Leather as a lifestyle (a research assignment)

This is an assignment I was told to write by Mistress Carrie it is something that seems easy enough to do until you actually do it. It is because the leather community is so shrouded that I am eager to learn about it. But i find efforts to do so very disheartening and it seems there isnt really any right answers but there are plenty of wrong ones. That is what makes writing on this subject so hard so I did what I could what what I had.

Leather history is a relatively untapped field of study, at both the academic and non-affiliated scholarly levels. The Leather Archives and Museum have the most focused collection, but they are still working to catalog their holdings. They are doing a great job of it, but it takes time. Relatively few scholars - academic or otherwise - have tapped their collection for serious study. There are a few collector/researchers who are actively working to gather, preserve, and study ephemera related to the history of the lifestyle, but only a tiny number of them have done much to share their findings with others. Since Leatherfolk had to be secretive about their practices in the past, they rarely published anything about the lifestyle, and their personal papers were often destroyed upon their deaths (by friends). AIDS killed off so many of the old Leathermen that it is difficult to gather oral histories that go back further than the 70s. Given this, ephemeral material (newsletters, personal letters, flyers, posters, etc.) is vitally important in the study of the history of Leather, but is also difficult to gather.

As far as the values that the leather community holds close it seems to be different for everyone. Though there are some things that I have read that I feel to be a good summary. Leather can be about building community and family, about tradition - tradition meaning building on what was laid out before, not necessarily blindly following.

It can be about service by both Tops and bottoms, service to others, service to Family, service to the Leather community, service to society as a whole. Almost every leather group I've seen has a charity (or charities) they support through fundraisers and other efforts. 

It can be about character. Call it what you will, Honor or what not, it boils down to being respectful of yourself and others, maintaining integrity and honesty in dealing with yourself and others, accepting personal responsibility for your own words and deeds, establishing and maintaining an attitude of humility (humbleness, not embarrassment) even when achieving great things. It means acknowledging the contributions others make in your life, be they Top or bottom. 

But it can be so much more for some people it is things like high protocol and old guard. For some people its just some shiny cow hide that smells good. I think for me personally it means that you are take the lifestyle in a very serious fashion. Your slave are held to higher standards as is the owners. It seems to be a group that you have to earn respect in rather than just become accepted in. For example it is bad form in the leather community to wear leather that was not gifted to you or that you did not earn for the Men in this lifestyle it is not just fashion it is something they that ver seriously and expect you to aswell and i completely respect that. Some dont wear leather at all and just ascribe to the values of the community. One of my favorite things about the Leather community is that they take it seriously its not a game to them. Their values and lifestyle they hold very near and dear to their hearts and with the newer breed of people trending into BDSM it is very nice to see people that stay true to who they are.  They may seem un-welcoming at first but i think once the respect is earned that they are truly a supportive part of the BDSM community.

I took some time and I looked around for leather recourses around Ky and outside of ones that we already know I cant really find anything. I suppose out best resources for anything Leather related are those that are closest to home such as Master Kristina who is always there for us and I am sure will be more than happy to offer sound well thought out advise as she has much experience in this lifestyle and is a good understanding friend. 

Ms Constance who really know everything there is to know about the Leather community and is a very well respected member of it and seems to be very supportive in the efforts of new comers into it. She has a lot of advise to offer and is someone I respect in this lifestyle for all that she has done. 

I am probably the last person that should be writing a paper on something i truly do not well understand. But it is something I am attracted to Its because of the earned respect that makes me want to strive to earn it. I always believed respect is something that should not just be given. I want to win a leather title because it is an opportunity to be able to teach about the dynamics in a Master slave relationship both to educate the newer people that are scared to be a slave or have pre conceived notions about what a Master and slave are. Aswell as for those who are in a Master slave relationship to see some things we do in our everyday lives that help contribute to who we are as a couple. To offer another perspective to problem solving and many other aspect important to a power exchange. 

Like I said i really am no authority on the subject given to me my best advise is to consult the Leather lifestyle group on feet read the threads and get info. Mistress is much better at retaining information from reading than I am that is why i encourage her to read and do research on things because I just have so much trouble comprehending written word sometimes.