The Changing of the Guard

Have you ever wondered why the bastions of leathermen at leather events seems to have waned over the years and why these previously exclusive leathermen clubs now seem to tolerate a lot more rubbermen and lycrabois than they used to?

I've had this conversation with a few people which have brought up some interesting points.

In the beginning (I guess that would be the 60s and 70s), gay men didn't have the internet to meet each other. Hell, they didn't really even have magazines or papers - they had the bars, baths, parks, and clubs. I could see that if everyone was out and about and seeing everyone else out and about that eventually, at least in the bigger cities, specialized fetish clubs and groups would develop as more people experimented and fetish items became more available on the market.

In today's world, gay is not really an issue anymore. Most of the younger generations don't see it as a definition at all and as a result you see a lot fewer young gay people getting involved in traditional gay organizations, clubs, sports teams and the like. Being gay is just not the identity definition it used to be. The 'cultural profile' of these generations also lends credence to the observation that this isn't just an exclusively gay issue. I even see it in my 'straight' sports clubs - it has been a daunting task, nearly impossible in fact, to attract and retain members in the 20-30 age range, never mind trying to pass the onus of responsibility on to them as those of us that have been running things for the past ten years start to move on to other phases of our lives.

As well, the internet has brought the world to our fingertips. Why go out to a club to meet another rubberboi when you can have him show up at your doorstep? I think a lot of people have become 'introverted' (and by that I mean simply having issue to publicly display oneself in fetish gear - you get to avoid potential public humiliation) simply because it seems to be the path of least resistance and the most safety in order to get that hot rubber/leather/PVC/lycraman into your bed. What happened to the thrill of the hunt? A primitive, archaic pursuit for modern men, I guess.

In addition to that, the number of retailers in fetishwear has exploded in the past ten years. You can't find that unique, freaky item you're looking for in your traditional local store or mailorder? Guaranteed, someone is selling it in the new media - online or on eBay.

So, you see that a lot of the visible leather and (to a certain extent) rubbermen are in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s -- and many of these are the old guard, the ones that still identify gay/fetish community in much the same paradigm it has been for decades. But I think these men are part of a dying breed. And not in a bad way - things are simply evolving into something else. I do worry about the long-term viability of some things gay that I do enjoy, particularly sporting clubs and large events like the Gay Games and OutGames because they are all based on the old paradigm of exclusivity, even though they don't all outwardly say so.

Fetish parties and such won't disappear, but I don't think as many people are attending them because there isn't as much need to find someone of your own taste through direct contact anymore. A few clicks of the mouse, and a hot kinky perv is on your doorstep.

In order to attract a new generation of kinky men to fetish parties and clubs, the old leather guard has been forced to allow some alternative members in.

What are all the younger men doing? Well, as I recall, in my early 20s it was all about lycra. It is cheap and lasts practically forever. It was those lower barriers to entry into lycra fetish that make the younger cohorts the most ardent wearers of the material, at least in public - you see a lot more younger men into this scene.

Back in my day, I thought - no, I knew - I was the only one with such a messed up affection for anything tight and shiny. If I had only had the internet back then...fetishism outside the large metros back then was a very lonely place.

Maybe it's simply visibility, but I also think lycra fetishism a lot more affordable for others. The range of lycra materials, designs and patterns over the past ten years is certainly not the limited range I had to chose from as a young man, however in those days men wore a lot more lycra in public than they do today, and they would make men's styles out of just as outrageous colors and designs as the women's. Yes, I did own neon colored lycra clothes back in the day, (regrettably! LOL). Why the loss of public lycra? Well, I've jumped into that topic before, coming to the conclusion that is partly because of the fattening up of our society and the private shame and insecurity most men feel about their bodies as a consequence that have occurred in society over the past 20 years, as well as the confusion of the masculine ideal in our gender-blended modern society that have caused the regrettable demise of lycra on men in public. Real men don't wear lycra, do they? They are starting to again, somewhat, thanks to UnderArmour and Adidas, among others.

Like gateway drugs, I think lycra is a gateway fetish too!

The public vs. private realm is something that needs to be considered. Anyone can wear their secret fetish items behind their closed curtains at home, but not so many of those will venture out into public spaces wearing the same thing, and those public figures end up being the stereotype for the particular fetish.

There's the cultural stigma attached to the materials themselves: lycra is associated with athleticism, strength, superheroes, fitness, aesthetics/beautiful bodies, with possibility some femininity thrown in - moreso now than 15 years ago? One of my favorite fetishes, male ballet dancers, is still considered a very effeminate career choice and might always be that way. Leather is associated with durability, masculinity and primalness. It was the first material we wore coming out of the African savannahs, after all (well, maybe the furries could argue that fur came first, but I digress), and is associated with motorcycles, rock stars, and cowboys.

