WHO ARE WE?
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 fetish 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 on 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.

 


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 event dates 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. On the First Saturday of each month (except for the months of July and August) from 10pm until 2am we schedule a social event, generally a "Bar Night." These events are held at our new host bar the Triangles Cafe, at 66 Sugar Hollow Road (RT 7), Danbury, CT — (203) 798-6996 — www.trianglescafe.com



Our Bar Nights give the Leathermen and Bears in our area and surrounding localities, the opportunity to meet and socialize together. We encourage those individuals with similar views and interests to join us on our Bar Nights.

We hold Quarterly meetings at a schedule date prior to our bar night or schedule event. The meetings are held at a members home, outside of the bar arena. Please contact any Twilight Guard member for further details, or write to us at the address below or e-mail us : guardmail@thetwilightguard.org

Twilight Guard
PO Box 428
New Canaan, CT 06840


HOW DO WE OPERATE?
Twilight Guard is governed by a Constitution and a set of By-laws. Quarterly 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.

Each quarter we publish a newsletter, The Guard Post, which is posted on this site and mailed to each member, as well as other clubs and individuals.


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 reduce dues, but due not have voting rights.

An application with full descriptions and responsibilities for membership is available in PDF format on the same download page as the Clubs newsletter.


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 fictious 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 BREIF HISTORY of THE ...

In April of 2006, The Twilight Guard presented to the Atlantic Motorcycle Coordinating Council (AMCC) a ten page document chronocling 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 where able to rumage throuw 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 download the PDF of Breif History of the Twilight Guard, Click on link below:

A Brief History of the Twilight Guard

(If your browser has plug-in for Acrobat®, file will open in window.)

 

[[Home ]] [ Flag Gallery ]] [[ Photo Gallery ]] [ Calendar ]][[ Links ]][[Newsletters ]][[ Contact ]]