Teddy Pig's Guide To Excruciatingly Painful Basic Leather Protocol

Breaking Silence

Hearts are worn in these dark ages
You're not alone in this story's pages
The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying
And you try to hold it in
Yeah, I'll try to hold it in
Sarah McLachlan - World On Fire

It took me some time to write about Basic Leather Protocol. Not because I don't honestly think it is worth talking about with YOU, but because I did not want to give people this image of myself as some major guru on the subject of Leather. Unfortunately I keep referring to this Protocol stuff on my web site and people ask me what I mean... So what to do?

My background in Leather is simple... I did not seek out Leather per se, I was fortunate to find myself stationed in Washington DC in the early 1990's by the Navy for oh about 6 years roughly. During that time I made friends with a large group of Leathermen most involved with the local Motorcycle Clubs, one club of which I became a member of by invitation and by way of that club was also involved in something called MAL or Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather and most importantly during this time I also became the bottom of a man named John, A Leatherman, who lived and breathed what I view to be Leather and it's core values.


Leather is a big community with several segments a lot of which I personally know little or nothing about. So let's set some scope to what I'm about to discuss here. From my experience Leather encompasses, Motorcycle Clubs and their Runs, Sash Events and their followers, Leather Clubs and events like Inferno. Then come the things I feel are core to traditional Leather which fall into Leather Houses and Gay Male BDSM couples and individuals. The Leather Protocol of Gay Male Bondage DISCIPLINE Sadism & Masochism is what I am particularly writing about here, though I must note that that in turn leads me to reference Motorcycle Clubs and Leather Clubs and Leather Houses because of their contributions and interaction and belief in Leather Protocol.

In plain language Basic Leather Protocol is nothing more than a set of rules for good behavior and respect for traditional values of Gay Male BDSM. It provides a framework for socializing and a clear and accurate form of communication of experience and commitment and most important it provides the interaction for a foundation of trust.

Leather Protocol is only a tool. It evolves around some main concepts but never negates them. In other words if whatever rule you hear defined as Leather Protocol that makes no sense in regards to the basic ones I'm going over here… well, get out the salt, but also understand there is no Miss Manners style book of instruction for reference and there can be local differences in tone or attributes so check with your local experienced Top...

The main thing that I highly respect about Basic Leather Protocol is that it goes beyond catch phrases such as "Safe, Sane, and Consensual" and addresses core values of Honesty, Integrity and Respect For Others inside and outside of the Leather Community.

Guy Baldwin originally stated some of the basic rules of Leather Protocol in an online article, which I am attempting to limit myself to when talking about my own experiences. Guy Baldwin’s article is loaded with solid information regarding the Leather Protocol that I was taught. His article was, for me at least, a confirmation that showed these rules had come from a long history of Leather and not just from my own training and my own introduction to Leather. I guess that means I can personally validate that which he has described because a lot of these rules he listed were told to me in some cases in the exact same way word for word in the early 1990’s. It’s actually quite scary. I simply want to write about what has already been posted on the Internet in a different fashion and present this stuff with more background, maybe with more explanation, in an effort to point to what they mean in regards to the Leather Scene I was involved in and their actual function and the concepts they talk about.


There are three Basic Leather Protocol rules that should be noted that I am ignoring here…

Men in the Leather Scene do not discuss or write about the Leather Scene for outsiders.

Leather Protocol is not taught or explained to anyone except by example.

Leather Scene technical information is shared only among peers.

These are actually very good rules because quite frankly they encourage learning BY EXPERIENCE ONLY and doing so SAFELY from someone who has experience and they discourage revealing others who participate in the Leather Scene and thus showing disrespect to their privacy. On the other hand though I agree with some that say various aspects of these rules when followed to the letter can also be looked at as enforcing an exclusivity about it's values and these rules which were created due to it's environment of discipline and hierarchy (Bondage DISCIPLINE Sadism & Masochism remember?) can also create a lot of unnecessary secrecy.


I can only hope while respecting the memory of John and the other Leathermen that have been so important in my experience, for the knowledge they gave me, that they will forgive me in breaking silence about Leather Protocol, that I only learned from being in their service. The one thing I will point to that John did teach me that I have not seen addressed directly in all those rules, and it is also the last thing I shall leave you with before we hit the meat of this article...

Leather Protocol is there for YOU to be on your best behavior NOT for you to use to correct someone else in public.

Table of Contents:
Breaking Silence
Wearing Yourself Out
Belonging
Outside Looking In
The Drawing Of The Line

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