W/we are Leather

(Note: This is written using honorific orthography or respect capitalization, but within BDSm and Leather commUNITIES it is more often referred to simply as D/s protocol or protocol writing)

Leather is not just something W/we wear. It is something W/we live.

W/we are the stories passed from mentor to student. The lessons learned through service, accountability, integrity, and trust. W/we are the hands that reach back to lift someone else when they are struggling because someone once did the same for U/us.

W/we are the history of those who refused to disappear.

W/we are the people who built chosen families when the world abandoned us. W/we cared for one another through the HIV/AIDS crisis. W/we buried O/our dead. We celebrated O/our victories. W/we fought for the right to exist openly and authentically. W/we turned pain into purpose and isolation into commUNITY. (i spell it this way because UNITY is the most important part.)

Leather has never been about looking the part. It has always been about living the values.

https://laurieraye.artstation.com/projects/Bm6dV6The Galaxy Leather Pride flag was created by Laurie Raye - https://laurieraye.artstation.com/projects/Bm6dV6

Leather is the SIR who teaches with patience. The DADDY who protects. The Handler who guides. The pup who reminds us to find joy. The MASTER who leads with humility. The slave who gives informed and consensual devotion. It is every person who understands that power without ethics is not Leather.

W/we are old guard and new guard.
W/we are queer. W/we are trans. W/we are cis.

W/we are nonbinary. W/we are gay, bi, pan, straight, ace, intersex, disabled, neurodivergent, Black, Indigenous, people of color, white, young, old, and everything in between.

W/we do not all look the same.
W/we do not all play the same.
W/we do not all love the same.
And that has always been O/our strength.

Leather has room for diversity because Leather is built on authenticity, not conformity.

Titles matter, but character matters more.

A vest can be earned.
A patch can be sewn on.
A title can be won.
Integrity has to be lived every single day.

So remember where W/we came from. Honor those who paved the way before U/us. Teach those coming after U/us. Protect the vulnerable. Hold one another accountable. Celebrate O/our differences. Never stop learning.

Because Leather is not just O/our past.

It is O/our present.
It is O/our future.
W/we are Leather.

And as long as W/we continue to care for one another, W/we always will be.

Note: i will be publishing a piece tomorrow about the D/s protocol writing style that i have used in this piece.