Cruisin': Men & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This past Sunday thousands of San Franciscans and visiting tourists gathered in their glitter wigs and chaps to celebrate one of the city’s biggest events of the year – Pride. A mecca for what is often considered “alternative” lifestyles, many within the GLBT community have not only left their hearts in San Francisco, they’ve also hung their hats here. With such a diverse and well-established queer community I thought it only fitting to focus on a group that has become iconic within the larger community – the Leathermen.

You know them. They are the “hard-as-fuck” biker guys and gals in full leather regalia and military garb, the poster people for the BDSM movement, and above all else, they’re a homophobe’s absolute worst nightmare.

I believe my first exposure to the Leathermen was in 1987 when Police Academy Four featured a scene where Lieutenant Proctor and Captain Harris find themselves at the “Blue Oyster Bar” – a fictional BDSM watering hole. It’s no wonder that conservatives are scared shitless of these people – retractable batons are freaking terrifying. Nevertheless, all of the rules of bland missionary play apply to the Leathermen with the key element being consent.

WHY LEATHER?
Why not silk? Denim? Corduroy?
Many soldiers returning from WWII donned the leather and military gear they had always worn. As gay motorcycle clubs sprang up across the country and 1953’s Wild One heartthrob Marlon Brando became an iconic masculine figure, the Leathermen evolved into a full fledged stylistic meme. Their pioneering leather efforts spurred a similar style in today’s ever-popular sisters of the rhyming moniker, the Dykes on Bikes.

THE RUNNING MOTIF
Why am I writing about sexuality in a technology blog? Apart from the fact that the internet is 90% pornography, the Leathermen have been a recurring theme in countless online endeavours. Some of these products include Vice Television’s series on the Leathermen (Part 1 & Part 2), the recent recurring Japanese variety show character Razor Ramon “Hard Gay” Sumitani, and the GLBT Historical Society’s current exhibit “Out Ranks: GLBT Military Service from WWII to the Iraq War.”

UPCOMING PRIDE PARADE EVENTS IN CANADA:
Winnipeg, June 10
Calgary, July 21
Halifax, July 22
Montreal, July 29
Vancouver, August 5
Ottawa, August 26

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Cruisin': Men & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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