Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics, and Practice

By David Stein and Mark Thompson

Book Overview

Since its publication, this Lambda Literary Award-nominated book has become a classic must-read on the shelf of books addressing human sexuality and identity. Widely cited as among the most useful books of its kind, Leatherfolk is both historical witness and provocative treatise regarding a distinct subculture that has withstood decades of political harassment and other challenges to its survival.

Spanning the decades from the 1940s onward, this collection of vibrant writing documents the many eras and shifts of attitude that have affected the gay and lesbian leather underground, and its influence on the society beyond.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1881943208
• ISBN13: 9781881943204
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Daedalus Publishing Company
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Excellent "Leather Anthology"

This book sat on my bookshelf for quite a while before I finally sat down and read it cover to cover. I was amazed and impressed by what I read. This anthology features essays by some of the most well-known authors in the leather community including Dorothy Allison, Geoff Mains, Mark Thompson, Guy Baldwin, Pat (now Patrick) Califia, Gayle Rubin, and Joseph Bean. The essays offer a "glimpse" into what "is" the leather community. Topics covered include leather history (from the 1940's through the 1990's, including an excellent essay on the Catacombs, a now legendary San Francisco male fisting and SM playspace), scene politics, spirituality, and numerous other topics about consensual power play.As other reviewers have pointed out this book is not a "how to guide," but it is of equal value to "SM teaching manuals" in that it gives the reader a "feel" of what this community is about. Those looking to get a better idea of what it is to be in the leather community should read this book, not just for the historical and/or sociological essays here, but just to get the sense (that this anthology conveys) of what the leather scene is about.

Student Opinion, Must Read Book for All!!

The stories in this book communicate the history and a chronology of the SM and Leather community through various individual's experiences, thoughts and impressions. After reading Thompson's compilation I felt I had a deeper understanding and curiosity for the intricacies of the leather/SM community. The voices are from all over the spectrum and give insights into various multi-layered identities. The editor's determination to portray the chronology and the ancient origins of SM give important foundations for the contemporary commentaries by members of the community. I am a student in a Gay and Lesbian Ethnography class and this was my favorite book over the entire semester and I learned so much through the varied perspectives and historical foundations. It inspired discussions and reflections on sex and how it tends to function socially and personally outside of the SM community and how there is a lot to be learned from that community regarding communication and respect. I must also mention that the piece by Dorothy Allison was one of the most passionate, poetic and evocative excerpts I have read from a lesbian perspective!

Another AK Press Best Seller

The classic work on the leather underground provides a history from the 1940's to the present, resource lists, and 20 black & white photos.

A Leather Must Read

Leatherfolk's author list includes some of the best known names in the leather community: Dorothy Allison, Geoff Mains, Sam Steward, Jack Fritscher, Mark Thompson, Guy Baldwin, Wickie Stamps, John Preston, Pat Califia, Joseph Bean, and others. The writing is honest and insightful. (This is not another how-to manual.) I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking SM roots; this book offers history, politics, spirituality, and anthropological self-study.

A must read for all those in, or interested in, Leather.

This is one of the 4 or 5 books that I always recommend to people who ask me for a reference on the Leather Lifestyle, its meaning and history. This is also a book that I personally use whenever I need to refresh my own memory of events and protocol. If you have any questions about what the Leather Community is about, you need to have this book on your bedside table.