was the greatest Italian soprano, Callas or Tebaldi.

^ Meanwhile, those of us in the back of the bar were hooking up with cops, construction workers and FDNY. Lovely times.

It's just another form of drag. 100% of the time I've interacted with "leather" guys, they were big queens. There's nothing wrong with being a big queen, or into leather, just don't try to pretend you're "butch" or "manly". Maybe try being your regular old self, playing any sort of dress up becomes tiresome and unnecessary.

I think the "50 Shades" novels destroyed it for at least 20 years. Leather is now associated with bored housewives. Once the books fall out of popular culture, another generation will "discover" it again.

Some millennial guys are into puppy play, R61, whatever the hell that means. Is that like training wheels before hardcore S&M or something?

r67 That is so dumb.

Gay subcultures die are dying out with the rise of heteronormative gay marriage and Monday night football.

[quote] There's nothing wrong with being a big queen, or into leather, just don't try to pretend you're "butch" or "manly"

Being manly is part of the drag just like being feminine. All good.

Not fast enough.

They always look so unhealthy. Like just one liaison with one and you'd get herpes, HPV, chlamydia and hepatitis.

I can only imagine the yeast infections ...

Ha, ha, so many fraus, on this thread. Leather bars are the last place where woman are not really allowed. Men that smell like men are a turn on if you dig men. Not so much if you are a typical woman who says they love men, but dont like they way they act, smell. Lets be honest, most woman in the US think a mans cock and balls should never be seen outside the bedroom, even the slightest bulge in public is "ew gross" to them.

Leather men say fuck that shit. Im wearing a cod piece to accentuate what I got not hide it in a hetero normative closet. Dont like it, dont come to leather events. Simple.

I'm having difficulty imagining a leather bar in England. They all open their mouths and purses fall out?

Why did New York's GMSMA (Gay Men's S&M Association) disappear?

Does anyone know who the guy shown in the pic at R5 is?

[quote]Men that smell like men are a turn on if you dig men.

But that's just it. They don't smell like men. They smell like horses (asses).

Some leather guys just playing around. Some really living the life. Some really kinky guys with heavy fetishes are part the leather "community" because they find acceptance and also they can meet other guys with similar interests.

Leather used to be sort of mainstream gay - Proudly marching in the pride parade and lots of bars. But I think It was sort of a fad and I expect the leather "scene' will be smaller and more hardcore.

Everyone died.

HIV epidemic must have changed things a lot. It seems so dated not. Looks sort of silly.

R50, most leather queens (and make no mistake, they are some of the biggest KAWEENS out there,) are florists, haridressers, opera choristers, etc. It doesn’t getting any more flamingly gay, so your idea that they are “mostly ex military” and uphold some sort of masculine ideal is one of the dumbest things I’ve read on DataLounge in sixteen years, and that’s really saying something.

Most leather queens are out of circulation now because all that fisting made their innards fall out.

I grew up in Boston and there was Ramrod and Eagle. I was cute, but too “apple pie” to get a job bartending at the Eagle NYC when it first opened, but over the years the sexy exclusivity and novelty of leather bars has eroded because of SMARTPHONES and SJW’s and you can’t get away with what we did before the aughts. It’s very much a subculture but expensive because it has to be fit properly like an custom suit by a leather maker - the best outfits are made to order or they look ridiculous.

You have to look good naked to look good in leather, and the sexiest guys use it to accent their looks, not overwhelmed by it. I’ve met plenty of kinky guys into leather and yes, they tend to be a fun if fragrant bunch.

^ 😘😘😘

Triggered fem queens...

It was only ever a niche to begin with. And all drag.

I still remember being at a leather bar in Pittsburgh, a basement bar with dim lighting, with all these serious, dour looking dudes in leather. You know, the kind that don't smile, who push their voice down low to talk, etc. Taking it so, so, SO seriously.

The bartender was the one who would play music, and this was right when Cher's "Believe" came out. He put it on, and the dour, butch, deep voiced leather dudes suddenly TWIRLED and danced and SASHAYED to the music.

That was my lesson: it's all drag, honey, every last bit.

[quote]I still remember being at a leather bar in Pittsburgh, a basement bar with dim lighting, with all these serious, dour looking dudes in leather. You know, the kind that don't smile, who push their voice down low to talk, etc. Taking it so, so, SO seriously.

Sounds like the Mine Shaft, where I was once forced to apologize to a leather queen for laughing at his overserious stance. Seriously, he complained to the bouncer, "But he laaaaaaaughed at me!!!" and the bouncer took his side.

R88 LOL at the leather Mary who had to TATTLE on you!

After the incident I mentioned above, I started to call that bar the Fisher Price Leather Hangout. Because it was.

R50 - take it seriously, do you? LOL

I don't know if it's true for the entire world, but I talked to a gay bar owner and he claims that the leather guys are the most loyal customers who actually go out, go to bars, buy drinks and mingle in person with like minded guys which makes me believe that gay leather bars will stay open longer, and catering exclusively to gay leather queens, than mainstream gay bars who will, if not already, branch out and pander to the queer community.

The cigar dudes are often the same way. It all looks very nice, all very Tom of Finland, but it's an act for many of them.

And I have no time for the snobbery of you can't come in if you don't have X shoes or this or that. If that pumps your nads, more power to you, but it doesn't fly for me at all, and I have no time for that sort of fuckery.

R62 Cops wearing leather is a retro porn fantasy

Husband was big in the leather scene when younger. One oh the movers and shakers.Yes, former military and cops are indeed well represented in that community. I have been there, done all that. It is true.

Hope so too.. Leather doesn't make a 7 an 9. It makes them a 6.5.

Nope, it’s just changed a lot.

LOVE LEATHER!

R50 and r74 are some of the most hilarious posts. As someone stated before, most of these guys are in the gayest professions there are.

I remember my first discovery of what a ruse it was. I was fucking around with this guy I met off of a phoneline( 80's you know). I was too young for bars and didn't drink anyway. He considered himself leather and loved my punk look (studded leather jacket and Mohawk). He had leather pants, those leather arm band things, and that leather cap thing that the nazis wore. Always had a very stubbly face too and his denim jeans, if he wore those, fit like a second skin on him and were well worn. We were strictly weekend fucking and/or very late night as I worked evenings. I didn't ever ask him where he worked, nor did I care. Lo and behold one fine weekday I'm downtown doing my errands before work and I cut through one of the areas with a high number of banks. There he is sitting at a desk toiling away. I almost didn't recognize him except for his haircut and distinctive facial features. I go on over and he looks really nervous. He's completely clean shaven and dressed in a decent looking suit, not too cheap. I sit down and start chatting about how long he's been working here and such. He tells me in a whisper that I have to go. I ask him what's wrong and he just says "go". Needless to say I ignored him each time he called and finally told him off after him not getting the hint. What's sad is he seemed genuine when we were hooking up and talking. Ends up he's a "weekend leather guy". I look back and realize how naive I was.

To those of you out there claiming that these guys are "living the life" are deluding yourselves. What exactly does that entail? I would imagine someone full on into it would be wearing the gear all the time. Probably be working in a bar or construction or some sort of trade. And to the comments of ex military and law enforcement being heavily involved, you're fucking lying. Maybe one out of a hundred, and even then they have purses falling out of their mouths. Just sad.

This thread is full of sulking thirsty old prissy queens that cant a dick anymore.

No way jose it's still alive and WELL!

To those who think military and law enforcement are not involved, you realy need to join a mc group so you can find out about this.

[quote] Men in the leather community are much more dominant and male identified.

Bwahahaha.

[quote] Many have a military or LEO background

Oh! My sides!

[quote] And have little tolerance for the feminization some gay men present.

Until the third cocktail, when it comes pumping out of them like Liza's fist punching into the air.

