Elections, Immigration, and Order (An open Letter)

To my friends to the south,

The recent United States election has many of you in the Leather community looking northward. Many have proclaimed, "I am going to immigrate to Canada!" Having recently immigrated to Canada, I can vouch for the expense and the difficulty in moving to this beautiful country. I can also attest to the fact that Canada is not the United States; this country has its own culture and its own values. Whereas the principles of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" guide the compass of America, "Peace, Order, and Good Government" are the foundational values of all Canadians. In the United States, an individual's freedom is held aloft as the ethical measure, but in Canada, "The Charter of Rights and Freedoms" emphasizes the importance of living together in harmony and peace.

Sadly, I am overwhelmed by the intolerance within my community. Many people seem so focused on defining themselves, their titles, and their rights, that they forget how to be part of a social group. Often, their selfish statements are reserved for social media posts where the electronic device, like a mask, can hide the faces of these individuals. Emboldened by the mask, they berate others for not using the right words, the correct terms, the latest phrases, or proper titles. By doing so, these people undermine any sense of community.

Some suggestions regarding how to catalyze change. Kinder words will always hold sway over harsh ones. Showing patience and understanding will encourage better communication, whether in person or on social media. Anger will never convince others to change their opinions. And humility, that near absent virtue in contemporary society, will always introduce future dialogue.

My American friends, before you debate immigrating north, I would recommend that you understand the basic principles of the Canadian "Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Begin the immigration process by seeing yourselves as part of a greater community. Explore ways to encourage peace within that community, that is, our Leather community. And stop worrying so much about how you are labeled, defined, or addressed.

And to my non-American readers, the same principles apply. Support the Leather community by being less defensive about yourselves.

Sincerely,

SIR Hugh, an Ex-Pat Pollyanna!

BLUF is in the Details

Dressing in BLUF gear requires that a man surrenders to a dress code

that sets apart those who love Breeches and Leather Uniform. The strictness of the code defines the discipline that a BLUF man displays in relation to his second skin. Details regarding accessories to the requisite Uniform can take on extreme importance to a BLUF man: jacket type, boot maker, glove style, cut of the shirt, shape of the breeches' thigh, and, most especially, well-tailored fit of every Uniform piece. These details inform other BLUF men about the man who has respectfully surrendered himself to the code.

In a similar fashion, the upcoming BLUF events in Vancouver, British Columbia, include a number of details that will make participants' experience more satisfying.

• The Mitchells are hosting an "Cards Against Humanity" event on Friday night, November 11, for those who are participating in the BLUF events. This event will be at their home, a chance to socialize. No BLUF dress code for this event. Light refreshments provided. To learn more, contact either SIR Hugh or Doug on Facebook, or via email at: internationalleathersir2010@gmail.com. Please notify the hosts in advance; no exceptions!
• For those out-of-town gentlemen who go the gym, Denman Fitness is our gym of choice. Admission is a minimal $9 when accompanied by one of your in-town hosts.
• If you are arriving by bus or train and staying in Davie Village, Bus #23 is an inexpensive mode of transportation that takes you right down Davie Street. The buses run on a regular basis. The bus stop is located across the street from the station.
• If arriving by plane, the Sky Train from the airport takes you directly downtown. Get off at the "Yaletown - Roundhouse" stop, head up the stairs, and walk ten minutes to Davie Village. Or take the #23 bus that stops close by.
• If your Vancouver hosts can assist in answering any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

I am looking forward to meeting up with other BLUF aficionados in the area next weekend. There is nothing that I like more than going through the ritual of dressing in Gear in anticipation of an event: Boot socks, Breeches, shirt, boots, Sam Browne, tie, Muir Cap, gloves, and, finally, meticulously chosen items that subtly set me apart from other BLUF men.

To a great weekend of Fetish and Brotherhood here in Vancouver, BC!

In Leather,

SIR Hugh

Exposing fetish (The Intimacy of Leather Uniform)

The first time I put on a pair of Leather trousers, I felt my cock immediately become engorged. The feel of the Leather against my legs, my ass, and my genitals elicited an automatic sexual response that I could not control. I knew immediately that Leather was not simply a fashion choice, but something far more powerful. Against my skin, Leather amplified my sexual desire. No longer an object separate from myself, I bestowed the Leather with life; the Leather became a catalyst for physical transformation. Crotch bulge, ass cheeks, thighs, even the muscular curve of my calves, each in turn was transformed into a nexus of pleasure, to be caressed and worshiped either by a lover or by myself.

