08/29/2026
This whole Old Guard vs. New Guard leatherfolk thing has been going on for ages. Honey Davenport winning IML just brought it to the forefront and really heated things up. Last night, people were tearing into a guy in the IMLBB- IML and IMBB FB group, which isn't unusual for that group. But it's not just in that group. It isnt an isolated theme. this argument is all over our community. Elders vs the current generation/s. These disagreements divide us, groups dig in their heels, and we end up with groups like the "LGB." This was my response to that guy's post yesterday, so it's leather specific. I wanted to share it because the original post got deleted.
[And for those who compliment my writing, the only reason I could get my response back from a deleted post is because I usually write it in my phone's notes and spend an unnecessarily long time on it. I'm more dangerous in writing and public speaking than in casual conversation. lol]
Here is my response:
I hear the fear and grief in this. I really do.
but we have to acknowledge that we are no longer living in those times.
Leather grew during a time when many leathermen had to hide who they were at risk of losing their jobs, their homes, their families, and sometimes their lives. It was an underground culture, and that shared trauma amd risk helped create close bonds.
And yes, there were men who wore their leather as armor in public. It challenged a culture that stereotyped gay men as weak, effeminate, or lesser. Veterans, motorcycle clubs, and the experiences of men returning from war are important parts of that history.
But if we're going to preserve our history, we have to be willing to examine ALL of it.
Who wasn't allowed into those rooms?
Leatherdykes. Drag queens. Feminine men. Trans and gender-nonconforming people. Sometimes gay men who didn't present the "right" kind of masculinity. And we still see it today. I am a firm believer that ever group within our community deserves their own space. But we're not talking about that. We are talking about the leather community as a whole.
This doesnt erase what those communities befoere us built. It gives us the chnace to learn from both what they got right and what caused harm.
The world changed. Leather changed with it.
Leatherdykes more than earned their place in this community. Our trans and nonbinary siblings belong here. Pups, creatures, femmes, titleholders, people wearing traditional black leather, and people wearing colors our elders might never have imagined all belong to this.
Knowing leather history isn't about recreating the past exactly how it was.
History is supposed to be our foundation from which we grow, not our cage.
disagreeing on things doesn’t mean we lost community. A family isn't a group who never argue. Respect doesn't mean we have to stay silent. sometimes truly caring about community means being willing to have the uncomfortable conversations about it.
Of course younger generations are going to change things. We grew up in a world generations before us fought hard to give us. We were gifted that freedom because people before us refused to accept the world how it was.
to keep challenging things is not a rejection of their legacy. actually, it IS their legacy.
his is where I think elders are incredibly important. Some of us have been fortunate enough to find mentors. Some of us had people sit us down and explain history, protocol, traditions, symbols, and why things matter. but many haven't.
If someone doesn't know the history, calling them "too lame to study it" isn't going to make them want to learn it.
Invite them
Tell the stories
Explain why things matters.
Explain why that protocol started.
Tell us about the bars that disappeared.
Tell us about the people who passed whose names shouldn't disappear with them.
Tell us about the people who fought, organized, cared for each other, buried each other, and survived.
and then listen to what younger people have to teach as well
Because they are going to notice things other generations didn't. we're going to question traditions. Some traditions will survive those questions. Some will evolve. Some probably should be left behind. That isn't destruction. That's what happens when a culture wants to stay alive.
generations before us fought their battles. We have ours. under all of it, I think there is the same fire: protect our people, preserve our history, take care of one another, and make sure there is still a community here for whoever comes next.
If i may make a suggestion, when frustration comes up with younger leatherfolk, offer different questions Instead of, "What are these kids doing to Leather?" Ask them:
What do you need from us?
What history do you want to know?
What can I teach you?
What can you teach me?
How can I help you carry this torch further than we couldd?
maybe we also ask ourselves what parts of the old ways created belonging and what parts unintentionally kept some of our siblings outside the door. Because Leather isn't justa brotherhood anymore. We're a family. And if there is one tradition worth protecting over anything else, I think it's the one you first mentioned:
we take care of each other
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