Leather, like a Speedo, can look hot on guys who can carry it off. Not for everyone.

[quote]To those who think military and law enforcement are not involved, [bold]you realy need to join a mc group[/bold] so you can find out about this.

Or not, r101. WTF is "a mc group"? Realy (sic).

R101 is a sad example of someone pushing a fantasy. None, I mean none of these leather queens are in a "motorcycle club". Get over yourself, it ain't happening. A regular Joe who was into leather would never even be allowed in one of these supposed "clubs". They'd be laughed out for not knowing Cher or Bette midlers complete discography. They'd be shunned for not being a current or even former member of the Julie Andrews fan club. I can hear it now at the "leather" book club, "ooooh gurl, how can you NOT appreciate the cinematic adaptation of the epic nove Howard's End by E.M. Forster?"

Novel that is...

Kellan, extensively quoted in that article, is a vegan, amusingly.

Can R99 can a dick?

i once told a friend that leather men scared me. he said listen to them talk, they're all just nellie queens. i did and he was right.

of course if they'd looked like this....

The only thing I like about "puppy play" is that rubber tail they stick up their ass.

We can hope so...and quickly.

To answer the question, yes it is dying. Subcultures and scenes die when there isn’t a sustained interest from younger generations interested in carrying on the traditions. From what I’ve observed, I have never seen millennial men into the leather scene. But that could just be where I live?

I think the problem with younger generations, as a whole, not being into leather is that they don't believe in the S&M culture of dominant / top / superior /masculine vs. submissive / bottom / inferior / feminine. It's more about sharing circles, cuddling, and empowerment through oversharing.

^ LOL!

A few years back some friends dragged me to the Eagle in Atlanta (At least I think it was called the Eagle). It's a leather bar.

There were some of the friendliest gays I've ever met anywhere. LOVED that bar!

Leather guys are not at all intimidating personally. I guess the leather look is to give them machismo and swagger, but, in bed, I've only experienced kindness and passion with them.

Hilarious R113.

When it works, it works...

Well one thing the leather guys seem to have in common is kinky sex. Whether they're "weekend leather" or "living the life" I think they're all have some sort of kink going on - whether it's just a mild taste, or full on hardcore.

I also think "bears" tend to look good in leather. A guy with a gut and a hairy chest and arms looks okay in a leather vest, etc. So I think of lot of this demographic winds up in the leather bars.

I think the guys that look the worst are the ones who don't have any musculature whatsoever. Leather accessories don't flatter thin bodies with thin arms and a pop-gut.

R112, I see millennial guys at The Eagle.

I've had an interest in this scene, but honestly, it's maybe one or two guys in ten that I've found interesting and authentic. They wear it confidently and they don't put on much of an act around it. And I've been lucky to fuck around with a few of those guys.

The rest seem to go to one extreme or the other. Either it is just "drag" or a costume (which I find with guys <30 or so - not exclusively but especially with them) or they take it super uber seriously as a role. I had some self-identified leather daddy try to tell me all the ways in which I wasn't submissive enough and, especially, how disappointed he was that I was only wearing jeans and not leather which meant I was not masculine enough. This, from a man who had lavender soap sachets in his bathroom. Your Honor, I rest my case.

I appreciate a masculine dude but I also really like someone who's very natural. I don't like performative stuff. I am not much for props. If you have to reach for a popper bottle every 30 seconds, I'm probably not a good match for you, because I want to get intimate and not have to follow a cue, or a scene, or stop every so often so you can huff toxic chemicals. So that's my quirk, I suppose. Just not my cup of tea.

For me, wearing skin tight leather that hugs my body decreases the risk of me having Grand Mall Seizures.

[quote]To those of you out there claiming that these guys are "living the life" are deluding yourselves. What exactly does that entail? I would imagine someone full on into it would be wearing the gear all the time. Probably be working in a bar or construction or some sort of trade.

What a delusional simplistic explanation. So anyone who calls them self a sports fan has to work for a sports team? A foodie is only someone who works in the restaurant business? An art collector needs to be an artist?

People have lives dip shit, they have to work and chances are their choice of profession came long before their discovery of leather. That doesn't mean they are not honestly living the life when they are off of work. I know plenty of guys that do that, and not in the closet about it. They just don't wear a leather harness to work.

The leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities that involve leather garments, such as leather jackets, vests, boots, chaps, harnesses, or other items. Wearing leather garments is one way that participants in this culture self-consciously distinguish themselves from mainstream sexual cultures. Many people associate leather culture with BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, Sado/Masochism, also called "SM" or "S&M"). But for others, wearing black leather clothing is an erotic fashion that expresses heightened masculinity or the appropriation of sexual power; love of motorcycles, motorcycle clubs and independence; and/or engagement in sexual kink or leather fetishism

[quote] Grand Mall Seizures

Oh, dear.

^ I had a Grand Mall Seizure at Sears.

Thank you, R127, for making me laugh on a day when the stock market continues to plunge.

For me, leather is all about the fantasy.

It's straightbro fetishism from 70 years ago.

I wanted to be a leather queen but father needed help behind the notions counter.

Was there a gay bar near The Middle East in Cambridge or was I fucked up and someplace else?

I met a hot Massachusetts firefighter in London once. He was older and good looking. But he wasn’t into me. (I’m still handsome but then I was 20 and handsome.) He said he’d take me to a gay bar that night. I met him. He showed up in leather gear. We ended up going our separate ways, I forget what happened after that. I thought it was really weird st the time but all the power to him. I really wouldn’t want to be single in this new world where it’s all hook up apps.

R101 why bring up mc? They’ll never get admitted, least of all for jockstrap night. They don’t have anything to put in. Maybe they can try for bra night with the leather ladies.

R122, I think that’s what most guys mean when they say they like “straight” guys or straight acting/appearing. It basically means they don’t want a twink, bear, or other stereotypical gay, but just a natural guy—not self loathing, just normal.

(Twist that however you like, SJWs. But you know what I mean.)

[quote]It basically means they don’t want a twink, bear, or other stereotypical gay, but just a natural guy—not self loathing

r134 - are you saying that twinks, bears or stereotypical gays are self loathing ?? Thanks ..

Yes...its no longer 1987

r136

Very sad for you

[quote]^ I had a Grand Mall Seizure at Sears.

Well, you don't need to worry about that ever happening again. Sears is filing for dissolution bankruptcy tomorrow.

Sorry to hear but of course completely expected. I will take my Grand Malls to Macy's

I’m amused at all the “mc club” references. I ride a motorcycle and when I used to go to the SF Eagle regularly, I was almost always the only motorcyclist there. I wear black leather every day but when I take my helmet off, I look as preppy as can be.

whatever R50 - that's what you keep telling yourselves. If that was the case, then straight men would be running around in leather chaps and whips - they do not.

It's a fucked up mythical version of masculinity - perhaps brought on by Tom of Finland. But it is dying - thankfully. It's all soooo ridiculous and preening.

For years, the "Dykes on Bikes" mc traditionally led the NYC gay pride protest march which became a "parade." They still do but now they have a more family friendly name and don't ride topless.

R137 sad for you, ya old dried up leather queen. Take up,knitting, go the bingo,and remember your youth

R124= triggered "leather" queen who thinks he's "masculine" and down with bikers, cops, and military men. Sad.

R109 would be 100x hotter without all that ridiculous "gear" on. It's like thinking if you put refrigerator magnets on a refrigerator, it will make it work better. Ugh.

If millennial guys are at the Eagle or leather bars, I imagine they are there more for the scene and Instragram worthy posts rather than getting fisted on a sling or whatever, R121.

Many leather guys seem to be into really nasty and unsafe practices so no.

There used to be gay/leather MCs in the Bay Area pre-AIDS. The cuts of many of the clubs were hung on the walls of the Eagle in SF. Back when John and Joe owned it. AIDS decimatedthat whole scene. As far as I know the Rainbow MC still exist. There is also the Satyrs in LA, who actually did originate in the very early biker scene.

