DominaSmartass -> RE: Old Guard-who are those people? (1/4/2007 6:43:57 AM)
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quote:
People told me that if anyone said they know an "old guard" person, he would be lying. because You have to be like in your 80s to actually see a real old guard This would be incorrect, not about the age part itself, but that anyone who knows an old guard person would be lying. I know many of them though they are men who were boys to the generation originally known as old guard. One thing that is very trademark of this time is the hierarchical order of things - that is, you didn't come in as a Sir but as a boy and you had to earn your leather and maybe someday become a Sir, though there are boys who chose to remain boys forever, it's a personal decision based on who you are on the inside. Anyway, I know a man in his 50s whose Daddy/Sir is still alive and is in his 70s. One reason you will not find many old gaurd people left is because of AIDS. Things were very different back then in terms of safe sex and I would estimate that 75% of the gay leathermen of that generation are now dead. As for slaves, this term was taken very seriously. I would say, from my experience with them, that most "submissive" people identified as boys and not slaves. A boy has a Daddy or Sir, a slave has a Master. These are very different things. There were women involved in the old guard as well...you can read a book by a famous leatherwoman Vi Johnson. Though "old guard" is technically not still occuring, I guess in the strictest sense, there are many leather people who still live by the traditions. You will find these people at leather conferences like the upcoming "Mid Atlantic Leather" in Washington DC next weekend, Southplains Leatherfest in TX in feb., etc. You will also find that most people who outsiders would consider "old guard" wouldn't take that label on themselves. The most distinguishing thing about "old guard" to me is the values that were held by the people practicing the lifestyle. It was more than just about sex, it was spiritual. I wish I could explain better but I can't because I wasn't there. Instead, let me post a letter written by someone who lived it.
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