Sticky Pages Review
Story by: Patrick Califia
Photography by: Peter Fiske
October 2, 2019
Younger leathermen often ask me what “the bad old days” were like. The backroom bars and sex clubs of the 1960s and ’70s represent both the purist form of Old Guard, Master/slave relationships, and the ultimate in sexual license, complete with unfettered drug use and tons of anonymous encounters. Both nostalgic images are partially true, as borne out by this memoir by a leather community activist, leader, and heavy player who has lived through five decades of our evolution.
This is not your typical dry, academic history. Rather, it is an intensely personal and quite vulnerable look at how one gay man came to affirm his own identity, despite growing up in times that were virulently anti-gay and hateful about kink. After being caught experimenting with another young man by his Catholic family and being steered toward celibacy and the priesthood, Fiske writes, “I not only knew that there was nothing I could do about my attraction to men, there was nothing I wanted to do about it… As a gay man, I was drawn to living a life with other men, and the military seemed a more attractive way to live authentically than the priesthood.”
.
From his sexual adventures in the Air Force (which included a rude awakening to racism in the South) through escapades in the empty trucks of New York City’s Meatpacking District, early leather bars like The Tool Box, and gay motorcycle club runs, Fiske has been an ardent fan of masculinity and male bonding through erotic power exchange. His book documents what it was like to attend the Stonewall Inn, the counterculture of the ’60s, his participation in early gay rights marches, and dozens of other turning points in our history. The narrative is so honest and graphic that it draws the reader in, allowing them to vicariously experience our libertine origins and the painful struggle to survive the AIDS epidemic, as well as more current events like leather contests and the controversy over trans men who are also leathermen.
“Few people have described why a painful whipping scene can create euphoria and arousal better than this author.”
An especially interesting part of the book is Fiske’s evolution from an exclusive bottom to a top identity (being a switch was not recognized as a valid role until the last decade or two). Few people have described why a painful whipping scene can create euphoria and arousal better than this author. He also makes a good case for protecting and extending the frontiers of the brotherhood of leather by doing volunteer work and activism. In scene after sexy scene, the author hypnotizes us with his bravery and erotic creativity. It’s like being invited to witness a dungeon filled with joyous, heavy scenes performed by every famous leatherman you’ve ever heard about.
Near the end of the book, Fiske says, “I still love celebrating my leather life to play, but I am most proud of helping to create a community of gay leathermen that will last far into the future, even as generations to come adapt it for their own needs and purposes.” His brief history of The 15 Association is a tantalizing glimpse at a successful effort toward those goals. Here’s hoping that more of us will document the joys and challenges of our own lives in leather.
