Castro Clone/Chelsea Clone

The look that emerged along with the modern gay rights movement during the 70s, as greater acceptance of gay men made it fashionable to be seen and identified with the group. Particularly in San Francisco’s Castro and New York City’s Chelsea district, a hypermasculine, rugged, working-class aesthetic came to be considered ideal, with Levis, leatherLeather culture is found in all lifestyles, but among gay men it refers to practices and styles of dress organized around hedonism and eroticism ("kink"). One way this culture consciously distinguishes itself from mainstream sexual cultures is through a specifically homoerotic aesthetic that draws from post-World War II biker culture as well as military and police uniform. Leathermen art, such as Tom of Finland, represents the hypermasculine ideal. Literature like The Leatherman’s Handbook speaks to the culture and the code. The International Mister Leather organization speaks to the community., uniforms, moustaches, and muscles. The look has subtly changed over time and has continued to evolve, though classic imagery (Tom of FinlandA fetish artist notable for his stylized homoerotic art and his influence on the aesthetics of modern gay culture. Over the course of four decades he produced some 3,500 illustrations, mostly featuring men with exaggerated sexual traits such as heavily muscled asses or improbably large penises. He is best known for works featuring hypermasculine archetypes such as lumberjacks, motorcycle police, sailors, bikers, and leathermen., The Village People) endures.

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