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Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leathersexuality
A subculture of gay men participate in a radical form of sexuality and community known as leather. Through intimate forms of encounter, using such tools as pain-pleasure, bondage, and role-play, leather can bring a shift of conciousness and a new vision of the self. This innovative book pioneered in sensitively exploring and celebrating leathersexuality. As relevant today as when it was written 20 years ago, Urban Aboriginals is an intimate view of the gay male leather community. Within its pages, author Geoff Mains explores the spritual, sexual, emotional, cultural and physiological aspects that make this "scene" one of the most prominent yet misunderstood subcultures in our society.
Geoff Mains was a sweet, intelligent, articulate, and wonderful man who cared passionately about the leather community. He wanted to make sure that its accomplishments would be remembered and its wild beauty understood. Urban Aboriginals resulted from his love and is an enduring part of his legacy. It is a unique cultural study, and a priceless document of a now vanished time.
Geoff Mains was a sweet, intelligent, articulate, and wonderful man who cared passionately about the leather community. He wanted to make sure that its accomplishments would be remembered and its wild beauty understood. Urban Aboriginals resulted from his love and is an enduring part of his legacy. It is a unique cultural study, and a priceless document of a now vanished time.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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178 people want to read
About the author
Geoff Mains
6 books2 followersGeoff Mains was born May 29, 1947. He had a doctorate in biochemistry and spent much of his professional career in Vancouver, B.C., where he was a member of the faculty of the Forestry Department at the University of British Columbia. In 1984, he was employed by Environmental Science Associates in San Francisco, enabling him to move to the city, “which he considered his true home” (San Francisco Bay Guardian obitituary). Mains will be best remembered in the gay community for his groundbreaking book, “Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leather Sexuality” (1984). He also wrote a powerful novel about San Francisco in crisis, “Gentle Warriors.” Mains died of complications arising from AIDS on June 21, 1989. He was 42 years old.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 26, 2007
If you read one book about crisco'd up metaphysical 70s SF leather daddies this year!
May 22, 2014
This book has been on my to-read list for years as it's one of the classics in S/M history and culture. Geoff Mains clearly loves the gay Leather community, which makes this book extra beautiful.
His idealistic perspectives show up in his description of what is expected of members of the Leather community: "Neither arrogance nor braggadocio is tolerated in the leather community. To many, the pushy man in leather is merely a drag queen in another disguise. Loudness is an unacceptable substitute for patient self-assurance; it and frenetic exhibitionism are signs of unrecognized insecurity. Genuine emotion and warmth are understood and appreciated, emotional lack of restraint is not."
Isn't that an amazing description (aside from the snarky bit about drag queens)? The emphasis on building community is very strong, as is the focus on service and fundraising both within and outside of the community. I feel that we lose sight of this ideal at times and this was a good reminder of how much good the Leather community can do in the world.
After the first section, the book gets a bit more dense. The author has done a lot of research on pain theory and dives into it at unexpected times. A lot of the theory he references has fallen out of favor with the medical community at this point, but it's still a fascinating read - IF you enjoy science writing! For anyone who is not science-minded, this would get pretty ponderous. The rest of the book is quite scattered, with topics such as bondage, fisting, and piss play intermingling with physiology and philosophy. If you can follow it, there's a lot of good and interesting information in here.
There is a great discussion towards the end about the development of the lesbian Leather community, specifically SAMOIS (founded in 1978), and how the gay men were slowly adjusting to coexisting with them. The author also contrasts the dynamics within the lesbian and gay communities with those of the straight S/M community at the time.
If you want a peek into the history of of the gay Leather community, this is definitely a book to add to your collection. Be prepared to skim some of the slower, heavier sections if you don't get off on physiology though!
His idealistic perspectives show up in his description of what is expected of members of the Leather community: "Neither arrogance nor braggadocio is tolerated in the leather community. To many, the pushy man in leather is merely a drag queen in another disguise. Loudness is an unacceptable substitute for patient self-assurance; it and frenetic exhibitionism are signs of unrecognized insecurity. Genuine emotion and warmth are understood and appreciated, emotional lack of restraint is not."
Isn't that an amazing description (aside from the snarky bit about drag queens)? The emphasis on building community is very strong, as is the focus on service and fundraising both within and outside of the community. I feel that we lose sight of this ideal at times and this was a good reminder of how much good the Leather community can do in the world.