In tandem with the purchase of my Leather trousers, I purchased a pair of heavy, black Leather Boots. And shortly after that, a fitted shirt, tailored to show off my chest and trim waist. My Leather Uniform grew until, fully realized, I had become the very man that I had feared years before. With Leather necktie tight as a noose around my neck, and Sam Browne over the right shoulder, visually linking my bulging crotch to my rounded ass, I felt complete.

Fetish is the amplification of sexual desire, catalyzed by a particular object. For me, that object is the aggregate Leather Uniform. Although I feel that I look my best dressed in Breeches and Uniform, I do not wear it to look pretty. Rather, I wear Leather Uniform to conjure my darkest feelings. The interaction between flesh and hide literally transforms me, bringing the inside, outside. Covered in Leather from head to toe, I feel exhilarated, exposed, sexually honest.

In a spiritual sense, fetish is an object that is used in worship for its apparent supernatural power. Usually, the fetish object contains foreign matter such as bone or bodily fluid that imbues it with this power. In a similar fashion, my Leather has been sanctified through perspiration, piss, semen, blood, and tears. My heavy boots and my Leather trousers have been baptized by the cum of numerous boys; my shirt has absorbed the sweat of many evenings of heavy play and the blood of my own submission many years before. My Leather Gear shares the very fluids that bestow life.

In Gear, my sexual play extends far beyond the acts of flogging, fucking, and fellatio. My Fetish Gear becomes a creative medium that animates both me and my sexual companion. Sex becomes an unpredictable, shared journey. The discovery of the extent of my dominance is not dissimilar to that moment when Stevenson's Doctor initially encounters Edward Hyde. The dark side has emerged into the light. Finally, when sexual play has come to its organic conclusion, my companion and I are usually left prostrate, unable to move, much like Saint Paul, ecstatic and exhausted. More than the culmination of a hedonistic encounter, our shared Fetish has transformed us and, in the process, has reinforced our shared bond.

I am not shy in exposing the personal nature of my Fetish. My Leather is not theoretical. It is not an academic subject to be studied and inanimately discussed. To understand Fetish I must include myself in the discussion. To talk about Leather without such intimacy is tantamount to removing its ability to transform, a power that draws upon the interaction between the wearer and the worn. I wear my Fetish, and to speak of it theoretically is to repress its true nature in my life, a denial thrice spoken before the cock crows.

The Iconic BLUF man (Calling all Northwest Leather Uniform men!)

Muir cap. Leather uniform shirt. Sam Browne. Tie. Leather breeches or formal Leather trousers tucked neatly into a pair of knee length, high-shine boots. Gloves. Leather patrol or Leather uniform jacket. The clothing worn by men who hold Leather uniform as fetish, commonly referred to as BLUF men.

Recently on the Saturday night prior to the Folsom Street Fair, BLUF men gathered at The San Francisco Eagle. The patio riser provided a perfect gathering place. Considering the number of men who descended on the Eagle that night, we were in a small number, just a few of us wearing the recognizable items that identified each of us as a BLUF man.

When I came out decades ago, the BLUF look was iconic. The artist Tom of Finland had codified the look through his erotic images, along with Etienne and other Gay erotic artists of the seventies and eighties. Muscular men wearing breeches, caps, and big, black boots graced the pages of magazines, bar murals, and posters. Often the men would be shirtless, their black, Leather patrol jackets forced open by bulging pectorals and erect nipples. Punctuating the fetishistic nature of the artwork, the men always sported large crotch bulges, their cocks outlined by the tight Leather of their breeches.

Decades later, the icon of the BLUF man continues to evoke worship, in spite of the dwindling number of actual men who wear the clothing. Even though other fetishes have joined the broad "Leather" umbrella, the muscular man in his tight Leather uniform and boots reigns over the clubs, gatherings, and online publications. In spite of the fact that the numbers of BLUF men are few compared to other Leather fetish types, popularity both online and in clubs continues. After midnight at the San Francisco Eagle, as I waded through a sea of puppies and young harnessed men, I was inundated with requests. "Be my Daddy!" "SIR, take me home. I will be good!" "Fuck, you're hot!" And standing next to my handsome husband on the dias, also dressed in BLUF gear: "I need to tell you guys that you are REALLY hot!" Such accolades, even if primed by alcohol, betray the fact that Leather uniform is alive and well in the fetish lexicon of younger men.

