Old Guard vs. Contemporary Leather: A Leatherboy’s Take.
Ah, the eternal war cry from Old Guard folks:
“That’s not real leather.”
I’ve got boots in both worlds. I was taught and raised on tradition. Protocol. Earning your leathers and hierarchy. But I’m also living in a time where leather is queerer, louder, kinkier, more accessible, more colorful. And guess what? Both matter and both are real. And both really need to stop taking cheap shots at each other.
“Old Guard” often refers to the early post-WWII leather scene, mostly gay men, mostly veterans, who brought military structure into their kink. Protocols were very tight. Language was more formal. Respect wasn’t optional. Respect and access were earned through community, mentorship, and time. But let’s be real, there was no handbook, no committee, no single truth. Old Guard varied city to city, and person to person. But one thing was true everywhere - being a submissive was quietly serving your Dominant with your eyes cast down and your palms wide open.
A lot of what we call Old Guard now is romanticized, sometimes to the point of fantastical, and that doesn’t make it less valuable – it is sacred storytelling, even if laced with fantasy. Those stories matter, the legends, protocols - passed own by our elders MATTER. But it’s also ok to find new ways to do things, better ways to bring fresh faces and a more diverse group to the table.
Contemporary Leather is much more expansive and colorful. It’s everything from queer-inclusive leather families to play parties and pet moshes. It’s dungeons where everyone is welcome from trans femmes, to bimbos and himbos, to littles in diapers and everything in between. It’s heavily consent-forward, diverse and creative. It questions hierarchies, centers accessibility, and shows that there really isn’t just one way to be Leather. Leather is what we make it. And it fucking matters. Because this generation is doing the work: around trauma, gender, race, disability, and mental health and the diversity that exists in this community. It’s queers of color, trans folk, switches, littles, pets, polycules, D-types in pink leather with glitter and 6” stiletto thigh high boots. It is pure fucking JOY. And it pisses some people off.
Because it doesn’t always “earn” the same way.
Because it doesn’t always kneel.
Because it calls out racism, ableism, rigid gender rules, fatphobia, gatekeeping and misogyny.
But here’s the thing, contemporary leather doesn’t mean there’s no respect and no protocol. It just means different foundations. When Old Guard folks sneer at more modern ideologies for “not doing it right,” they forget what it felt like to be new. To be hungry for belonging but at the same time, being told you had to earn your place and never quite knowing how. When modern Leatherfolk roll their eyes at and dismiss tradition, and poke fun at Old Guard, they miss the beauty of structure. The safety people found in strict ritual.
Our communities are under attack right now, an attack the likes of which I have never seen, and many of us are scared. The infighting has to stop – we need each other. We always have.
You know what I crave as a Leatherboy? Mentorship and Education. Tradition but with room for creativity and evolution. I crave spaces where a bootblack can be transgender or non-binary and still be respected and valued. Leather community rituals should absolutely be passed down like heirlooms, but not be a checklist or a proving ground. We can absolutely honor tradition but allow for change and innovation at the same time. We can stop gatekeeping and start inviting different ways of doing things. We can stop bitching about new Leather and start showing up for workshops and learn about the many different ways of being Leather. Listen to people’s lived experiences and why they came to be the Leatherperson that they are.
Because at the end of the day, Leather is about heart. It is about intention, family, service and integrity. It’s about keeping and celebrating our past and doing what we can to preserve it for the future. Personally, I don’t give a fuck if you earned your leathers or bought it off the rack yourself. I don’t care if you trained under a mentor or learned as you went. As long as your heart is in the right place and you care about this community and the people in it and carry yourself with integrity, then I am here for it.
