History Main / LeatherMan

* [[{{Gayngster}} Vito]] was seen by some low-ranking soldiers attending a gay bar in one of these outfits on ''Series/TheSopranos'', which sealed his [[BuryYourGays fate]].

* ''Webcomic/AcidRain'' has Daniel, wearing a leather jacket, biker gauntlets, combat boots, tight leather chaps, with black jeans beneath. Like Paul Phoenix, it's also a heterosexual example.

[[BadassGay May]] or may not be HellBentForLeather. Not to be confused with the multitool of the same name. Or [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]].

* One of the last episodes of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' had one of these as a World Tournament challenger who seemed to take a liking to Trunks.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[caption-width-right:274:Glenn Hughes. [[Music/VillagePeople Village Person]]. 1950–2001. Buried in this very outfit.]]

A related but distinct group are [[TheBear bears]], masculine types with body hair, heavy-set builds, and/or "traditionally" [[ManlyGay masculine behaviour]]. There is a lot of overlap between the two groups, but the same way not all leathermen are into BDSM, not all bears are into leather. Both groups formed in part because the gay community itself had developed certain stereotypical expectations - typically, hairless young "[[TheDandy metrosexuals]]". Or [[DragQueen drag queens]].

'''Store Clerk:''' Something that says... leatherdaddy?\\

[[BadassGay May]] or may not be HellBentForLeather. Not to be confused with the multitool of the same name. Or [[Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]].

* Adrian Adonis originally wore a black leather jacket and cap to the ring, long before he became the CampGay "Adorable Adrian".

->'''[[TransparentCloset Tobias]]:''' I need something that says, "Dad likes leather."\\

The LGBT community has a variety of subcultures and groups. One component has historical roots to the BDSM community and to biker culture, resulting in a noticeable number of gay men wearing a LOT of cured animal hide in suggestive cuts.

* Australian actor Vernon Wells is best known for playing this type of character: Wez in ''[[Film/MadMax The Road Warrior]]'' and Cpt. Bennett in ''Film/{{Commando}}'' are probably the best known.

[[caption-width-right:274:Glenn Hughes. [[Music/VillagePeople Village Person]]. 1950–2001. Buried in this very outfit (ironically, this entertainer was actually [[MistakenForGay straight]]).]]

* Glenn Hughes (important note: '''not''' the one from Deep Purple/Black Sabbath, who is a different guy with the same name) provides the page image. He was an actual motorcycle enthusiast even before joining Music/TheVillagePeople.

* And of course Freddie Mercury of Music/{{Queen}}.

The leather tradition is generally traced back to gay servicemen returning from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. They became the biker gangs of TheFifties, and the subculture grew from there. The BDSM part sort of merged in later, though it's not a bonafide requirement that a leatherman be into kink. In fact, some of the older leathermen (the "old guard") have few, if any, BDSM tendencies. Just a strict code of honor, obedience to tradition and hierarchy and a strict set of rules.

* In their early days, the Music/BlueOysterCult tended to the leather look. (Check out the inner sleeve photos on ''On Your Feet - Or On Your Knees''.) They had a substantial following garnered from two New York groups - gays and bikers. A stage look[[note]] and songs - check out the ''very'' ambiguous lyrics to ''Dominance and Submission''[[/note]] that appealed to both was a no-brainer. Bass player Joey Bouchard recalls they got their stage leather from a BDSM boutique specialising in gay bondage.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Art]]

* [[ComicBook/{{X-Factor}} X-Factor's]] and [[ComicBook/XForce formerly X-Force's]] Shatterstar, wears primarily white leather outfits with some [[FemaleGaze suggestive]] seam placement.

-->'''Daniel:''' I look like a Music/VillagePeople. [sic]
-->'''David:''' My favorite! Music with ''meaning''!

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Recorded And Stand Up Comedy]]
* The exploits of comedian Masaki Sumitani's character Razor Ramon HG (a weird combination of the Leatherman and the FlamboyantGay; Sumitani claims Hard Gay's mannerisms are inspired by actual {{Flamboyant Gay}}s he has met).

[[folder:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/AngelsInAmerica'' features a scene in which Louis has sex with a random leatherman in Central Park. The character is aptly named "(leather)man in the park", and is supposed to be played by the actor who plays Louis' ex-lover Prior.
* Michel Tremblay's ''Hosanna'' depicts a relationship between a DragQueen (the title character) and a Leatherman biker named Cuirette.
[[/folder]]

* Flak the weapons dealer in ''VideoGame/Fallout3''.
** The ''player character'' in ''Fallout 3'' and ''[[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]]'', can be this if they like (and are male); a lot of raider armor in particular is suited to it. And then there's the Confirmed Bachelor perk, which gives you some rather suggestive dialog choices with men.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

** Rob Halford plays the leader of the fire barons (essentially wearing his old outfit) in ''BrutalLegend''. Interestingly, he also plays a preening Hair Metal singer, and the fire barons hate him.