The leather thing has nothing to do with MCs.

[quote]If millennial guys are at the Eagle or leather bars they are there more for the scene and Instragram worthy posts rather than getting fisted on a sling

People of all ages like hardcore sex ..

r136 = bitter troll

OP : if it's true it's really sad because it was sexy and amazing : let's see the movie CRUISING.....

They're just drag queens, gone in the opposite direction.

And wouldn’t the world be more boring without drag queens? 💄💋👠

There will always be a leather scene as long as there is a Germany.

It was time for the sad fugs to exit the stage

^ types R155 from his parents’ basement

From your dad’s basement, R155

His prolapsed Hole is a guilty pleasure

A lot of gay leather scenesters have given up leather in favour of pleather. It’s a sign the leather scene has become more socially conscious.

I can't get into the leather scene. Too many accoutrements required.

Leather never appealed to 100% of gay men and it never will. For outsiders it will always be a subculture of kinky fetishes. But as long there is a heteronormative society pushing and shaming people there will be a demand for a community like the leather community where people explore their desires in their own way.

[quote]Is the gay leather scene dying?

It depends upon who you ask.

Fucking gross!!

Leather is just a costume.

Oh you nellie drag queens and fag hags go back to your Will & Grace reruns and reading your Victoria’s Secret catalog. The intact men are watching sports. Thanks for letting us know which of you really hate having male body parts. That’s a time saver.

^ dafuq

OH! Maybe I should investigate this culture a bit more....

Yes. More research is required. Much more...

It’s so expensive.

Sorry but I've never found dead cow skin sexy.

I am 100% homo, but even I find those gatherings of men like in R165 R170 R171 to be disgusting. I feel quite sad for those men that it takes parading around in public naked and in various states of arousal to give them a thrill.

Why be sad for guys who are having fun?

[quote]I am 100% homo, but even I find those gatherings of men like in [R165] [R170] [R171] to be disgusting.

So. That doesn't mean that you can't be sexually repressed or a nerd. Shed your skin, baby. It's FUN out here! It's happy, peppy, and GAY!

[quote] I feel quite sad for those men that it takes parading around in public naked and in various states of arousal

Don't fell sad for them. If you got it then show it!

[quote]Don't fell sad for them.

*FEEL

Alert the Media: Samuel Jackson @ R171.

Always the fat, smelly, ugly types

Taboo....

They always look greasy or sweaty.

I love you R82

R174, all those pics are from the same event that occurs just one day a year. And it’s very easy to avoid it, as long as you never visit San Francisco on the last Sunday in September. Unless, of course, you’d like to clutch your pearls at those men IRL.

Your FFRIENDLY Neighborhood Power Bottom

R174 has never been laid.

R185, now that’s when leather gear fuckin works. I get hard looking at that.

Thank you R185, I love that pic. Friendly neighborhood power bottom? Hopefully (and I want to be part of sit roast), but man if wanted me on my knees to suck his cock, I'd happily oblige and if that's the scene he better talk dirty, call me names (yes I'd be good with 'bitch', 'cock whore' and 'fucking cum slut').

Aaron Currie and David Currie, newlyweds and leather models

it died when twinks started making it the 'it' thing

That's more like "faux" or "wannabe" leather. Dressing up in something you bought off Mr. S no more makes you leather than buying a gym membership makes you drop a 100 lbs.

R191, that’s still not as pathetic as those queens who go to Mr. S, try on harnesses, and use in-store selfies of themselves in those harnesses (which of course they put right back on the rack) as their profile pics.

r191 yeah, totally with you on that.

^^ Why exactly did someone go through the trouble of photoshopping armbands onto them?

Oh, and those panties are rubber - not leather.

Leather, rubber...

Sad little boys playing dress up.

Whatever happened to the uber macho man on here with the delusional thought that all these guys are serious ex military/law enforcement? What a piece of work. He also made out like there are roving gangs of macho hardcore gay leather bikers. Lol, you can't make this shit up.

It just seems like a lot of effort and a lot of money just to play butch dress up.

So to the posters here who keep commenting that, "It just seems like a lot of effort and a lot of money just to play butch dress up." or some variation - here's a question... have you ever tried leather? Have you gone out, tried on a harness or leather shorts? Taken off your shirt and tried on a vest to see how you look?

Maybe you'd like the way leather trousers feel or realize that you look hot in a vest with a pair of jeans and boots?

I'm not built to wear the gear, wish I was - I love the way a man's body looks in leather.

Lumberjack / flannel shirt fetish ? Check.

Army guy / military fetish? Got it.

Construction worker / blue collar fetish ? Understood.

Swimmer / speedo fetish ? Makes sense.

A subculture built around wearing strips of dead, pickled skin ? WTF

Yeah, R197. It's SO sad.

Yeah R201 that's what most leather guys look like.

Cute

Tragic, one might say.

EXACTLY R146, it’s for the camp display, not actual interest.

This thread didn’t go the way he wanted R197.

What's sad is that some of you judgmental prisspots are so insecure in your own sexuality that you can't abide anyone whose tastes differ from your own. You sound like you'd be happy in a repressive theocracy where everyone fucks through a hole in the sheet. Go straight if gay sex freaks you out so much.

That's the sense that I'm getting, R207. These are the same people who find the PRIDE parades embarrassing and some of the other things they define as "too gay". Hey! If it isn't for you then it isn't for you! But, don't judge people because they are just not into the chino pant, IZOD Lacoste type look and that look doesn't do anything for them.

R207 = old leather queen who hasn’t been laid in six thousand years based on his old man fetish.

R209 = blocked cunt

R208, you do realize that the vast majority of these "leather" guys have professional jobs where they wear the exact clothes you think they DON'T wear? Stop pretending these guys are in some uber masculine, hardcore biker club where they go around on their Harley's day and night cruising and fisting their fellow ex military/law enforcement buddies while drinking whiskey and beer.There's no such thing as "in it for life" leather guys. They're all sad little man-children playing dress up. The sooner you realize this, the better off you'll feel.

What’s sad is your smug closed-mindedness and Puritanism, Goody Miss R211.

R212=0/10. So sad

Girls, girls, you're all pretty.

Unfortunately for me, you need the body of a god to look good in leather, but that's true of most things. I do like the smell of leather.

I remember when I was younger ( in the 80's) and going to the mall and heading over to Wilsons (?) leather for the smells. And, my first cool biker jacket that I punk rocked out. Still was never into the leather mentality/scene. Some of the guys were nice, but I was onto them.

[quote]There's no such thing as "in it for life" leather guys.

Your provincialism is showing R211. I’ve encountered stacks of leather guys who are in it for life. American leather queens are often just dress up poseur play acting Marys, but in Europe you encounter warm and down-to-earth leather men all the time. I once worked in an office where there were two who came to work in leather every day. One had the German equivalent of Phone Mum roughly tattooed on the back of his hand because he told me his mother hassled him that he never phoned so he just walked into a tattoo parlor and had it down like one writes out a shopping list. Totally cool non-attitude rough-as-guts and broken nosed handsome Berlin guy built like a brick shithouse.

I'm still laughing at r127's comment!

I loved bald mink in my youth. I had the body and build for the stuff, but I didn't enjoy much of the kinky-stinky sex some expected from me. I have the stuff in a closet, but it's there only for the memories. I only use the term, bald mink, because it bothered the hell out of several guys that I enjoyed pissing off. I guess I wasn't very nice way back when, not much has changed.

R216. Have you been to Amerca? We’re all S&M Maries (Stand and Model, Sneakers and Makeup). If you deviate from the formula - you’re an outcast. Everybody’s openminded and embracing - unless you’re leather, into fetish, bisexual, poly or admit to not being a gold star gay.

