Indie Rock Fag: A Spy in the House of Leather
The Indie Rock Fag is Zack’s weekly music and culture column. Please be nice to it.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Vegetarian bottoms should not wear white underwear. And I should never, ever, as long as I live, even if I’m asked nicely, go back out to Blowoff in a singlet. Blowoff, for the uninitiated, is bear/leather dance party that happens monthly at DC’s 9:30 club and is DJ’d by alt. legend Bob Mould. A singlet is typically known as a wrestling uniform, though I have mine from when I ran track. And the two combined in celebration of Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend, otherwise known as “the thing Zack will never tell his parents about for many reasons.” What those reasons are, reader, I will leave to your imagination. I’m not pregnant and I can still live within 50 yards of a school. Everything else is for you to guess.
I will say, though, that I had a lot of fun. So fun that my impressions of the event are a little hazy. But I did learn a couple things. One I knew already and have known since I first moved to DC: People in the leather scene are very, very nice. Some of the nicest, in fact. Why shouldn’t they be? The bitchiest queens out there are just reacting to a lifetime of mainstream abuse. But leather is about power, and people who are in touch with their own power don’t have much reason to be dicks. Why should they be? Who is going to to mistreat the 6’3″ daddy with the beard and the barrel chest? Two years ago for MAL The Blade gave me a leather makeover (the link is sadly broken) and I felt stronger for that half hour then I had in the proceeding year.
And I felt more immediately comfortable stepping into that kind of space than I do at most of the DC hipster parties, because I didn’t even have a small pretense of fitting in. I did some fun stuff with my facial hair and donned the aforementioned singlet (because I would look as ridiculous in leather as a greyhound in a suit of armor) and was welcomed with open arms… and other body parts. That’s the other thing I enjoyed about Blowoff: Most gay spaces operate over a low hum of sexual energy, but this one made no apologies about its standing as a place where men meet to do it. That was not all the night was about — such mainstays as dancing, meeting new people and celebrating your place in a community were also on display — but I always find it refreshing when contemporary gay spaces can dispense with the pretense that we aren’t all out on a Saturday night to get laid. I wouldn’t enjoy this kind of energy at a coffeeshop or a concert, but I find that an occasional peek under the veil of male sexuality puts a lot of other social events into perspective.
I do wonder, though, how I would feel about the interlopers if I lived leather every weekend of the year. Just as Taint’s crowd got antsy when the JRs mainstays start encroaching in their urban outfitters faux-ironic t-shirts, I could imagine being very annoyed when some skinny kid like me dons the vestments of a scene without understanding why it was created in the first place. Especially if that skinny kid is probably in such a state that would embarrass the regulars.
Events like that are a strange blurring of what it means to be in a subset of a larger community. I usually feel that the segmentation of the gay community is a good thing — it saves us from all being shoehorned into events that appeal to the lowest common denominator— but it also means that the purest gathering of like-minded souls can also double as a hot party. And lord knows how many of us will step out of our comfort zones for a hot party.
So can any of the leather folks out there answer this question for me? Do you mind when the way you live becomes someone else’s saturday night, or are you just happy for the company?
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“Vegetarian bottoms should not wear white underwear.” – What does that mean? Maybe your boyfriend has some sort of medical problem.
“I always find it refreshing when contemporary gay spaces can dispense with the pretense that we aren’t all out on a Saturday night to get laid.” – That’s why I like RAW. http://www.RawDC.com
Umm – were you the guy in the singlet behind the speakers with that hot couple? That was quite a show. :)
As always Rosen you’ve got a way with words and discovering new perspective. Loved the piece btw.
Yeah. What is up with that vegetarian comment? That is just bizarre.
Sounds like it was a cool event. I’d hope that guys in the leather scene would appreciate new people coming in, even if it’s just to try it for a weekend. Otherwise, it runs the risk of dying out or getting stale. This way, there’s some new blood entering it, helping to keep it fresh and vibrant. As long as the new people are respectful, have some idea of what goes on, and the etiquette involved, then it should be fine.
As for the vegetarian bottoms comment, it is a quote from a vegetarian bottom Zack knows. Something about loose stools and looser sphincters. You asked.
