QUESTIONS ABOUT the TWILIGHT GUARD

The following are Frequently Asked Questions about the Twilight Guard, and our answers to those questions: Who are we? What are the Club colors? What is the AMCC? Where do we meet? How do we operate? What about membership? Why Twilight Guard? Also available on this page is a Brief History of the Twilight Guard, a memoir on the early history of the Twilight Guard created for the historical archive of the AMCC. We hope this information answers your questions and gives you a deeper knowledge of...

WHO WE ARE

Twilight Guard is a fellowship of leathermen and bears in the gay communities of Connecticut and New York. Founded in July of 1995 to provide a forum for the leather, bear and gear lifestyles in suburban areas outside of the larger cities.

Among our major goals are the development and promotion of a positive leather image and lifestyle, the encouragement of safe, sane, and consensual practices, the fostering of friendship and brotherhood.

This involves the promotion of open exchange of communication and interactions with other similar organizations and individuals, charitable concerns and the dissemination of issues of importance to the Club and the community.

Our theme of brotherhood and unified spirit is expressed by the wearing of our Club Colors and in the symbols of attire: Leather, Rubber, Denim or Uniforms.

WHAT ARE THE CLUB COLORS?

The official colors of Twilight Guard are a purple and goldenrod talisman on a shield of black with goldenrod piping (shown left). A large emblem, worn on the back of a black leather vest, indicates that the person is a full member of Twilight Guard. A smaller emblem worn on the left front portion of the vest indicates an associate member.

WHAT IS THE AMCC?

Twilight Guard is a member of the Atlantic Motorcycle Coordinating Council (AMCC). AMCC was founded in 1969 as a forum for discussion among members clubs sharing a commonality of interest and geography. Their purpose is to encourage participation at sanctioned events coordinate events to prevent date conflicts between clubs, provide a discussion forum for items of club interest, and promote enjoyment of motorcycling, the leather/levi lifestyle and other activities among its members.

WHERE DO WE MEET?

Twilight Guard is currently based in southwestern Connecticut. We do our best to support the tradition of hospitality and reciprocated trust to other men in our tribe. Leathermen and Bears traveling the crossroads of the Northeast are always welcome. They are assured of the warm hand of friendship and hospitality when passing through our area.

Currently the Guard are not hosting "bar nights" due to the lack of available venues. Nonetheless, the Guard are always looking for new opportunities to get together, and we frequently travel to over neighboring clubs events. We encourage those individuals with similar views and interests to join us.

We hold club business/general meetings, occurring every other month. The meetings are held at a member's home, outside of the bar arena, which provides us an atmosphere conducive to discussing club business and membership interest, as well a social arena for us to gather at. Please contact any Twilight Guard member for further details, or write to us at the address Twilight Guard C/O Campbell 33 Benson Drive, Danbury CT 06810 or e-mail us at guardmail@thetwilightguard.org

HOW DO WE OPERATE?

Twilight Guard is governed by a Constitution and a set of By-laws. Bimonthly meetings are conducted according to procedures set forth by the Constitution and By-laws. Our Officers are elected to term by the full membership of the club. These Officers consist of: President, Vice President, Administrator, who together (but not limited to) comprises the Executive Board. The executive board directs club activities through a committee system.

WHAT ABOUT MEMBERSHIP?

Two types of memberships are open to those interested in becoming associated with Twilight Guard.

Full Member – To become a Full voting Member of Twilight Guard one must submit a written application to the Vice President, who is in charge of membership. If the application is accepted, a pledge period of at least three months follows, which allows the pledge and the membership to get acquainted. A Full Member is expected to attend at least 75% of all meetings and functions of the Club.

Associate Member – The Twilight Guard confers Associate Membership on members of the leather community who, due to geography, full membership in other organizations or similar limitations, are unable to participate as member members in our club. Associate members support our club's efforts, wear our associate's patch, pay reduced dues, but do not have voting rights.

Application with full descriptions and responsibilities for membership
is available in PDF format by clicking on either two application images above.

To view and/or download (right clcik) the application PDF's. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader loaded
on your computer. If you do not have it, use this link to download a free copy. If your browser has plug-in for Acrobat®, the file will open in a new window.

WHY "TWILIGHT GUARD"?

The word Twilight has lost its historical meaning for most contemporary gay men and women, but has a proud history in the gay community. When choosing a name for the club, the founders wished to select one that would be inclusive and embrace bears and fetishist, not simply traditional leathermen. Nor did they wish to limit the club's boundaries to a specific geographic region. In researching a name, Cassell's Queer Companion, A Dictionary of Lesbian and Gay Life and Culture (1995, William Stewart) offered the following insightful entry:

"Twilight: Beginning in the 1920s, this become a standard media adjective for anything to do with the lesbian and gay community. The twilight world of the homosexual was used to describe anyplace where we (lesbians and gay men) congregated, on the margins of what we all know to be the sun-saturated habitat of the hetero. Commonly used in the blurb of the backs of lesbian pulp fiction novels in the mid twentieth century. Even in the 1990s the word was still going strong. When serial killer, Colin Ireland, was found to be responsible for the murders of five gay men in 1992 in London, the tabloid press reveled in the fictions descriptions of the ‘sordid twilight’ bars where he pick up his victims."

The color most associated with Twilight is purple which is a popular color used by the gay community. Purple or lavender is created by combining pink and blue, and is a fitting symbol for a group of people who do not fit traditional gender roles within society or better used by a group not conforming to expectations of suburban life. It also is expressive of the Twilight Guard's attempt to meld the values of both old guard and new guard leather.

As with many other leather organizations, the word Guard represents a traditional leather standard. However, it also targets a broader community than such terms as "M. C. ," or motorcycle club, do in the gay community.

A BRIEF HISTORY of THE ...

In April of 2006, The Twilight Guard presented to the Atlantic Motorcycle Coordinating Council (AMCC) a ten page document chronicling the past decade (1995-2005) of the Twilight Guard existence, to be added to the AMCC archives of collected past and present member clubs histories.

In creating "A Brief History ..." we were able to rummage through our members' collective archives and add some treasures to illustrate the story of the Twilight Guard's past, as well as our present. We hope you will enjoy reading and seeing a clubs past, as much as we did assembling it.

To view and/or download (right clcik) the document PDF to the upper right. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader loaded on your computer. If you do not have it, use this link to download a free copy. If your browser has plug-in for Acrobat®, the file will open in a new window.

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