Leather represents the ideaology of rebellion, through the images and actions of hyper-masculinity often associated with outlaw bikers. It represents the courage of following the beat of a different drummer than what the rest of society would consider 'normal'. Leather means many things to many different people. It is an expression of sexual identity. It is the willing acceptance and exploration of what is often considered perverse sexual practices. For me the attraction to leather has to do with the excitement of never knowing exactly what to expect. It is about fantasy and inuendo, and the darker side of desire. It seems that leather thrives on this heart quickening excitement of the unkown, always teetering on the edge. For some folks just the experience of wearing leather or socializing with this edge element is sufficient to fulfill their need for excitement...for others leather presents a gateway in the world of S&M activity, where the elements of pain and pleasure dance on the edge of sexual gratifaction. Leather represents a unity with one of the largest, most tolerant and accepting subcultures in the Gay community. The leather community has often been referred to as a 'tribe', a close knit group who share common social lives and acceptance of sexual rituals.

Leather sex celebrates the fact that we are 'different' from the cultural 'norm' and opens us up to a whole new world of discovery in the process. For me, Leathersex opens up a whole new world of S&M activity. I like the whole idea of dancing on the edge of sensation. When we open ourselves up to explore our own minds instead of judging an activity based on social/cultural reactions, is when S&M is truely most gratifying. It is well known that sex is a mostly cerebral act I feel that when ever you push the mind between really wanting something to happen and not happen... dancing the edge of desire, you are experiencing an S&M mindset. Although S&M experience is widely recognized as a physical exchange of power between two people, often resulting in elevating pain to a pleasurable expereince, it is in the mind where this edge dance actually takes place. My own interest in S&M stems from my childhood fear/facination with balloons bursting.... as inane as it sounds, I found this fear/facination strongly linked to sexual stimulation...only years later when I discovered the same mental sensation in a physical S&M situation did I make the connection. (Go to the balloon section to learn more about my lifelong fetish with balloons..)

In personal 'leather' play I believe more in the idea of power exchange than pain. Although I am a very sensation based person, it is what happens in my head that makes the scene a truly successful or not. I believe that everyone posses a sexual energy of some degree, it is how we develop and use that energy that creates a 'power' between two people. I also believe that a sexual power play can be setup between one person and a fetish object. In this case your own sexual energy is reflected back to you through a fetish object, often times with an enhanced or increased energy than if you are trying to concentrate on the energy within without the presence of the fetish object. For me that object is a balloon. I consider fetish objects 'channeling' devices for sexual energy. I believe the true sexual attraction to a fetish object is often not in the object itself, but in the context it is used. For example, balloons are not normally considered a sexual object. And even for me as a fetishist, they are not always sexual.... They are only sexual when used in the sexual context of channeling the energy that is already there.

According to Michel Foucault (a French philosopher) Power is a "multiplicity of force relations", or the "interplay of nonegalitarian and mobile relations". Power occurs whenever there are two different forces present. Whenever two people interact, there is a power exchange...usually it is minor and benign. However when it is developed, it can be a powerful tool for the exchange of sexual energy. When two "opposing' sources feed each other sexual energy, each one building on the other.... Power is developed. This is true of most any sexual encounter, but when fetish objects are used to channel and direct the energy, the power can be controlled and used to great effect.

I have often heard people talk about the 'spark' between two people. I believe this is the detectable effect of sexual energy. Sexual energy is a subjective thing between people. How often have you met someone you thought was hot, but there simply was nothing there. Unfortunately, as many folks with sexual fetishes have discovered...just meeting someone else with the same fetish does not mean that there will be a sexual exchange. The fetish is simply a means of channeling sexual energy and creating a power play dynamic between the two people. Unless the energy is there to begin with, there is nothing to build power with. Fortunately, sexual energy comes from within...and we can conjure it up and manipulate it ourselves very well. (The essence of masturbation and fantasy) It occurs in the mind, and has a powerful influence on our bodies. When power is used to manipulate that energy, we can drive the energy into directions we never thought possible...and the resulting effects can be more intense and exhilarating than ever before.