Circle spotlight: Leather Brotherhood

Leather is the oldest uniform in the gay kink world, and it still carries the most history. The Leather Brotherhood circle is where men who wear it, or want to, gather on the site.

Our team describes it in one line: classic leather traditions, mentoring and gear nights. It's for men who live in leather, men who earned their first vest years ago, and men who are just buying their first jacket.

What the scene is

Leather as a scene grew out of postwar motorcycle clubs and the bars that served them. Over the decades it built its own culture: clubs with colors, title contests, bar nights with a dress code, and a habit of older men teaching younger ones how things are done.

That culture is what sets leather apart from simply owning a leather jacket. The gear matters, and so does the way you wear it, care for it and earn it. Plenty of men in the scene can tell you who gave them their first cap or vest, and why.

You don't need any of that history to join. It helps to know it exists, because a lot of what you'll read in the circle makes more sense with it in mind.

What members talk about

The circle's own description says members share their gear, their clubs, their title weekends and the history of the scene. In practice that covers a wide spread:

• Gear. Jackets, chaps, harnesses, boots, caps and vests, what fits, what lasts and what was worth the money.
• Clubs and bar nights. Where the men are, what the dress code is, and which nights are worth the trip.
• Title weekends. The big leather contests and gatherings that run through the year, and how to get the most out of one.
• History. The men, bars and clubs that built the scene, and the stories that get passed down.
• Questions. How to break in boots, whether a vest is too much for a first night, what to wear to a gear night when you only own a jacket.

If you're newer, the questions are the best place to start. Somebody has asked yours before, and somebody will be glad you asked again.

Old guard, new guard

The circle has one house rule of its own, on top of the community guidelines and the circle-wide rules on consent and photos. Old guard and new guard both belong here. Mentoring is welcome, and gatekeeping is not.

That rule cuts both ways. Men who came up under stricter protocol are free to explain how it was done and why it mattered. Men who are new are free to wear what they can afford and show up anyway. Nobody gets told they aren't leather enough.

Nobody gets told they aren't leather enough.

How to join in well

Anyone signed in can read the circle. To post, open it and tap Join. You're in at once, with no waiting.

A few habits make a good first impression:

1. Read the About tab. It has what the circle is for and its rules. Two minutes now saves a removed post later.
2. Introduce yourself. A short post with where you're based, how long you've been into leather and what you're looking for (mentoring, bar nights, a club, gear advice) gets far more replies than a lone photo.
3. Post in the circle. Write from the circle's own page and the post goes straight there. If you post from your home feed, every circle you've joined starts ticked under Also post to, so untick any that don't fit before you post. The details are in posting in a circle.
4. Credit and ask. Only post photos you have the right to share, of men who agreed to be in them.

Check the posts Pinned by the team at the top, too. They're the things the team wants everyone to see.

If you want to hear about every new post, tap the bell on the circle's page and choose All posts. If you'd rather only hear when the team pins something, choose Highlights. Joining and leaving circles covers the rest.

Related circles

Leather overlaps with a lot of the site. If the Brotherhood is your home base, these are the obvious neighbors:

• Motorcycle & Biker Brotherhood, for club rides, biker bars and road-worn leather.
• Foot & Boot Worship, for bootblacking and the men who kneel at a good pair of boots.
• Uniform & Military Fetish, if your gear leans toward uniforms.
• Fetish Fashion & Gear, for gear of every material.

For a bar night or a title weekend in person, the events calendar has a Leather chip that narrows the list in one tap. And if you're still at the first-jacket stage, Leather 101 is a good read before you buy.