Loving that leather
| Loving that leather |
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Thanks in part to the disco group The Village People, the leather lifestyle is now widely associated with the gay community; but within our community today, the leather scene itself is still sometimes marginalised, overlooked, or even looked down upon. “For myself, leather is an expression of my attraction to men and therefore of masculinity,” explains Dean Beck, one of the organisers of the inaugural Melbourne Leather Pride festival, which opens this week and runs until September 28. But why have such a festival in the first place? “I think all people of like mind create a sense of community in gathering together as one, and the leather community is certainly no different to that,” Beck says. “A great sense of community is gained at events where people can come together, and this is just one of them.” “I think Melbourne’s leather community has been somewhat fractured in the past; certainly nothing like the sad state of affairs of our northern cousins, but I think this event in particular is the beginning, or a new dawn, for the Melbourne leather community. “It’s terrific to see all of the venues and all of the traders coming together as one, and celebrating a sense of community; and that’s something that the patrons of the festival will certainly get to enjoy,” he says. While there’s a preconception in some quarters that leather equals leathermen, there are plenty of lesbians who also revel in the leather lifestyle, says Dianne Toulson, another of the festival’s organisers. “I think it’s not so much recognised as an outlet [for women] as much as the men are, because there’s probably not as many women who are into leather; but there is a subculture of leather, especially in Melbourne,” she says. “The leather girls love to get out and have a good time, show off their leathers and live that sort of lifestyle; but it’s very underground, a subcultural thing.” One event in the Melbourne Leather Pride program that specifically caters for leather-loving lesbians and other queer women is Off the Cuff, a leather-dyke competition. “That’s on this Saturday night, and it celebrates women in leather. It’s a competition for women who wear leather, and is an annual event. The 2006 winner of the event, Mistress Aveline, passed away, so its like a tribute event to her this year,” says Toulson, “but most of the other events [in the festival] are really pansexual.” It’s this across-the-board appeal of leather that unites so many in the LGBT community, Toulson continues.
“It’s such an inclusive thing that brings all the different lifestyles together; gay, lesbian, leather-straight, leather-pansexual. I think there’s nothing else that actually brings in such a unified demographic of different genders and ways of life.” Leather Line-up
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Richard Watts and Rachel Cook find out what’s on at the inaugural Melbourne Leather Pride.
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