After the first section, the book gets a bit more dense. The author has done a lot of research on pain theory and dives into it at unexpected times. A lot of the theory he references has fallen out of favor with the medical community at this point, but it's still a fascinating read - IF you enjoy science writing! For anyone who is not science-minded, this would get pretty ponderous. The rest of the book is quite scattered, with topics such as bondage, fisting, and piss play intermingling with physiology and philosophy. If you can follow it, there's a lot of good and interesting information in here.
There is a great discussion towards the end about the development of the lesbian Leather community, specifically SAMOIS (founded in 1978), and how the gay men were slowly adjusting to coexisting with them. The author also contrasts the dynamics within the lesbian and gay communities with those of the straight S/M community at the time.
If you want a peek into the history of of the gay Leather community, this is definitely a book to add to your collection. Be prepared to skim some of the slower, heavier sections if you don't get off on physiology though!
July 21, 2013
amazing book, every reread over the years brings new insight. Like a serious talk with a very good friend this book continues to be a deep well of inspiration
February 28, 2014
An interesting look at the leather culture by someone who was there "back in the day." Mains looks at leather from anthropological, biological, and sociological views, making for some very interesting discussion. Sometimes things get a little poetic for my taste, but that doesn't make them any less true for the author and the personalities he interviews.
August 4, 2011
A classic. There's parts of this I had forgotten about that were good to re-read.
May 19, 2017
fascinating, even if the science is old and the AIDS information tragically so.
November 4, 2022
“ROMANTIC TO ITS CORE”
It's now been twenty years since the publication of the “20th Anniversary Edition” of Geoff Mains’s Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leathersexuality and almost forty years since the original publication of the book in 1984.
Mark Thompson, Geoff Mains’s literary executor, an experienced leatherman in his own right, wrote the introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition of Urban Aboriginals. The following quotations are from the opening paragraph of his introduction: “Urban Aboriginals was an instant classic the moment it appeared in the spring of 1984 . . . its author was a little-known Canadian writer, Geoff Mains, who wove an audacious mix of theory and lived experience to explain the gay male leather scene. Main introduced the notion of endorphins, recently discovered opium-like chemicals in the central nervous system, as a critical component of S/M sexuality. He furthered his insight by linking the social behavior of this little understood subculture to the tribal rites of indigenous societies around the world.” In his introduction, Thompson also makes this stunning observation: Urban Aboriginals is “Romantic to its core.”
I don’t know what I expected. Did I think that Urban Aboriginals might be a wild ride through the sexual practices of leather culture with hot erotic anecdotes? After all, the subtitle of the book is A Celebration of Leathersexuality. Instead of unabashed erotica, Mains gives us a beautiful and sensitively written account of the leather scene as it existed in the early 1980s, just as AIDS tragically began to ravage the gay community. To the best of my knowledge, during the time that Urban Aboriginals was first published, stories about leather culture mostly appeared in periodicals like Drummer.
Urban Aboriginals is more scientific than erotic. As Mark Thompson describes, Mains uses his background in biochemistry to fascinatingly delve into the human and animal aspects of leather culture. In his authoritative discussion of the leather scene, Mains uses exciting keywords such as role play, gaps, mind shifts, catharsis, and so many others. I wish the book had an index. The sources that he cites in the References section at the back of the book are wonderfully diverse. They range from Shakespeare to Freud, from technical pieces in Science to Elaine Pagel’s The Gnostic Gospels, from Drummer articles by Jack Fritscher and Pat Califia to J. G. Bourke’s Scatalogic Rites of All Nations, from Ruth Benedict to Arnie Kantrowitz.
Urban Aboriginals was a rich, fantastic surprise to me. Á la Mark Thompson, I did find the book romantic to its core. I love these quotations from the book:
“Leather is universal in the sense that it is a typical Dionysian response to Apollonian limits on the experience of personal ecstasy.”
“Men seek to overcome repression and the untrammeled ego. Men hope to create a tribal society based on fraternity, equality, liberty and humility.”
“Leather culture, in tackling the forbidden, avoids the guilt and builds on the catharsis. Its proponents find their activities liberating, educational and rewarding.”
Geoff Mains was lost to AIDS on June 21, 1989 at the age of 42.