Then you’re a freak and disgusting.

Damn R201's pic is one fine lookin man and a good example of how leather can accentuate his build.

R218, you should pull out some of the gear, put it on and see how you feel - do it without all of the kinky/stinky crap you didn't relate to.

I love this movie. And for historical perspective.

Found this on another thread.

HOT!!!!

Damn R222 - those boots have got to be custom and cost some serious cash... love it.

[quote]Grand Mall Seizures

Gran Mall? as in Mall of America?

It was dead before it became a scene.

R222 is such a hardcore looking dude. I wonder if he's ex military or law enforcement? Vroom vroooom, start up the Harley boys.

The only thing hardcore about Seth Fornea (who is pictured at R222) is how well he takes dick of various ethnicities.

BTW. the guy in r222's pic is gay porn star Seth Fornea.

I always think if you have to gild the lily to this point you are losing the basic wonder of sex. Theme queens have always annoyed the fuck out of me,no matter what their choice of drag.

Yes, it's Seth Fornea, blah, blah, blah... he wears those fuckin boots and that jock and harness better than most of us posting to this thread and I for one am glad to see him in the gear.

i don't give a shit if he's a bossy bottom, he looks good in the gear.

[quote] Yes, it's Seth Fornea, blah, blah, blah...

Oh, did I ruin your fantasy that this is a real leather hunk with military background? Sow-ry!

No you did not R231 - I don't ALL guys into leather have a military or law enforcement background... it' just that guys in this thread are so dismissive of good looking, well-built guys put themselves on display in leather.

BTW - whoever posted the video of Fornea enthusiasticlly sucking that big cock and then bending over to take it up his ass, thanks! LOVE that Seth's a pillow-biter, wish there was a video of him with his leather-wrapped legs high in the air while his hole took a pounding.

What's wrong with a little imagination, R229?

You're welcome, R232. Love a beefy ginger bottom.

If it wasn't dead before that nelly cumdump Seth Fornea might have just gravely wounded it.

I wish the Millennial Furry scene would die first.

Furries don’t hang out in bars with their mascot suits on, though. In DC, I rarely see anyone under the age of 60 wearing leather.

Foundation garments.

Considering there’s one leather bar in DC and it’s in a shitty neighborhood, it’s not like you’re going to see men in leather in the gayborhood.

Nice R238! Thanks for adding that to the thread.

[quote]Considering there’s one leather bar in DC and it’s in a shitty neighborhood, it’s not like you’re going to see men in leather in the gayborhood.

You must be unaware and/or not old enough to remember the meatpacking district and Chelsea in NYC before the "proper" gays discovered it. It was NOTHING but gay leather/fetish after hours clubs. I point this out because I would think that DC would have (or had) the same dynamics. The worse the neighborhood the freakier the party.

R241. Oh the NYC scene is a world apart and vastly superior. The DC Eagle moved location 3 times in NW DC during the time I’ve lived here, and now has moved to SE off Benning Road. There’s quite literally nothing there: no restaurants, no other bars. It’s such a hostile neighborhood the adjoining shithole of a strip shopping center put up an 8’ chain link fence to prevent bar goers from parking there.

Getting an Uber or Lyft is damn near impossible, and Metro which is about 1/4 mile away of course stops running well before the bar closes. You’re definitely in the wrong part of town. This isn’t the freaky part of town. This is the stab your ass part of town.

It's in NE though.

They put spotted dick in a can in Britain, r99! Seriously though, whenever I think of the leather scene I can't help but think of nasty-assed Robert Maplethorp and his coprophilic festish.

R245, that looks like a pic from HotHouse video - am I correct? And yea, that guy's built for the gear... dig the jock too.

R246, oh MY

Of course any hot jock is going to continue to look hot even when wearing something made of leather. The fact remains that very few people who are part of the “leather scene” look remotely like the porn stars posted on this thread.

New Jersey Leather Weekend 2018

Friday, October 19 - Sunday, October 21

Paradise/The Empress Hotel

Asbury Park, NJ

Love, love, LOVE, this!!!!

I always found guys in leather both unappealing and comedic. No accounting for taste.

Sorry, r253, he's married.

So your “queery theory” of acceptance has a pretty limited range of acceptance, doesn’t it? You only have a range of tolerance for pretty young people who have “no labels” (those you accept, of course). Who have that bland sourt of tolerably bland, self effacing, non threatening, non binary attractiveness and are within that 18-30 age range. But you’re not at all judgmental.

Meanwhile, lets wander into any gay whoops “queer” bar and look at the retinue you attract. Is it the 18-30 age range, all blandly attractive in that mildly androgynous look out of Heinlein’s early 1970s novels? Of course not. Most of you look exactly as you are: post 40, trying to shave 10 years off.

But, why wait? You can be unattractive in your youth, too.

Leather died when it went mainstream. It was supposed to be about unapologetic masculinity, but it got co-opted by PC culture and started promoting women and drag queens at events and the sexuality got replaced by theater. It may have been AIDS/HIV epidemic-related but the sexual aspects became overwhelmed by accessories, tattoos (not one or two but fifty), piercings all over the place, bones through the nose, outfits that reminded you more of drag queens than leather. Men who never set foot in a gym in their lives wanting to show their eighty-year-old cottage cheese white ass to the world. It stopped being hot and became something uglified. Tom of Finland became Marvel Comics.

R253, R254, R256 - two words FUCK YEA! Let me repeat that, FUCK YEA! And he's carrying around some serious cock!

Thank you!

The poor slaughtered cows put a curse on the leather scene...Boo!

God that's a great addition to this thread R266 - more please (of him!).

Miss R168 Has Stated Her Boundaries!

OOOOOOOO!!!!!

the man in R266's pic, what do you think he does for a living what's his 9 - 5 job? I've started to fantasize about this recently. He's obviously a man who spends time in the gym and gets out into the sun to tan (or has the time to tan indoors.

I don't think he's the manager of a supermarket... I can't see him as an accountant or CPA, doing tax work. Could he be a lawyer? Maybe an RN? It's hot to think of him as your house painter or contractor, but that's just stereotyping, right?

What do you think? Elaborate please!

[quote]the man in [R266]'s pic, what do you think he does for a living what's his 9 - 5 job? I've started to fantasize about this recently. He's obviously a man who spends time in the gym and gets out into the sun to tan (or has the time to tan indoors. I don't think he's the manager of a supermarket... I can't see him as an accountant or CPA, doing tax work. Could he be a lawyer? Maybe an RN? It's hot to think of him as your house painter or contractor,

Why can't he be, R271?

Doctor.

LOL at all you silly queens who think that any man in leather is a “leather man.”

Exactly r273, the one posting all the photos is the one who thinks all these guys are ex military/law enforcement, uber masculine, who go around swigging whiskey and beer all the live long day with their equally macho male friends. Sad and deluded queens the whole lot of them. I know drag queens more hardcore than these princesses.

I think no such thing, R276. The question asked by the thread is; "Is the gay leather scene dying?". My answer is "no". It's alive and well.

We are recording IP addresses. Happy Jesus Day, Heathen Sinners.

Oh Mike, we all know you're self-flaggelating at night after spending time on DL, reading this and other threads, your dick hard and leaking pre-cum. Personally, I think you would have looked good in leather a couple of decades ago.

I know a few leather guys who post pics about attending leather events, beyond IML (International Male Leather in Chicago); the events are always packed and sell out quickly. 1000s attend. It may be smaller, but those who are into it are quite devoted.

You silly queens complaining the leather bars are in bad neighborhood, WTF is wrong with you? That's always been where they are located. The seedier the better. Go back to your dance clubs, do some Tina, drink your Cosmo and STFU.

It died when the Mr Leather contests began and the grown men got to wear sashes.