[[caption-width-right:274:Glenn Hughes. [[Music/VillagePeople Village Person]]. 1950-2001. Buried in this very outfit (ironically, this entertainer was actually [[MistakenForGay straight]]).]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* [[SociopathicHero Mello]] from ''Manga/DeathNote''. He is a ''much'' more {{Bishounen}} example of this trope than the standard. (To the point of ''[[DudeLooksLikeALady frequently]]'' [[ViewerGenderConfusion being mistaken for a girl by first-time manga readers.]])

[[folder: Art ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

--> '''Daniel:''' I look like a Music/VillagePeople. [sic]
--> '''David:''' My favorite! Music with ''meaning''!

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Recorded And Stand Up Comedy ]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Flak the weapons dealer in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''.
** The ''player character'' in Fallout 3 and New Vegas can be this if they like (and are male); a lot of raider armor in particular is suited to it. And then there's the Confirmed Bachelor perk, which gives you some rather suggestive dialog choices with men.
* Ash from the third edition of ''VideoGame/{{Streets of Rage}}''. Only in the Japanese version though.

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

May or may not be HellBentForLeather. Not to be confused with the multitool of the same name. Or [[Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]].

* In their early days, the Music/BlueOysterCult tended to the leather look. (Check out the inner sleeve photos on ''On Your Feet - Or On Your Knees''.) They had a substantial following garnered from two New York groups - gays and bikers. A stage look that appealed to both was a no-brainer. Bass player Joey Bouchard recalls they got their stage leather from a BDSM boutique specialising in gay bondage.

The leather tradition is generally traced back to gay servicemen returning from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. They became the biker gangs of TheFifties, and it sort of went from there. The BDSM part sort of merged in later. In fact some of the older leathermen (the "old guard") have few, if any, S&M tendencies. Just a strict code of honor, obedience to tradition and hierarchy and a strict set of rules.

A related but distinct group are [[TheBear bears]], masculine types with body hair, heavy-set builds, and/or "traditionally" [[ManlyGay masculine behaviour]]. Both groups formed in part because the gay community itself had developed certain stereotypical expectations - typically, hairless young "[[TheDandy metrosexuals]]". Or [[DragQueen drag queens]].

The leather tradition is generally traced back to gay servicemen returning from WWII. They became the biker gangs of the 50s, and it sort of went from there. The BDSM part sort of merged in later. In fact some of the older leathermen (the "old guard") have few if any S&M tendencies. Just a strict code of honor, obedience to tradition and hierarchy and a strict set of rules.

A related but distinct group are [[TheBear bears]], masculine types with body hair, heavy-set builds, and/or "traditionally" [[ManlyGay masculine behaviour]]. Both groups formed in part because the gay community itself had developed certain stereotypical expectations - typically, hairless young "metrosexuals". Or [[DragQueen drag queens]].

* Matthew from ''Series/NewsRadio'' once dressed up as what he insists was a "motorcycle enthusiast" for Halloween. In fact, the words "Butch Biker" was written in rhinestone on the back of his jacket just so people wouldn't be confused. It didn't work and [[CompletelyMissingThePoint he couldn't understand why]].

* There was a short-lived ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' recurring sketch called "Leatherman" about a man (played by Jimmy Fallon) who owns a leather clothing store.

* Glenn Hughes (important note: '''not''' the one from Deep Purple/Black Sabbath, who is a different guy with the same name) provides the page image. He was an actual motorcycle enthusiast even before joining the Village People.

** Hell, all 5 members are usually dressed to the nines in leather (look at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Essential_Judas_Priest The Essential Judas Priest]] album).

* Music/XJapan, ESPECIALLY 87-92 for almost everyone at one point or another, but the ones that really took the trope and ran with it were [[Music/ToshimitsuDeyama Toshi]] and [[Music/TaijiSawada Taiji]].
* Music/AdamLambert : The openly gay, eighth season runner-up of ''Series/AmericanIdol''. He even sports a leather jacket on the cover of his album '' Tresspassing ''
* And of course Freddy Mercury of Music/{{Queen}}.

* Hsu Hao in ''Franchise/MortalKombat''

* In ''Serial'' (1980), Christopher Lee plays a man who is a scary gay biker at the weekend and a highly respectable 'suit' the rest of the time.
* Australian actor Vernon Wells is best known for playing this type of character: Wez in ''[[Film/MadMax The Road Warrior]]'' and Cpt. Bennett in ''Commando'' are probably the best known.

* ''Webcomic/BlurTheLines'' has quite a few, including a [[http://www.blur-the-lines.com/?p=80 BSDM leather daddy]] and a [[http://www.blur-the-lines.com/?p=254 biker]].

* [[SociopathicHero Mello]] from ''Manga/DeathNote''. He is a ''much'' more {{Bishounen}} example of this trope than the standard. (To the point of [[DudeLooksLikeALady ''frequently'']] [[ViewerGenderConfusion being mistaken for a girl by first-time manga readers.]])

* Glenn Hughes (important note: '''not''' the one from Deep Purple/Black Sabbath, who is a different guy with the same name) provides the page image. He was an actual motorcycle enthusiast even before joining the Village People