It's now been twenty years since the publication of the “20th Anniversary Edition” of Geoff Mains’s Urban Aboriginals: A Celebration of Leathersexuality and almost forty years since the original publication of the book in 1984.
Mark Thompson, Geoff Mains’s literary executor, an experienced leatherman in his own right, wrote the introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition of Urban Aboriginals. The following quotations are from the opening paragraph of his introduction: “Urban Aboriginals was an instant classic the moment it appeared in the spring of 1984 . . . its author was a little-known Canadian writer, Geoff Mains, who wove an audacious mix of theory and lived experience to explain the gay male leather scene. Main introduced the notion of endorphins, recently discovered opium-like chemicals in the central nervous system, as a critical component of S/M sexuality. He furthered his insight by linking the social behavior of this little understood subculture to the tribal rites of indigenous societies around the world.” In his introduction, Thompson also makes this stunning observation: Urban Aboriginals is “Romantic to its core.”
I don’t know what I expected. Did I think that Urban Aboriginals might be a wild ride through the sexual practices of leather culture with hot erotic anecdotes? After all, the subtitle of the book is A Celebration of Leathersexuality. Instead of unabashed erotica, Mains gives us a beautiful and sensitively written account of the leather scene as it existed in the early 1980s, just as AIDS tragically began to ravage the gay community. To the best of my knowledge, during the time that Urban Aboriginals was first published, stories about leather culture mostly appeared in periodicals like Drummer.
Urban Aboriginals is more scientific than erotic. As Mark Thompson describes, Mains uses his background in biochemistry to fascinatingly delve into the human and animal aspects of leather culture. In his authoritative discussion of the leather scene, Mains uses exciting keywords such as role play, gaps, mind shifts, catharsis, and so many others. I wish the book had an index. The sources that he cites in the References section at the back of the book are wonderfully diverse. They range from Shakespeare to Freud, from technical pieces in Science to Elaine Pagel’s The Gnostic Gospels, from Drummer articles by Jack Fritscher and Pat Califia to J. G. Bourke’s Scatalogic Rites of All Nations, from Ruth Benedict to Arnie Kantrowitz.
Urban Aboriginals was a rich, fantastic surprise to me. Á la Mark Thompson, I did find the book romantic to its core. I love these quotations from the book:
“Leather is universal in the sense that it is a typical Dionysian response to Apollonian limits on the experience of personal ecstasy.”
“Men seek to overcome repression and the untrammeled ego. Men hope to create a tribal society based on fraternity, equality, liberty and humility.”
“Leather culture, in tackling the forbidden, avoids the guilt and builds on the catharsis. Its proponents find their activities liberating, educational and rewarding.”
Geoff Mains was lost to AIDS on June 21, 1989 at the age of 42.
August 3, 2021
Published in 1984, Urban Aboriginals rightfully is a classic in gay S&M/BDSM/leather literature, in part because actual lived experiences are explored here. The author's direct and hyper-observant anthropological approach also gives this book so much nuance, balance, and meaning. Whether you're a newbie, experienced in the scene, or don't fall anywhere in either, there's a lot that can be enjoyed, savored, and adopted here, from learning about a legendary subculture to seeing how respect, safety, consent, boundaries, limits, and community is exercised at its finest to bring out the best in everyone. While the scenes between gay Master/slave lovers are detailed, it never gets pornographic, it really does serve as an educational tool as well as an outlet for the author himself to pay tribute to a community and a brotherhood that he clearly loved to his last breath, which brings another thing that makes this work so special, is the passion and honor that emanates off the pages through him. If you're a queer history buff like myself, it also served as a wonderful snapshot into the proud and glorious San Francisco leather scene in the early to mid-80's. I didn't expect too much in diversity, naturally the key players in this book are predominantly white, but it was nice and refreshing that there was some mention here-and-there of the Black, Asian, and Latino men and also lesbians that were part of the scene too. There was even a moment near the end where it showcased gay men and lesbians playing in a leather scene together! The way Mains also tied (no pun intended!) the differences between Gay and Lesbian leathersexuality and Straight leathersexuality was brilliantly written in such simple words, spilling facts that still hold true to why and how those differences exist to this day. Urban Aboriginals is a short and breezy read, but one that is rich and steeped in queer culture and as the title declares, it's a true celebration of leathersexuality in its many complexities, a feat that is a pretty tall order, but the late Geoff Mains more than rose to the occasion. It's also a remarkable document on the AIDS-epidemic; at the time this book was published, the epidemic was just getting started ("as I complete this text, the waves of the AIDS crises rise above us" pg. 182), which the author makes note of by detailing how this virus has shifted his culture, such as when discussing how many baths and "fuck-palaces" had to close their doors and of the new precautions that leathermen take for fisting scenes, scat, and piss play, and where Mains eerily ponders, "Do these changes signal the end of an era among other aspects of Gay life and leather? Will this book become a documentary of past rites that are no longer performed out of fear?" What's most haunting of all is how Geoff Mains himself, two years later from the book's publication, in 1986, would learn about his HIV diagnosis and would ultimately die from AIDS in 1989, so it makes reading that particular passage feel incredibly sad, reminding modern-day readers not only of the fear, but of the innocence of that time when no one knew what a toll the virus would have not only on the gay community, but the world. It makes Urban Aboriginals all the more important, and even more timely as it always should and will be.