It is different in Europe. A friend told me two friends of his from the US, who were very serious about their leather in that squeaky clean full outfit way, visits a notorious bar in Paris and were appalled how sleazy the regular punters were. Not the kind to sit bolt upright on their Harley dressers and ride in parades. I’ve also been in bars in Berlin and Amsterdam where it is pretty rough and ready. The US was like this way back when in NYC, we know, but it seems now the scene is mostly about the uptight auntie mentality when it comes to ‘outfits’. Most of them look like that Peter Merino fella. Ridiculous.

I’m doing my part!

Excellent R285 - you should add that pic to the Hairy Black Men thread!

Well there is a push to make all things bovine go vegan so probably.

The man in the photo at r285 would look way hotter and more masculine in a good suit. Anytime I see a hot guy dressed up in leather, I have an immediate revulsion. Kind of like a lot of you hateful, bitter queens when it comes to tattoos.

Poor, poor you R288 - so delicate. R285's man has a beautiful body, sexy in his gear and yea, he be sexy in a suit - I'd like to see a third pic of him in a brightly colored speedo or square-cut swimsuit.

Leather dying? YES, but not quick enough. It always bothered me to see men pretending to be men.

The dudes at r275 are middle aged+ HOT. They embody being active, fit, and natural while aging. THAT is super sexy. And I’m not into leather at all, but to each their own. It’s not my thing, but they are all fine specimens of healthy aging, super super sexy.

They all look prematurely aged from hard living to me

Well, most leather guys are into all kinds of extreme shit so that's bound to age you faster.

It was a fetish from the 20th century. Yes, it's dying.

It was all very German. I'm sure it's still somewhat popular in Cologne.

It was thriving in Amsterdam through the 90s. The perfect environment for it. Argos was a classic leather bar - oldest and most real leather/shipman bar ever. So many eye-opening and atmospheric memories - now closed. Walking around Adam now in leather is depressing - you will be gawked at by all the tourists and there are very few other guys in leather. But still more alive than San Francisco or NYC. Cuckoos Nest, the Web, Eagle, Dirty Dicks are still open and always see a few (older) leather guys.

I hope the leather scene sticks around, even if it becomes more niche within the gay community. Others have wrote about over the top and serious it's become and I think that's a very good point. I think some men are incredibly sexy in the gear... I like to think that they know they are sexy in the gear and they use that when at a bar or event. There's a strut and an attitude exuded that I find very sexy. For example...

This, however, looks really uncomfortable - dude, your cock's to have more room than that!

Here's another good example of a sexy guy in gear...

Are the costumes supposed to look like Nazi uniforms on purpose?

Yeah, right. Didn't you know they all wore studded leather gauntlets and leather shorts that lace-up the sides?

They are harmless why give them a bad time. They say clothing makes/defines the man and if that's the way they see themselves, go for it. Besides, a little 'pretend' is fun now and then. I've always thought of it as performance sex. All drag is performance sex.

Glad R301 brought up the elephant in the room. Most of the gear does evoke a certain authoritarianism. Not surprised it originates from Germany.

I'm sure you're glad. Any chance to torpedo someone else's kicks is your orgasm of choice right? You are truly and undeniably a member of the international finger wagging brigade at all adults only events screaming-what about the children?

I just find it an interesting parallel. Geeze. Fuck who you want, lady.

What's the parallel? Ever heard of lederhosen? How about motorcycle clubs? People get a thrill out of erotic scenarios and gear that you clearly don't. Big deal. Save the aghast frau responses, nobody is interested.

Leather queens are some of the most sensitive, fragile, insecure, vicious little man-children I've met. Leather/lace/lisp.

....

PETER MARSHALL: "Paul, why do motorcyclists wear leather?"

*pause*

PAUL LYNDE: "Because taffeta wrinkles!"

[quote] Anytime I see a hot guy dressed up in leather, I have an immediate revulsion.

Mary, put your head between your knees!

The line is chiffon.

"Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather? A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily. "

Dying? Lol.

DEAD.

^ Miss Gurl doesn't get out much

The guys with the Corinthian leather on their back will be around for quite some time. Leather is usually the last act for old gays with enduring sex drive before surrendering to the recliner and TV. Sort of the last stab at feeling like a man.

hey R315, z-z-z-z-z-z-z. Look online any yes, you're going to find older men who are into leather, but then there are the younger men who seem to enjoy it as well. Just look online through some tumblrs for guys in leather.

The youngin's are simply corinthian models

R315 you seem to be the expert

I guarantee Paul Lynde was way more masculine than these delicate, leather clad princesses. Sad but true.

His cock was probably bigger, and anus more musky.

Leather Heathers are the worst.

So true R315, you typed, "Leather is usually the last act for old gays with enduring sex drive before surrendering to the recliner and TV." Example one

And this...

Nothing to see here either R315...

I'm living the leather life!

Love this

Let me say this, (and I say the same thing about men and thongs); If people weren't buying it then it wouldn't get made. So! Is the gay leather scene, or leather scene in general, dying? I don't think so!

I have friends who have a small business making leather goods and fetishwear for the leather community and it is a growing business. No it is not dying.

R327 had me cracking up. Those are the limpest wrists I've ever seen. And him hiding his eyes means he probably had an eye job. Keep on with all these "hardcore" guys fellas.

Because chiffon wrinkles SO easily.

At that level, every word is important.

^ oh, MY!

Here's a pic to trigger so many of you... he's obviously posing - the cigar is a cliche - he's not shaved, but has body hair - he's more fit/fat than chiseled - look away, look away!

What happens to the gear when the old coots die? Is there a secondary market in gently used leather? Donated to police unions?

[quote]What happens to the gear when the old coots die? Is there a secondary market in gently used leather?

Now, that's interesting that you should ask that. I've recently wondered that too. You might laugh but some of these creations are very haute couture and cost a good penny. I wonder if there is a secondary market like that of used furs and other types of clothing.

A bunch of stand and pose muscle Marys playing dress up.

R337, posts like yours always make me think that you WISH you could stand pose because you were built and muscled.

But you're not, you sound bitter, dismissive and probably cruel.

Personally, I'd love to be built for leather... try it out, see how it feels, what reaction I'd get from other men. I know I'm not however.

[quote]But you're not, you sound bitter, dismissive and probably cruel.

She's just an old, mean, and evil, Queen!

Thanks for noticing me R338! ;-)

"But you're not, you sound bitter, dismissive and probably cruel."

And leather queens are all charming little saints-in-waiting, perfectly mannered and polite, not a drunk or drug addict among them? If you say so, R338. BTW: go fuck yourself, asshole.

R341, I'm guessing you are also R337. Who here has said that men into leather are "all charming little saints-in-waiting, perfectly mannered and polite, not a drunk or drug addict among them?" Here's an answer: no one.

However the fact that you were described as "bitter, dismissive and probably cruel." and have now told someone else to "go fuck yourself, asshole" - well, it proves the point made by R338.

You really do seem to be toxic, unhappy and prone to lashing out irrationally.

Mirror, mirror...

OMG. I just realized one of my best and oldest friends is into that scene, it just never clicked til now.

I met this hot writer guy in the 90's who became a FB. Eventually he let me know he was into being dominated. He like the nipple clamps and hot candle wax and being whipped. It was new to me and to be honest, it was a chore to do all the work just to prepare for the real sex. And please I was uncomfortable with causing pain to another human being. One time as he was spread-eagled on the bed tied up, no less, I just started laughing at the situation and had to stop.

When we would cruise bars he went out in the leather straps on the chest and a arm band with jeans. I was an interesting experience. Had I met him originally in full regalia I don't believe I would have interested in him at all. He lured me in!

Wrong again R342 I am the one and only R337...Bwahaha!

Girls girls, you both look ridiculous in leather.

Nice R346, made me smile...

