Urban Aboriginals [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

Geoff Mains (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2002

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. --Gayle Rubin, Ph.D., author and anthropologist

I met Geoff Mains in the early 1980s. We shared a common vision: fusion of tribal subcultures "on a journey marked by fetish and mana, shaman, ritual and trance". Urban Aboriginals was way ahead of its time for clearly defining a significant transformation in Western Culture. I feel Geoff would have enjoyed seeing his blueprint for ecstatic exploration live on and blossom even further in the still Apollonian world of the 21st Century. --Fakir Musafar, Father of the Modern Primitive Movement

In Urban Aboriginals, Geoff Mains pioneered our understanding of the connections between the neurochemistry of pleasure seeking and radical sexuality. But the book is more..... .so much more. Its stories and vignettes take us personally into the experience of different old guard "scenes" with intimacy, intensity, range and depth not found anywhere else. Simply required reading. --Guy Baldwin, M.S., author and psychotherapist

Urban Aboriginals ranks high on the list of books that belong in any library of kinky writing. Geoff’s contribution to our history, our community, and our understanding of ourselves has withstood the test of time. This book, important -- classic, and a must-read -- is one that makes a pre-eminent contribution to each and every one of us. Urban Aboriginals was the first works to teach me the meaning of real SM, a lesson it holds for all who will read it. --Jack Rinella, author

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Urban Aboriginals, Geoff Mains pioneered our understanding of the connection between the neurochemistry of pleasure seeking and radical sexuality. -- Guy Baldwin, M.S., psychotherapist and author

It is a unique cultural study, and a priceless document of a now vanished time. -- Gayle, Ph.D., author and anthropologist

Urban Aboriginals was way ahead of its time for clearly defining a significant transformation in Western Culture. -- Fakir Musafar, Father of the Modern Primitive Movement

From the Publisher

Urban Aboriginals was an instant classic the moment it appeared in the spirng of 1984. Published by the always daring Gay Sunshine Press, 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. Mains 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 behaviors of this little understood subculture to the tribal rites of indigenous societies around the world. parts biochemistry lesson, anthropological study, and candid journalism, the book opened a gateway of revelation that is still being felt to this day....

Mains settled in San Francisco upon completing his book. He spent the last few years of his life among a community he had boundless regard for, providing witness in a novel, Gentle Warriors. Soon after that work was done, Mains died of complications due to AIDS on June 21, 1989. Well over a decade later, Mains' writing continues to be cited by influencial sources, including The New York TImes, which quoted from his diary these poignant words about the plague's impact on the world he loved: "I stand, uncertain....The pst that I beleived in, the times I lived for, are gone."

Urban Aboriginals lived on, however, through a second edition and a whole new generation of appreciative readers. Main's message, enhanced by photographer Robert Pruzan's powerful images, continued to enlighten and affirm an ever-loving tribe of "modern primitives." Now some years out of print, the book is being circulated again.

With original plates and negatives long gone, piecing the book back to its original form has entailed an act of literary archeology. Appropriately enough, ;proceeds from this new edition will help preserve thelife work of Mains and Pruzan (who also died of AIDS), now permanently archived at the San Francisco Bay Area Gay & Lesbian Historical Society. A sincere word of thanks is also due to the book's original publisher, Winston Leyland, who graciously consented to its revival.

Many urban aboriginals everywhere continue to value and learn from these brave and visionary pages. -Mark Thompson

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Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Daedalus Publishing; 20th Anniversary edition edition (October 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881943186
• ISBN-13: 978-1881943181
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic at its 20 year mark!, October 11, 2003

By 

TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Urban Aboriginals (Paperback)

Today kinky people use terms like endorphins and tribe to describe what they do, but you know where those ideas came from? Geoff Mains was one of the first leathermen to take his vanilla career as a professional scientist, a biochemist, and turn his lens onto his sexuality. Today these ideas seem a bit old but this classic is something I highly recommend for anyone wanting to learn about leather history, gay leather culture, or ideas of biology and anthropology in relationship to kink. The culture Mains describes isn't always pretty, it isn't the cleaned up media picture, but it is an honest look into the leathermen of the early 1980s.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique Analysis, May 6, 2010

By 

Maya Horgan "Mayanator" (Claremont, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Urban Aboriginals (Paperback)

Urban Aboriginals is one of the most thought provoking, exciting and well-written ethnographies I have ever read. Geoff Mains is witty in his writing as he passionately introduces the reader to the real, scandalous and kinky lifestyle of The Leathermen. He takes a unique approach at introducing their way of life; he flows smoothly between objectively analyzing the men's behavior and including narrative anecdotes of their intimate lives. The book is very informative but introduces the concepts through the eyes of participating members, which seems to humanize and rationalize the otherwise obscure behavior and rituals. The lifestyle becomes real, tangible and comprehendible as it describes the personal, emotional anecdotes of the Leathermen.
The end of the ethnography examines the men's behavior as though they were part of a primitive tribe. He attempts to dissect the motives and sources of this behavior and his analyses are very plausible. The men become Urban Aboriginals, participating in a 21st century shamanistic act. Their carnal behavior is a means of attaining an altered state of consciousness that brings them closer to their higher power. Incredible.

4.0 out of 5 stars Urban Aboriginals - Interesting and Informative, May 6, 2010

By 

K. Kim (Claremont, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Urban Aboriginals (Paperback)

Urban Aboriginals, by Geoff Mains, is an interesting and informative read covering the various aspects of the gay leather subculture. Though very graphic in some instances, this book portrays the leather scene in a very poetic and positive light, always emphasizing the spiritual and mental aspects over the physical. The author may be biased, but it doesn't change the fact that the book is highly interesting to read.
Throughout his book, Mains switches between describing the personal narratives of two young men and describing the leather culture from an outside perspective. This constant switching between the two points of view may initially be confusing, but in the end I believe it allows the reader to better understand the culture as a whole. The personal story portion really serves to help the reader imagine and visualize what it is like to be a part of the leather scene; from detailed accounts of erotic encounters to crystal clear narrations of social gatherings, Mains describes the scene in great detail. He then proceeds to explain, from a broader perspective, why such things occur and clarifies any questions or doubts that the reader might have. For the more science-oriented, Mains also explains and justifies many leather practices by explaining the process of endorphin release, etc.
While slightly graphic and biased towards the leather scene, Urban Aboriginals by Geoff Mains is an excellent read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely interested in alternative sexual cultures, for Mains very effectively portrays the leather culture through personal and broad perspectives. I walked away from this book with a far deeper understanding of the leather scene.