PVC is a 'poor man's latex', in my opinion, thus is more popular among the younger crowds just starting out on the road to perversion. It is actually more like the bridge between the three - it's got aspects of rubber, leather and lycra all rolled into one, hot, sweaty package.

But then how do you explain rubbermen? Most men in this realm have no hangups about their bodies -- many are not in the best shape, but love showing off themselves anyways. Shiny black rubber will make anyone look good, er, better.

Where does rubber lie? Somewhere in the middle. Not completely natural, not completely artificial - a mixture of both. Not completely masculine but also not completely feminine. Not necessarily associated to athletics or blatant protection. Latex provides a bit of everything - it provides protection from water, chemicals, even air and has its origins in fitted clothing because before the advent of our chemical revolution, it was the only natural material we had that could 'stretch like that'.

The men that are attracted to it are also very mixed. Some see the industrial aspects of rubber and the occupations related to it - firemen, divers, military - as very masculine images and that is what is attractive to them. Why do you think there is a big market for rubber police uniforms and military outfits?

At the other end of the rubber spectrum is the unnatural, bizarre, immersive, otherworldly look that can be achieved. Don't like the faults of your hairy, pimply, scarred natural body? Slip on a smooth, shiny, second skin. Don't even want to be human for the evening? You can look alien or like something from below the Earth's surface. That versatility is something that is very attractive about latex to many people.

It is also at this end of the spectrum where I think most resistance to rubber fetish comes from. I think most uninspired people can handle the sight of a men in full leather or lycra, but a bizarre male character in rubber or PVC might be just too over the top. Maybe it's because latex has always been the least visible of these three fetish materials traditionally? Latex fetishism and availability has basically exploded (like my catsuit) in the past decade, at least outside of Europe.

For those wanting to experiment in fetish, once again, latex comes somewhere in the middle. It's not quite as expensive as leather, but both of those are ridiculously more expensive than lycra and PVC. And -- leather and latex both have their advantages and disadvantages -- there are some things you can create out of latex you would never be able to mimic in leather or PVC, but for durability and repairability, leather wins gloves down.

So what's the point of all this? Times are a-changin'. Latex and lycra are much more visible at events that used to be traditionally almost exclusively leather parties. In addition to sheer numbers -- the huge increase in availability of materials for the more recent fetishes and the number of people jumping on board, I think the 'old guard' is realizing that in order to perpetuate the fetish scene a larger circle of acceptance needs to be achieved because the old way of doing things and how things were structured really doesn't apply anymore, especially with droves of young men that are discovering fetishism, kink and other kinksters in different ways at a much younger age. The unfortunate thing here, as the perpetual bane of existence goes (once again), is that these young men would be the most durable players (maybe not the most responsible, experimental or secure/confident) and generally be the most asthetically pleasing to see in leather and latex, however few of them have the money to amass a wardrobe of this stuff.

So here we are with a bunch of young studs in lycra, a range of really kinky middle-age players in leather and latex and most of the grand old guard in leather.

Fetishism is more visible and mainstream now than ever before. But there lies the problem. It is no longer subversive and perverted as it once was! A certain population of gay men are searching for the next subversion as part of their self and collective identity which they want to remain unique from mainstream, no doubt. As the homosexual collective identity becomes as mainstream and whitebread as everyone else, this is why, in my opinion, such scenes as fisting and other edgeplay has become so popular in the past five years.

I have no doubt that public displays of fetishism will never wane - I'm one of most ardent public rubber wearers I know, at least in this backwater - hell, it's even something I crave once in awhile. It is all that idea of attention because I am so different that is a large part of the attraction to public latex-wearing. But as our fetishes become mainstream, it unfortunately means they lose something of their uniqueness, subversiveness and pervertedness - which is why fetishisms develop in part in the first place!

So there you go - my analysis of the changing of the guard - old school to new school. It is up to the old guard to show the younger generations the spectrum of possibilities out there by creating new ways to communicate this to them. One step in this is to open up previously exclusive play parties to other fetish groups.

The good thing is that fetishism seems to attract experimental and creative souls from its very definition, and I think this acceptance of the need to approach things in a different way has done the expansion of fetishism a great service. The bad thing is that maybe this has been too successful. Now that people are more accepting of a fetish lifestyle due to media coverage of it, it is coming into the pop culture limelight more and more, which essentially takes something away from what fetishism basically is - on the fringes of society, sexual freedom in atypical fashion through subversive expression.

What do you think? I'd love to hear some more perspectives. Read what GuyN2Gear has to say about the subject.