If you’ve spent any amount of time around your local kink community it’s likely you’ve heard people talk about the Old Guard. This controversial term has no one agreed-upon definition, yet it’s been part of conversations in the leather community and broader BDSM sphere since at least the early 1970s. For many, it refers to an idyllic past when S&M and leather culture were more meaningful and untainted by mainstreaming and internet culture. For others, it sets off alarm bells for dismissive gatekeeping, toxic masculinity, or even coercion into practices that cross people’s limits. It’s a complex and often sensitive topic, and a simple blog post by someone outside of the leather community could never do it justice. At the same time, it’s worthwhile for people first dipping their toes into the kink scene to learn a bit about the concept of Old Guard and the background on some ideological tensions which pop up semi-frequently in the world of BDSM.
A Brief Look at Kink’s History
Although arguably elements of kink have been practiced for millennia, modern Western BDSM has a relatively short history that is deeply intertwined with that of American gay men and leathermen in particular. Leather has also served an important part in lesbian history, although unfortunately this blog post’s scope is confined mostly to gay men. As Peter Hennen discusses in his 2008 book Faeries, Bears, and Leathermen, leather culture first emerged in the mid-20th century as many gay men sought community after serving in World War II. Separated from family, traumatized by violence, and bound by shared structure and comradery, many veterans felt no interest in or ability to return to everyday civilian life once combat ended. For gay men in particular, the war had created a space for homosocial and homosexual bonding, despite the military’s officially anti-homosexual stance, and returning home to expectations of heteronormativity and nuclear family creation was daunting. Gay veterans yearned for a community with other men but shied away from the effeminacy that was heavily associated with men’s queerness at the time. This, among other factors, coalesced to create an extensive network of biker clubs and leather bars which bloomed throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s and served to create hypermasculine (and often highly sexual) spaces for gay men disinterested in gender-bending and effeminacy. The history of leathermen and broader leather culture (including leather in the lesbian community) is rich, deeply important, and deserves its own blog post. What’s relevant for now is the fact that the hypermasculinity and intense sexuality of many leather spaces synthesized with community members’ shared military experience to evolve into a culture of SM that’s at the root of modern western BDSM history.
The Military’s Role in Leather and Kink
The culture of these communities truly seems to have been quite different from many modern iterations of BDSM practice. At the same time, sexual and cultural norms were never monolithic. As Gayle Rubin discussed in 1997, since the beginning of the leather scene there was always a bit of ideological tension between two major perspectives: the more military-influenced individuals who placed emphasis on structure and discipline, and the people more aligned with biker mentality who valued individualism and rebelliousness. Although there was plenty of variation in between, generally speaking, the biker types were rowdier, joined the scene more informally through socializing in bars and biker clubs, and were into a bit more of a bacchanalian orgy scene. Militant leathermen, in contrast, valued protocol, respect, and more formal education and initiation rituals. When people say Old Guard they tend to mean something more like the latter: early generations of militant leatherfolk, the descendants they mentored, and current players who hold values stereotypically associated with that time.
SM is and was serious business for these people. By the 1970s the more organized style of leather seems to have predominated, developing into a complex culture of hierarchy and hypermasculine comradery. As International Mr. Leather 1989-1990 Guy Baldwin M.S. wrote about in the late 80s, the community operated on an extensive list of largely unspoken manners and protocol, clearly inspired by military structure. There was an intense emphasis on integrity and respect, with all interactions and SM engagements structured by hierarchy and etiquette centered on “knowing your place.” Newcomers had to be welcomed into the scene and taken under the wings of more experienced leathermen who were treated with the utmost respect and gave their expertise and guidance in exchange for the loyalty and deference of those under them. Leather garments (beyond boots and belts) were not just bought but earned, passed down communally as members climbed the ranks, and demonstrated skill and honor. According to many, there was also a culture of men entering the scene and training, through experience as masochists under a superior, to one day emerge as a sadist top.
Practicing Kink in the Old and New Ways
This Old Guard of leather and SM has been mythologized in the BDSM world and the largest oral history of queerness and kink makes the material realities behind these myths a bit difficult to pin down. According to some, the Old Guard was a specific unified group, while others doubt that claim and consider it a broad marker for a range of diverse but interconnected SM practices throughout the mid-to-late twentieth century. Some will prop up the traditions of the Old Guard as the “one true way” to practice SM or BDSM more broadly, which can end up leaving a bad taste in the mouths of newcomers interested in exploring kink from a less rigidly structured standpoint. However, it’s very possible to defend more traditional leather communities without demanding that all BDSM fit the standards and structures you were taught. It may be tempting for less traditional kinksters to react defensively against conversations seemingly idolizing the mythologized Old Guard, but I believe it’s important to respect the roots of leather culture and those who seek to keep them alive.
The leather community is a pillar of the queer community, culture, and history. The strict protocol, tradition, and hypermasculinity of leathermen and Old Guard ideologies aren’t for everyone, but it’s worthy of their own space, recognition, and history. No one needs permission to be interested in BDSM, own some leather clothes, or lick a consenting person’s shoes. At the same time, it seems prudent and respectful that newcomers to BDSM and leather approach the community with a healthy level of humility and curiosity. Decking yourself in head-to-toe leather and marching into a leather bar demanding to be called Sir before you’ve formed any connection to the culture and community isn’t just expensive and disrespectful, it’s embarrassing. Old Guard leathermen serve their communities, mentor newcomers, and pass down invaluable oral histories which have been severely damaged and hidden by the AIDS crisis and homophobic violence. So before you claim a leather identity or expect to be called titles of respect in the community, do some research. Listen to multiple generations of leathermen and SM folks, many of which are confronting some of the more harmful ideas of the past while maintaining and respecting tradition. Attend munches, bars, and leather events open to outsiders, not dressed in a leather costume but wearing a few pieces like boots and belts that show you’re early in your journey. Maybe visit the Leather Archives and Museum in Chicago. Talk to community members, ask questions, and if their version of kink feels too rigid, hypermasculine, or daunting for you, just accept it’s not your style and make connections within other subsections of the kink community. There’s no shame in not being into Old Guard traditions, but don’t assume that’s because they lack value or meaning.
By Aiden/Estelle Garrett