I would like to encourage those BLUF men in Vancouver, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; Western Canada; and the Northwest United States; to join with us on November 12th, 2016 as BLUF men. If the thought of putting on a pair of breeches, a Muir cap, and Leather boots makes you hard, then you are a BLUF man.

• On Saturday, November 12th at 2:00 PM, BLUF men will meet for a Boots and BLUF Brunch at The Dish, 1068 Davie St, Vancouver, BC. For more about this local favorite, see https://www.facebook.com/DishVancouver/. Full BLUF gear is not required.
• At 9:00 PM, we will meet for a BLUF Pubcrawl, beginning at The Pumpjack, 1167 Davie St, Vancouver, BC. BLUF Dress Code.
• In addition, on Friday, November 11, a Cards Against Humanity get together is planned at a private home for those participating.

If you would like to join other BLUF men in Vancouver, send me an e-mail at internationalleathersir2010@gmail.com. Or find these events on the BLUF calendar at: www.bluf.com.

In Leather!

SIR Hugh

How I became a Leatherman

Decades ago, I came out into a world of confusion and loss. Although I had flirted with Leathermen over the years, I had never allowed myself the freedom to fully explore this world until the early 1980's. At that time, AIDS was beginning to take its toll on the Leather Community, and I felt as if I was emerging into a world that was fading rapidly. In spite of this, I was determined to explore the boundaries of man to man sex. A few years later, I would be "out" to everyone. My main focus, to find my soulmate. In spite of continued dalliances with BDSM, I dated men who were not part of the Leather scene. "I am not a Leatherman," I told myself. "I am just a man who likes Leather and enjoys creative sex.

During that decade, I played with many men. Being a professional ballet dancer, I enjoyed the thrill of the rough physicality that could occur between Leathermen. Unlike the staid and often guilt-riddled sex in the mainstream Gay Community, many Leathermen were deeply invested in celebrating sex while advocating safer practices. To offset my impetuous sexual behavior, many experienced men would take the time to instruct me in these practices. They would also show me how to wear clothes to accentuate my body, instruct me on the nuances of cruising, and teach me how to show respect for myself and others. These men were gods to me, beautiful men who exuded sex and confidence.

"A Leatherman must be invited to such exaltation," I thought. "I am not worthy."

Around this time, I met a handsome Seattle Leatherman with a tight, toned body, a perfectly groomed mustache, and a voracious appetite for sex. We met at the Triangle Campground north of Everett, Washington, and passed a long weekend in unbridled passion and hot sex. After returning back to Seattle, he called me up on the telephone, and asked me out on a date.

My response was immediate. "I can't," I replied. "You are a Leatherman. I am not. It wouldn't work."

I will never forget this man's astonishment. "WHO do you think you are?" he asked. "We have spent days having hot Leathersex, and you say you are not a Leatherman?"

To which I replied, "Sorry! It wouldn't work between us. I am not like you."

During the next couple of years, in spite of my growing attendance at Leather gatherings, I still did not consider myself part of the Leather Community. I wore my boots daily, always impeccably shined. I developed a reputation as a hard player. I hung out more and more with Leathermen. Still, I felt I had not earned the right to call myself anything but "Hugh."

One spring evening, I attended a Leather awards event. I listened as my friend, Wes Randall, presented tokens of appreciation to various members of the Leather Community in Seattle. Wes had a particular way of speaking that always made me smile. As he called out each name, I watched the person walk to the front, receive the award, and return to join the group of applauding Leatherfolk. After he had finished presenting the awards, Wes stopped, smiled, and said in his distinct voice, "I would now like to take this opportunity to recognize someone who does not consider himself a 'Leatherman.' He feels that he cannot assume this title, so I am going to give it to him. To Hugh, the best Leatherman I know."

I felt embarrassed, speechless, and I felt proud. I stood sheepishly as members of the Community looked on approvingly. After years, I had been invited to join the ranks of others that I had respected and revered. I felt validated, worthy to wear my Leather in public. I had become a Leatherman.

The world today seems to revolve at a faster pace than it did then. Leather is easier to obtain, as is instruction into Leatherplay. Becoming a part of the Community now takes days instead of years; there is a place for everyone in the expanding world of Leather and fetish. Still, I value the slow path that led me to become a Leatherman decades ago. Today, as I stand next to my husband, another proud Leatherman, I feel fortunate to have emerged from a generation of so many great Leatherfolk, a great number who are no longer with us. To them, I owe a great debt that cannot be repaid.

With respect!