Teddy Pig's Guide To Excruciatingly Painful Basic Leather Protocol

The Drawing Of The Line

Rupaul is quoted as saying "We are all born into the world naked. The rest of it is just drag." With no put down in general to Drag Queens that I have a great deal of respect for, with their own brand of dedication and determination and after seeing them contributing so much to the Gay Community as a whole... I say bullshit honey! Anyone with any knowledge of the military knows that this supposedly deep statement is out to lunch. Sure you can throw on a uniform and get yourself a regulation haircut and walk around like you belong all you want. But... the truth is any military person you meet, after talking with you for any length of time, will know you are not for "real" by experience and knowledge. The same concept is very true for Leather.


I hope I have provided for You enough of a basic vocabulary, a way of communicating and some understanding of the Gay Male BDSM Leather Scene and a way I have personally found that helps me identify who are for "real" and who are “the Players” and “the Outsiders”. With any interest on your part, you will hopefully start running into the right people and start getting the right training and the rest will work itself out. This is only the start of a whole lot more than I have gone onto in any case; it is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak.


I also know there are a lot of things I did not go into and some things I stayed away from on purpose. One BIG thing was right in that title of that Guy Baldwin article... Did you catch it? Did you see how those rules were stacked there quickly like some old kindling, as if in some funeral pyre or form of epitaph?


There are some things I just trust implicitly because they were taught to me with such honesty on a one on one basis. There are some things I just trust implicitly because they have proven themselves over time.

The time that guy was cruising me heavily at the DC Eagle and I was grabbed by a Leatherman I knew and abruptly and sternly requested to leave with him and get a ride home. I did this immediately and he told me later in private that the guy cruising me liked to take bottoms home, tie them up and place loaded guns in their mouth and force them to do things.

The time another outsider was pointed out to me at the bar by a Leatherman, the guy it turns out liked to take bottoms home and choke them till they passed out.

Please take my word for it, there are very good reasons why these rules are important.
There are very good reasons why John told me in no uncertain terms that there is no such thing as “Old Guard” and there never was.
There are very good reasons why someone such as myself who did not look for it, got training, and yet others that do, do not.
There are very good reasons why we protect our own fiercely.
There are very good reasons why we sit in bemusement and do not forcefully correct someone insulting us to our face.
There are very good reasons why some of the highly publicized “voices” of the Leather Community are not accepted by us and never will be.

The circle may be broken, but I have been taught to draw the line.

I did not half-assed, what I can only loosely describe as an attempt at writing, write this article to get in your pants or have you buy my book or attend my seminar. I just want to say to those of you who are looking for something beyond the image and the sex and some of the more tired and seedy things the Leather Community has become, yep it's still out there. We are still drawing that line. I wish you the best.

Please send me an email if you have any questions or concerns regarding this article or anything I have said. Thank you for your interest. Respectfully - Dickie

The world is on fire
It's more than I can handle
I'll tap into the water
And Try to bring my share
I'll Try to bring more
More than I can handle
Bring it to the table
Bring it home
Sarah McLachlan - World On Fire

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

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