With the rise of HGTV, the gay granite counter scene is all the rage!

Maybe it just smells like it's dying, some of those leather queens are seriously into stench you know.

Pleather is all the rage now, OP. Haven't you heard?

I love R351's pic... wish there were more, want to see the front.

R353 search Francois Sagat

one can only hope it's dying. The whole leather/gear/fetish/nipple clamping/all-other-weird-shit is so embarrassing and disgusting. They give gays a bad name and make us look like freaks. I instantly reject any potential dates who are into any of that shit

Gosh R355, I feel the same way when seeing RuPaul's Drag Race is still on TV or when Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has been re-booted. The incredibly fey, sashaying men prancing around, bitching at each other, being perpetually "fabulous", having some emotional break down. Embarrassing...

They're both tired and obnoxious forms of drag R356 so I'm surprised you aren't a fan.

r356 ditto for any guy who's into those stupid ass runway/model shows. that's emasculating. gotta go, you take care now, princess.

GOD, I hope not. I'm 56 now and almost old enough to enter one of their contests !

I've always desired to be known as MR. PIGFUCKER LEATHER 2018

Sponsored by Geritol

GUUUUURL....

F u u u c k yea...

^ those boys WEAR it

Bovine coverings for the elderly are so passe. Besides, the vegan guys are always made fun of for wearing naugahyde

Clearly there will be no sex.

Leather always looks good on muscle studs and porn stars . The reality is something different. You go to leather bars and it's fat or skinny oldsters looking just dreadful in the stuff.

R368 well, either you should stop going or you should wear something else, Madge

Live and let live!

Yep, R370

It's rather ironic for fem gays on here complaining about masc gay guys being "heteronormative". Masc gay guys dig other masc gay guys. That's about as gay as it gets. If you're fem, and constantly looking for some masc gay guy to fuck you, that's heteronormative.

Effeminate gay guys sulking because hunky masculine gay guys aren't interested in them...

That's as bad as the straight fraus on here who are constantly questioning why gay guys aren't interested in them. Same thing goes for them hanging out at gay bars and wondering why they're not the center of attention...

99% of these "masc gay guys" are really not masculine. It's all an illusion. The minute they open their mouths, rainbows and purses fall out. Your definition of masculine is quite distorted r373. Now go back to your fantasies of these "masc" men drinking whiskey and beer and being ex military or law enforcement riding around in their macho little motorbike club. Bunch of sissified redneck wanna be nazis. LOL!!

I feel there are a lot of things about men that are hot, and a lot of things that are gross. This is like everything gross all at the same time.

[quote]^ those boys WEAR it

Yes, r364 is a great promo still from "Leather Love Boat," the upcoming guest-star-studded (and STUDDED) television programme featuring the perky cruise director Julian and sidekick purser Beaver.

LOL!!!

R374 : masculine gay guys are tops. I used to get them a lot in my yourh when i thought i was a bottom; They like twinks. They DO not like other big guys--that's purse out if the mouth territory

Also the leather thing is gross unless you're buff and well hung

I guess

yikes...taken to the extreme!

yikes...taken to the extreme!

yikes...taken to the extreme!

yikes...taken to the extreme!

Man that article at The Stranger is disturbing. I tried reading the entire piece but found myself scrolling down because the details about the lives those men led was so freakish. I just can't relate to adults with such extreme body issues that they would do things such as silicone injections in their cock and balls...

I love this thread about men in leather, but those guys in the BDSM polyamorous "relationship" is just creepy.

R389 suck it in Mary! The fem hands and eye job give you away. LOL

Vinny Vega

R373, R374 and R375: the biggest fags to have ever fagged.

Why are the biggest flamers always the most oblivious and clueless?

The guy at r391 is wearing makeup. This is an example of a masculine guy? LOL, you can't make this shit up.

R 392, I believe they're suffering from some sort of body dysmorphia. Kind of like anorexics who look in the mirror and see fat even though they weigh 78 pounds. Or like the steroid case who still thinks he looks skinny and weak even though he looks like he could be popped like a balloon. Or a male or female who thinks they are the opposite sex. Or Mark Sam thinking he's handsome and talented. Mental illness comes in various forms. So sad.

P. S. Did I mention r391 is wearing makeup?!?! Lol

I think r389 is wearing makeup, if not he's had an eye job.

I had dinner with a good friend who brought along a friend of his I'd never met. Very nice guy. Apparently, he's into puppies? Literally guys that act like dogs. They wear tails. Bark at the mailman. Have whole conventions. This guy was the master. He just said the utter submissiveness turned him on.

Eh, whatever puts the puppy chow in the bowl.

yeah, 'puppy play' is a thing now. whatevs.

R394 I don't think he's wearing makeup but the photo has been retouched.

Miss Priss is wearing foundation AND blush!

It's for cheesy and insecure men.

Leather is tired but that puppy bullshit is just fucking creepy.

"fucking creepy" is putting it mildly R400, God, how many mental issues must a man have to be treated so cruelly and don't even try to calculate the issues that master has to be so intentionally cruel and domineering. I should have showered after reading that article from The Stranger.

Full regalia

Big week long event in Ft. Lauderdale in two weeks.

Most of the time leather guys end up being voracious popper huffing bottoms only with no concept of limits or boundaries.

Wait, are you millennials and Gen X'ers who run around in dresses and make up calling yourselves "Queer" still trying to lecture us on masculinity?

[quote]Is the gay leather scene dying?

NEVER!

Hell hath no fury like an aged self appointed "Master" who realizes his "superiority" and "natural dominance" are a joke. LA is full of these old leather queens, sitting in their one bedroom apartments, raging about the "scene" and the asshole "puppies" who have ruined everything. Sad. You'v never met such a humorless group of grouchy old men in your life. I guess thats what happens when you try to elevate fisting to some sort of spiritual art form??

I love when they do that r407,some will also try to explain that scat or fisting is a radical, macho sex act. No, it's depravity usually stemming from improper toilet training when they were younger.

P.S. R406 photo made me throw up a little.

R407 My goodness, why do they continue to invite you to these parties, knowing how much you detest them. And, why do you continue to go?

Hello....

Id fuck that.

When that silly Richard Quest, the British CNN newscaster with the obvious fake butch speech pattern got arrested in Central Park in the early morning hours when the park was closed, dressed in leather S&M gear, with a rope around his neck tied to his cock, a sex toy in his boot, and a baggie of meth on him, I knew the leather scene was a farce.

Those shiny pointy toed boots the guy in R406 is wearing look more like boots some female stripper would wear in her act. Not even remotely masculine.

clearly, this was written by a "gay guy"...

Wrong r413, he's ALL MAN!!! Anyone who wears any piece of leather is a beer drinking, whiskey swilling, ex law enforcement/military man. Probably has dozens of equally masculine friends who he hangs out with at their motorcycle club. When they rumble into town, heads turn and sphincters tighten.

Those shiny pointy toed boots

PFCs

Pig Week starts today in Wilton Manors. So no, it’s alive.

Who would have thought this thread would get over 400 posts in less than 50 days?

More surprisingly who would have thought this thread would turn into a cat fight?

I wonder how long it will take for someone to "accidentally" shart while getting fucked and set off the eventual full on scat-fest at Pig Week?

[quote]It's such a drag as well, because the right man in a harness, etc if incredibly hot.

And every inch as much a drag queen as last years RPDR winner.

Initiation...

Oh.... it's alive and well.

Fingers crossed Op...fingers crossed.

Dying? It has been dead for decades. Most men into leather, kink, or BDSM find the contests and events silly, and it's just used as an excuse to have lots of drug fueled bareback sex.

The leather “scene” yes is dying and I think for the better, the smell alone in those places made me want to barf. Now occasional leather and toy kink with your daddy, that’s different.

Its still a thing. Deal with it.

It might still be a thing but it's still hilarious!