I think that must be a personal problem that a particular vegetarian bottom had. That’s kind of just BS otherwise.
as to your question, I don’t care if it is Saturday night fotter. If, and only if, you are respectful of the space. If you don the senglet and then stand to the side and gawk, we have a problem. If you get in there and are friendly, then the more the merrier. I spent the whole of Saturday at MAL in a rubber body suit, and loved the attention I got. I also saw some people who I know are out of the scene, and it was nice to see them. I am also typically dressed fairly preppy and I feel as comfortable walking in to Taint as I do walking in to Town. I hope I am then not perceived as encroaching on space in either setting…
i don’t know if it’s sad or funny that zack’s interesting, well-written post has generated a series of comments that tell me nothing other than the fact that this “streetpunk” person has a sphincter of steel.
i’m pretty certain that i’m the source of the vegetarian bottom/white underwear comment. no, i do not have a shitting problem. it’s a joke. clearly. i don’t see how it could be taken as anything other than a joke. zack is not on an anti-vegetarian bottom jihad. so let’s have a sense of humor, kids. the self righteous commentary i sometimes see from easy-to-offend canadians, hipsters and communists who read this blog is kind of a drag.
It just happens to be true that vegetarians poop a lot more bulk. They eat more in volume, and more fiber, so more comes out the other end. A lot more. A summer camp I know of had one week at the end of each summer with 100 percent vegetarian food. The custodians said the camp used up 3x as much bathroom tissue in one week as any other week of the summer.
Hi Gents:
Mr. Sullivan sent me.
Great piece Zack. I went to my first Blowoff at 9:30. Although I have zero leather street cred, I had a great time. I think it’s true that if you venture in as a respectful, interested neophyte, you’re pretty welcome. Once you stray into gawky tourist territory, it’s probably not cool. Have had the same experience at IML here in Chicago.
[LOL @ parker re: easy-to-offend canadians and hipsters. So true.]
I think it is a myth gay men tell themselves that they are going out to cruise. Rather people say they are going to cruise so that they have an excuse to go out and be among other gay men.
Actually, I’ve had an interest in the recent month or two in possibly exploring the leather scene (well, more the my exploratory readings). Damn I wish I had gone to DC for Leather Weekend.
I don’t mind at all if my lifestyle becomes your Saturday night. I hope it’s the best Saturday night of your life, because your Saturday night could become the focus of your gay sexual life, just as a hot Saturday night at the AA Meat Market provided me the epiphany I needed to find out who I am sexually.
If you have the balls to show up at a leather event, you’re in the club, whether you think you are or not. We will find you. We will make you submit! You will love it, or you will be punished!
xox
Ted
“…leather is about power…”
I disagree. I think leather is about pretense, sublimating and repressing power via fetish. Powerful men don’t need costumes to be powerful.
Great article, Zack:)
“Do you mind when the way you live becomes someone else’s saturday night, or are you just happy for the company?”
Nah. It’s all just some ridiculous fun. I’m glad that you get into the fetish world in any capacity. Lycra/Spandex/Singlets are becoming more popular because it’s more PC, comfortable, practical/cost-effective, and because you can wash it. I’m all for it. I’m glad that people have been reaching towards other materials for fetishwear rather than just leather over and over and over again. Plus, it’s more inclusive for the veggie and vegan fetishists.
You rock, Zack. xo
Don’t worry Zack, leather guys like man meat, and as fresh meat, you were more than welcome.
Of course, if too many twinks, queens, etc. began to overwhelm the leather vibe that would be a problem, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. I am always amused at how intimidated many other gays are by leather gatherings.
Zack has described himself as a top and his boyfriend is a vegetarian. So, I assume this is just too much information about his boyfriend’s unfortunate medical or grooming habits. So, sorry that he’s just nasty. I’ve been with enough vegetarian bottoms to call this as bullshit. Its just poor taste, poor information and poor writing.
Zack has also been to Blowoff numerous times so the “fish out of water” narrative doesn’t really hold here. Also describing it as a “bear/leather” event is far from an accurate picture, which Zack should know. Yes, it is way more leathery during MAL, but that difference should be noted.
I don’t usually comment on my own posts, but:
Andrew, I’ve never been to blowoff before. How do you figure otherwise?
And once and for all, the vegetarian bottoms comment does not come from personal experience.
andrew, you should hook up with streetpunk.
@MarkDC, depends on how you define “costume”. Many men wear a costume daily by portraying themselves as something their not with artificially steroid created bodies of hyper masculinity which is in and of itself fraud!
I am also a vegetarian and my body has never been in a very good shape. Being a vegan can really make you much heathier.`..
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