By Paul Varnell

Each Memorial Day weekend, Chicago welcomes thousands of leathermen from around the country who visit our city to attend the annual International Mr. Leather contest and the large number of associated events.

For Chicagoans, the weekend not only provides an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and scout out new flesh, but marks the first of Chicago’s three gay summer festivals: IML in late May, Gay Pride at the end of June and Northalsted Market Days in mid-August.

IML has grown enormously since the first small contest held at the late, lamented Gold Coast bar on North Clark Street in the late 1970s. There are events for husky and hairy “bears,” an associated International Ms. Leather for women, commercial and private parties and, perhaps most significantly, an enormous Leather Market where nearly 150 venders offer for sale all manner of leather clothing and sex-related materials. Far more people visit the Leather Market during its four days of operation than ever make it to the IML contest itself. (Take your credit card; few leave empty-handed.)

In addition, Chicago’s Leather Archives and Museum offers an exhibition of leather-related art, besides opening its vast archival holdings to visitors. And this year the Center on Halsted, Chicago’s gay community center, is also offering an exhibition of leather-related (although not sexually explicit) cartoons, drawings and posters.

But just as IML has expanded, “leather” itself has changed over the years. No longer is it just black leather chaps and motorcycle jackets. More men, especially younger men, are wearing other coverings from latex and industrial rubber to uniforms. And more leather and latex come with colored stripes and accents. And there are more styles of leather as people tell leather designers what they want in order to assert their individuality.

Leather bars too have changed. No longer do the patrons necessarily adhere to fairly clear social and sexual roles; less rigid roles have evolved. Partly this is because younger patrons insisted on them, and partly because in the 1980s AIDS took the lives of many leathermen who would have encouraged adherence to the older traditions.

And “leather” bars now welcome and cater to fetishes ranging from underwear and jockstraps to feet and footwear—to say nothing of the bears, whether leather or not. (As a gay senior I await the discovery of a “Daddy” fetish.) Partly this stems from the greater openness about the variety of sexual attractions, but partly too it is a result of market pressures. “People are drinking less,” one bar manager remarked to me some time ago, and with the ubiquity of computers men no longer need to go to bars to hook up. So leather bars, like others, have to cater to a more diverse crowd, hold more special events and try to draw in new clientele.

All that said, let’s examine a few common (mis)conceptions about leather and leather bars.

“Leatherman are all into S/M.” Not so. Many are not, nor do all S/M practitioners wear leather. Many leathermen are “into” leather either because they like the look, or because it asserts something about their self-understanding or because it is a useful facilitator for fantasy sex play.

“Leathermen are all into rigid sex and sex-play roles.” Not so. Many cheerfully switch for the right partner. I’m sure I have shared before the story of the man who wanted to go home with me. “I’m afraid your keys are on the wrong side,” I said, declining politely. With that, he took the chain with 15 or so keys off one side of his belt and attached it on the other side. “Now can we go home?” he asked.

“Leather is just a silly costume.” No doubt for some men it can be. But for most men, leather asserts something about their self-understanding. Particularly it asserts a rejection of the ancient stereotype of gays and effeminacy. It can also indicate an openness to a greater variety of sexual behavior than most gay men are interested in or comfortable with.

“Leather bars and leathermen are unfriendly.” To the contrary! I have found leather bars friendlier than most other gay bars. That may stem from an awareness that you all start off having at least one thing in common.

“Leathermen are more culturally and intellectually alert.” I think this one may be true. I have talked with singers, actors, instrumentalists, conductors and artists at leather bars and find, on average, that leathermen know a little more about the arts than men at other bars. It may have something to do with the slightly older demographic at leather bars, but probably leather expression and the arts both indicate a comfort with expressing and exploring a personal creativity.

Some of Paul Varnell’s previous columns are posted at the Independent Gay Forum (www.indegayforum.org). His e-mail address is pvarnell@aol.com.