Who I am In Leather and Boots

I have had a bit of dialogue with a close friend about my blog post about wearing tall boots and leather out in the community when I attend meetings, or just "around" as I go about my business.

This post is a follow-up to my post that I wrote yesterday. In that message, I was extolling my pride in the openness and tolerance of the community in which I was born, raised, live, and serve.

But actually, there's more to it than that. Certainly, living in a community that accepts me for who I am, who I choose to love, and how I choose to express myself is important to me. But I have to go back and think -- heck, I have worn boots since age 10, and leather as soon as I got a motorcycle when I was 20. I just loved to put on my first pair of leather chaps, vest or biker jacket, Frye harness boots, and ride to my destination (usually to classes at the University).

No one said a thing. I rode a motorcycle. I showed up in boots and leather. The two went together. Simple as that.

After graduation, beginning to work and getting involved -- very involved -- in community affairs, I continued to enjoy getting to where I needed to be on a motorcycle. Naturally, then, I continued to wear leather.

As I earned decent money and saved up some, I began to buy custom leather gear. It fit better, looked MUCH better, and performed well for how I use it (that is, for protection as I ride my bike, as well as for comfort and style). Custom leather pants, shirts, and boots were purchased over time.

So as I went out and about in my community, visited family, friends, or even appeared at public hearings and countless community meetings, there I would be, in boots and leather.

This explains, then, why it's not really an "issue" when I show up at community meetings, family events, or at the shopping center in boots and leather. Nobody says a thing. I need not worry about someone making a "Village People" wisecrack because boots and (most often times) leather is what people expect to see me wearing. Heck, I truly feel that some of the leaders in our community and my neighbors, family, and friends would faint if I showed up in a suit. Or if I did (show up in a suit), that is indeed when I might expect to hear a wisecrack of some sort. (What, you've become a lobbyist now?) I can just hear it.

My thinking today is a little different from yesterday in the sense that if people had not previously seen you in leather before and then you appear in something that, to them, is a rather dramatic departure from the expected norm, then it's likely someone will say something.

In my case, leather and boots are what I usually wear. It's just who I am. But if wearing this gear is not common for you, and you wear it and someone says something to you, just expect reactions that may include comments that possibly could be perceived as being unkind. Instead of feeling self-conscious about it, prepare yourself with come-back phrases like: "cool, huh?" or "like my new duds?" or "I thought the boots were smokin' hot!" ... you get the picture. Express delight in your gear, and that will more likely win over negative noodles, or at least silence them.

Life is short: wear your boots and leather!

UPDATE, Thursday morning: here I am at work, in "business casual" street clothes and cowboy boots. I don't always wear leather. It's not acceptable in my office, but there's a leather jacket hanging behind my door, boots on my feet, and chaps & gloves locked in the TourPak of the Harley that I wore on my ride to Metro. So "no", leather is not worn "all" the time, but in my "off-time" when I'm runnin' around my community, attending meetings, visiting family, helping friends and neighbors, then you'll see me in leather jeans, perhaps a leather shirt and/or vest, and more often than not, tall biker boots. It's just who I am.