Years ago, one of my favorite FB's was a cute, calm, quiet guy. He was "married" to another guy (It was no where near legal yet) yet we hooked up a few times. I would have totally fallen hard for him had he been single. (In fact, I met another guy and I had to make a choice whether to put my energies into the new one or continue to pine after the old one--glad I did because the new one and I have been together now for 15 years).

Anyhow, back to the leather story--a few years later I walked passed a newsstand and saw a gay magazine with my old FB on the cover. Apparently he met a guy who was in the leather scene, left his husband, and became Mr Leather NYC! I drooled over his online pictures.

R429 can you please post some pics of your ex?

Sexy!

[quote] It's rather ironic for fem gays on here complaining about masc gay guys being "heteronormative". Masc gay guys dig other masc gay guys.

No, they don't. Masc guys hook up with, and date, submissive femme guys to reaffirm their so called superior masc status. "Masc guys" dating "masc guys" only ends in tears because it's a constant struggle of who is the top and who's the bottom. And when the couple decides that they need to open their relationship up to allow bottoms to be included it will end with one of the "masc guys" falling for the bottom and leaving the other "masc guy", because too much drama!

R433 as someone who is masculine and a top, that has not happened to me. I only date and have partnered with masculine men. I dated a fem guy before and it did not work out. He sucked my cock and licked my hairy butt well, but the fact he was femme was a turn off, and also he would lie about the stupidest stuff like where he attended college as though it is not easy to look this up online, and wanted me to work with him and was too clingy when we were just casually dating. I am mainly into oral sex so maybe that's why this has been my experience?

Daddy!

Cutie

It looks hot. I mean, it really looks hot.

I hope so, leather guys are some of the most tedious mean girls in the gay community.

^Why would you despoil a work of art like that with that fucking ugly walking-museum fetish drag. I can hear the (desperatrly tryong to conceal) lisp from here

t'aint nothin' wrong with the look on the man in R441's post. He fills out those pants nicely and has hot body.

I'll just let this set here...

They wouldn't make it if it didn't sell.

troo dat

In the cities I visit, leather is a pretty strong scene. Except for Palm Springs which may be the Mary!est of all of Mary! leather scenes I've ever seen. That's the first time I've felt like yanking every last bit of leather out of a bar and replacing it with chenille and taffeta. Every negative trope here of leather was played out, right down to the screaming Mary! whining she felt she was going to be raped! yes raped! when she got up to go go dance.

R438, where is that picture from? I"m pretty sure I hooked up with the guy in the far right years ago.

Yeah, nothing turns a gay man on more than a woman in a leather magenta vest and skirt and a frizzy perm.

Nothing is hotter to me than watching a daddy in leather fuck me.

HOT!

This guy would be hot with or without leather, but something about the leather kicks it up a level or two for me.

R448 that reminds me of the leather bar Daddies in SF. The regulars there who would dress in leather looked very masculine, and when they would open their mouths it was all MARY!!1 with flowers of velour popping out.

After listening to the podcast The Competition about the Mr. LA Leather competition, the whole leather scene comes across as unnecessarily complicated and childish.

There are names for everything--and how you wear the leather supposedly give messages like if you're a top, bottom, partnered but open, belong to a master, blah blah blah. Plus, everything seems to only be about crazy sex--what kind of sex do you have, where, how many men, what fetishes, blah blah blah.

If this is the center of anyone's life, get a life.

SHOP #CHARLIEFAN

@charliebymz on instagram

$275

THONG HARNESS

R457 If you listen to anything from an insiders perspective, it's complicated and ridiculous. Ever listen to a bowling tournament? Please, put me out of my misery. How about a dog show? Now that's some childish crap.

Leather, like anything can be a bit of an obsession for some. It's "mostly harmless". For the men into it, it's a fetish. I can't explain what the hell I saw in Palm Springs. I think that's closer to what a lot of people here complain about the scene: it looks like a smelly costume party. I don't know who those people are, but they're not the men I know. That's cool, too.

The same can be said for anyone who goes to excess in their area of interest - including drama queens, dog show fanatics, bowlers, golfers. Whatever. If you obsess about anything to the extent it's the sum of your identity - hey. You're probably a little creepy.

A lot of money

I like it!

You never know....

OMG the boots at r461 are awesome!

Leather is Prada for ex-twinks.

[quote]Leather is Prada for ex-twinks.

It works!

R463, man that has always been a fantasy of mine. A well-dressed man, you cruise him (or meet him over drinks) head off to have fun and when he loses the shirt, voila! he's in a harness... so hot (as a fantasy). If you can pass along where you found that pic and others, please share.

I'm convinced the writers of Grace and Frankie read here. They just did an episode that touched on the gay leather scene dying.

MMPH! Well, she looks fun.

Damn R469, thanks! That man can carry off the look when wearing leather.

I'm kind of impressed and exhausted by all the effort that has to go in to it...

What is funny is when you see a guy look that hot, then he opens in mouth and sounds like Truman Capote.

So, pretty much everyone her hates any form of femininity? A man in leather speaks and people lose it. weird.

God R472, your ilk are exhausting... this thread would probably have 50 fewer posts if the "purse falls out, sounds like bid ole Mary!, Truman Capote" posts were deleted.

R472 A few months ago, I would have gotten really angry over that comment. I’ve been in leather since the early 80s. I hadn’t seen what you describe - until I did. Men who have a negative perception of leather do make a solid point. There are parts of the country where leather bars are a cartoon.

It’s humilitaing to go into what is supposed to be a positive, masculine and strong environment that turns out to be an antiques road show with a buffet and broadway musical sing along. Being masculine shouldn’t mean toxic, but it shouldn’t mean gay comedy sidekick from every ‘80s movie, either.

Probably R468, but that show sucks.

Hmm... he looks fun.

My experience is that guys who need to show off into horse harness and hard dicks on parades are the ones that were once sexually repressed. I grew up in a very liberal household, with parents who made sure my brothers and I had any sexual hang ups. I've never felt the need to liberate myself because I was never repressed. It doesn't bother me to see naked guys with harnesses but I find it as childish and silly as drag queens. Both seem repressed people trying to find themselves. I'm a regular masculine guy, I don't need gear to show it off. Maybe the newer generations are killing these subcultures because they also don't need to do it.

Disagree R479. There's something about the feel of tight leather on your skin that's just hot.

[quote]Maybe the newer generations are killing these subcultures because they also don't need to do it.

They feel that they're accepted by everyone. "Why, everybody thinks of us as normal people who deserve equal rights! LOOK! We can even marry now!!!"

These naive idiots have no idea about all of the pain and struggle that it has taken to get us here, or how easily we can lose all of this.

Well so what that it was full os struggle? Why would wearing tights or leather make any difference? if anything it's great these subcultures are dying, because unlike the homophobes upthread, being normal and regular is what full integration means. We're sorry we're normal dudes and don't need to dress like women or like hyper masculine minstrels to appeal to people.

"These naive idiots have no idea about all of the pain and struggle that it has taken to get us here,"

So parading around in a leather jock strap is the balm that dulls your pain? Kool for you.

[quote]So parading around in a leather jock strap is the balm that dulls your pain? Kool for you.

Go back to the sandbox to play children.

[quote] if anything it's great these subcultures are dying, because unlike the homophobes upthread, being normal and regular is what full integration means.

I disagree. I think full assimilation and integration would be boring, and I hope subcultures (including gay leather) will always exist.

Sure, how boring a world where we can concentrate on something other than acting up like horny teenagers who need to expose themselves to feel loved.

R486 yes, but if everyone becomes clone Instagram Incest Survivor Holiday Card Creators, where oh where would you get your moral superiority fix?