March 14, 2024
Iniziare un testo e trovarlo indigesto.
Riprenderlo in mano e dire: wow!
Succede anche ad altri?
Perché il tempo non cambia i libri, ma cambia noi, le nostre percezioni, la nostra disponibilità.
Comunque con Urban Aboriginals è successo l'esatto contrario: iniziato lo scorso marzo con tutte le migliori intenzioni, questo leggendario saggio sul S/M e la scena Leather (da non confondere con il fetish per l'abbigliamento in cuoio) mi aveva rapito con le sue analisi sociologiche e mi aveva arricchito con la spiegazione di come funzionano il corpo e la mente in relazione a determinate dinamiche e poi...
E poi, niente, è successa la vita e ho pensato di prendermi una pausa dal libro, salvo ripartire da dove lo avevo mollato un anno fa, più che altro perché la colonna di libri iniziati e mai finiti stava diventando imbarazzante.
Quante cose possono succedere in 12 mesi scarsi!
Ho ripreso e portato a termine la lettura di Urban Aboriginals con non poca fatica, soprattutto nel momento in cui per "giustificare" determinate pratiche i parallelismi mi sono sembrati eccessivi, quasi a voler elevare qualcosa che non ha alcuna esigenza di essere elevata.
Sembra quasi che dire che una cosa la si faceva (e la si fa) perché è bella, divertente, perché fa godere, non fosse lecito.
Per dire che a una persona piace farsi pisciare addosso si è dovuto scomodare l'ancestrale, il ritorno alla placenta e la rava e la fava. Pugni infilati nel sedere che diventano una sorta di "esperienza del parto"...
Anche meno, grazie.
Tuttavia comprendo che dire una cosa tanto banale quanto potente quale "faccio X e Y perché si diverte chi lo fa e si diverte chi lo riceve" non era adeguato per quei tempi, ben 40 anni fa.
C'era la premura di capire prima ancora di giustificarsi agli occhi del mondo.
Oggi che molte cose le sappiamo, che si fa molta informazione, che tanti concetti li diamo per assodati, chi ha voglia di giustificarsi nei confronti di chicchessia?
Invece ho trovato molto buffo che pure allora gay e lesbiche mal si tollerassero. E che le checche leather di Frisco parlassero male delle checche leather di New York.
Sono le certezze che ti fanno sentire a casa. Una casa un po' crepata, dove viva una famiglia disfunzionale. Eppure, sempre casa è.
Riprenderlo in mano e dire: wow!
Succede anche ad altri?
Perché il tempo non cambia i libri, ma cambia noi, le nostre percezioni, la nostra disponibilità.
Comunque con Urban Aboriginals è successo l'esatto contrario: iniziato lo scorso marzo con tutte le migliori intenzioni, questo leggendario saggio sul S/M e la scena Leather (da non confondere con il fetish per l'abbigliamento in cuoio) mi aveva rapito con le sue analisi sociologiche e mi aveva arricchito con la spiegazione di come funzionano il corpo e la mente in relazione a determinate dinamiche e poi...
E poi, niente, è successa la vita e ho pensato di prendermi una pausa dal libro, salvo ripartire da dove lo avevo mollato un anno fa, più che altro perché la colonna di libri iniziati e mai finiti stava diventando imbarazzante.
Quante cose possono succedere in 12 mesi scarsi!