I don't think I'm superior to people who dress like that and feel the need to expose themselves like teenagers. I only know I'm more mature and not sexually repressed. You do what you wanna do, we'll be laughing at you regardless.

you sound like a smug cunt, R488

Oh, come on R488! How is this that much different from those guys who get caught up in a fit of passion and excitement and start screaming; "Fuck my pussy"; "I want your babies"; "Make me pregnant"; etc...? It's all fantasy and it's what's gets them off. What's the problem? Stop being such a tight ass. If leather is not for you then it's not for you. You're always welcome to leave this thread. But, instead you're here.... That might make some go "hmm..."

Wearing leather makes a lot of people feel sexy and whatever else. What makes you feel sexy, R488? A pair of pressed dockers and a polo shirt? Well... if that works for you then that works for you.

Call me Mary...

Yea, R492's pic is proving a point... the mix of butch and fey does not work. And pink's NOT his color!

This isn't a good sign. The DC Eagle was one of the premier leather bars in the U.S.

R491's guy ... fap fap fap

I dont judge this scene if you're into it. Have fun, who cares.

But the scene is dying because masculinity has become muted in our culture. Masculinity is now toxic.

R479, or they just have a fetish for leather, or uniforms? It is actually pretty common.

[quote]But the scene is dying because masculinity has become muted in our culture. Masculinity is now toxic.

No. Masculinity itself is NOT toxic, but over-proclaiming it IS - to the point of it becoming just foolish, and ironically, UNMASCULINE. This has been going on for decades. Unfortunately, some men are too dense to sense the distinction.

Most leather guys I've interacted with are into extreme and unsafe stuff so leather has come to have a very negative connotation for me.

R494 no it is not. A lot of LBG bars and clubs have closed over the last decade because people would rather use apps than actually go out and meet people in person.

The minute I see someone like r477, my "fem-dar" goes off. The cap pulled down like that is key to hiding their eye work they had done for their pretty corporate job at Macy's or nordstroms.

Hmm... it looks uncomfortable.

Instruction

We can only hope...it already looks and smells dead.

No surprise about the DC Eagle. It's a horrible location. No parking, 1/2 mile to the nearest metro station. Incredibly hostile neighbors.

I get it, I'm really turned on by masculinity. Doesn't have to be a guy done up in leather necessarily, but sometimes a guy gets the look right and it's almost breathtaking how masculine and hot the look can be. But there are other masculine looks out there (construction worker, cop, native American) when, if done right, can be a masculine marvel.

Speaking of masculine marvels...

^ hoo dat?

Is the gay leather scene dying? I don't know, is the Millennial drag queen scene dying? Two different sides of the same coin, I prefer the masculine one since im into dudes its the natural choice. Gay men into dressing up like woman have deep issues with sexuality, personal identity, and body dismorphia.

Oh, I hope not....

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Yummy!

Hmmm...No thanks.

r510, what are the issues involved in dressing up inthe human equivalent of a dog harness?

Leather can be very hot, but some guys overdo it and it becomes pathetic, almost drag. Some guys also cannot pull it off with their cottage cheese white ass and skinny arms and pot belly.

It may just be another form of drag, but some men look incredibly hot in leather. Some not so much. I think you have to have a pretty masculine appearance to carry it off. I've seen a few especially skinny nerds trying to work the look and they look ridiculous. I especially find men who are fit and have very handsome straitlaced corporate looks to be the hottest when they leather up. The old fat hairy bear leather guys, well bless their hearts.

Leather smells. Literally. Rubber probably smells worse.

[quote] I especially find men who are fit and have very handsome straitlaced corporate looks to be the hottest when they leather up.

YUP!

I see that famous architect Peter Marino is still working the leather look, pretty much full time apparently. Here he is with his wife Jane Trapnell. Does he make you want to hire him to design a house for you?

Laughable @ r520 and R519. Just as silly looking as it is possible for humans to look.

Looks claustrophobic .

Cute!

"Losing these spaces is a tragedy"

MARY!

If you have to ask, you're not invited.

R513, my God, perfection

He looks fun.

It's still alive. It just has mo' flava now.

Only a handful of leathermen look like the musclebound studs up thread, most are very average and very...messy.

Welcome

Buenos días... caballeros

Me me me! What about me?!

There’s nothing sexy about leather. Unless it’s in a really nice BMW or Lexus.

The cows wore it better.

The scene is a bit retro now.

Pretty much any gay circuit party, even not leather themed, includes packs of guys afraid to be shirtless without a useless harness. They're like false eyelashes for your tits.

But its not masculinity.....its PLAY ACTING masculinity. Huge difference. Its so constructed that its laughable. My issue is that, and the huge drug problems in this community. Somewhat required, I supposed, to take a double fisting? Whatever.

Love it!

Excellent addition R541 - thanks!

LOL Maybe 1 in 10 leatherettes looks anything like the guy in R541.

More like one in 10,000.

Terry Miller

Interesting look

Stop trying to make Terry happen Terry!

When it works, it works.

#brutparty

BRÜT NYC — BRÜT - NYC Mens Gear party - BRUT Party

I bet there were many toxic loads swapped by those leather queens at that party.

Far left in R549's pic is something! I want to see him naked...

I think not!

Someone should tell the guy at R553 that smoking kills among with some of the other things he's probably into.

R553 Thanks, Concern Troll! Nobody’s every heard that before!

Paddle! Paddle!!!

Let's speculate about the day jobs some of these men have... what does R556 (who's fuckin hot!) do 9 to 5? Is he a pediatric nurse? A contractor? Maybe he's an elementary teacher?

Is it dead yet? That would explain the smell.

BAD! BAD!!!

Actually, R558, from my experience in the leather scene, I would guess either IT or accounting. Seriously.

R561 Don't forget hairdresser/makeup artist.

Doubt it, R562. While you are comfortable with the stereotype of the effeminate gay man, I would counter that the majority of leather men are usually white collar average guys who use the fetish a means of expression.

Wrong r563, most leather guys are more on the effeminate side. The problem is that there's nothing wrong with it. The problem is trying to cover/hide ones effeminacy by putting on a facade of hyper masculinity by wearing leather. That gear is soap very expensive, so that doesn't make the wearer exactly "average". The guy could be anything from a boring office manager type to a boring banker or realtor. Also, the way he trims his beard is very effeminate.

[quote]Is the gay leather scene dying?

I so hope not!

^ the voice of reason

Nope.

Damn R268, at what splooge covered event was that pic taken? Personally, I think the man on the left, on his knees holding the riding crop is the bukkake bottom.

If not him, than the guy on his knees in the lower far right.

luv the drag kween

Please let this be true.

Few things are a bigger turn off .

And those guys are inevitably into painful odd kink (sounding) to the point where it becomes their main hobby.

I suspect many guys who would have once been leathermen are now bears.

#Marketing

Now that the Black Party is done there’s no reason for it to continue.

We can only hope Op.

"If They Lived"

I find that those who think of leather as a lifestyle are on the older side.

Younger gays will wear leather to a specific party but don't tend to get into all the details.

A different view

Leather smells.

Is that a tire iron in r576's hand, or just a truncheon?

The cows wore it better.

I prefer earrings

I prefer caftans!

The "leather" scene is all vinyl bought from Wish, and the scene isn't dying, they just smell that way.

Hmm... love these.

Hmm... interesting...

They look ridiculous.

As long as gay men have fists, it lives!

I want one.

This is what most leather guys actually look like...Enjoy.

Too many accessories.

It's still around. It's still hot.

Flat asses are not appealing unless you're on meth I guess.

NEVAH!

Hey look at me, I can sit on a fire hydrant. I'm soooo macho and tough. Now I'm off to bed so I can get plenty of rest and do my job as an office manager tomorrow.

The guy pictured in R595 and R596 used to appear in "regular" porn once in a while but now he just does scenes that involve him taking entire arms up his ass...gross.

Well, I find this quite civilized....

That's just gross.