Ho ripreso e portato a termine la lettura di Urban Aboriginals con non poca fatica, soprattutto nel momento in cui per "giustificare" determinate pratiche i parallelismi mi sono sembrati eccessivi, quasi a voler elevare qualcosa che non ha alcuna esigenza di essere elevata.
Sembra quasi che dire che una cosa la si faceva (e la si fa) perché è bella, divertente, perché fa godere, non fosse lecito.
Per dire che a una persona piace farsi pisciare addosso si è dovuto scomodare l'ancestrale, il ritorno alla placenta e la rava e la fava. Pugni infilati nel sedere che diventano una sorta di "esperienza del parto"...
Anche meno, grazie.
Tuttavia comprendo che dire una cosa tanto banale quanto potente quale "faccio X e Y perché si diverte chi lo fa e si diverte chi lo riceve" non era adeguato per quei tempi, ben 40 anni fa.
C'era la premura di capire prima ancora di giustificarsi agli occhi del mondo.
Oggi che molte cose le sappiamo, che si fa molta informazione, che tanti concetti li diamo per assodati, chi ha voglia di giustificarsi nei confronti di chicchessia?
Invece ho trovato molto buffo che pure allora gay e lesbiche mal si tollerassero. E che le checche leather di Frisco parlassero male delle checche leather di New York.
Sono le certezze che ti fanno sentire a casa. Una casa un po' crepata, dove viva una famiglia disfunzionale. Eppure, sempre casa è.
February 12, 2019
I don't know how I managed to read as much about queer male sexuality without getting to this book, and now that it's over I'm still not sure I completely understand the appeal of water-sports.
Geoff Mains's book reminds me of a great deal of Martin Levine's book Gay Macho, in that both books are largely an anthropological and psychological study of gay male identity. Mains's book tries to understand leather-sex not just as a mode of sexual identity, but also as a larger effort by those who participate to establish a sub-culture that is defined by its tendency to push individual limits. Leathersex becomes a way of stepping outside of traditional societal roles and instead creating a community defined by its desire to experience the world differently.
There are passages in this book that are sure to challenge the reader, but if one remains open-minded and reserves judgment, Mains is able to make a successful defense, and, in fact, writes a beautiful exploration of how identity is constructed. The men, and women (though for the record I would have liked more of them in this book) that one reads about are not deviants, but individual people trying to find something satisfying through their bodies and their established community.
Leather is complex, and Mains shows his reader that, even in the most extreme cases, there is always a concern for recognizing one's humanity and the potential to be found there.
Geoff Mains's book reminds me of a great deal of Martin Levine's book Gay Macho, in that both books are largely an anthropological and psychological study of gay male identity. Mains's book tries to understand leather-sex not just as a mode of sexual identity, but also as a larger effort by those who participate to establish a sub-culture that is defined by its tendency to push individual limits. Leathersex becomes a way of stepping outside of traditional societal roles and instead creating a community defined by its desire to experience the world differently.
There are passages in this book that are sure to challenge the reader, but if one remains open-minded and reserves judgment, Mains is able to make a successful defense, and, in fact, writes a beautiful exploration of how identity is constructed. The men, and women (though for the record I would have liked more of them in this book) that one reads about are not deviants, but individual people trying to find something satisfying through their bodies and their established community.
Leather is complex, and Mains shows his reader that, even in the most extreme cases, there is always a concern for recognizing one's humanity and the potential to be found there.
January 4, 2022
Classic of gay male leather history/culture, worth a read for anyone in community or interested in history and culture of leather community. West Coast focused, but not entirely. Overly wordy in parts, but well written in general. Time-capsule of sorts, as many (though thankfully not all) of the people-places-things are now part of the golden past.
December 27, 2024
I read this book again after I had a dream where it appeared. The central thesis: leather/SM/extreme sex is a bridge from the everyday to the mystical is still as compelling as when I first read it. I particularly enjoyed the combination of 'fiction' scenes with the non-fiction research and articles.
A timeless classic.
A timeless classic.
March 15, 2025
Daté et assez centré sur des pratiques spirituelles qui me laisse dubitatif (mais c'était dans le titre, je ne peux pas prétendre être surpris). A part ça, un discours intéressant sur la communauté BDSM de l'époque, des remarques justes sur l'éthique, la transmission des connaissances et la sécurité dans le milieu.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews