Gear Up. Play Proud. Stand Out.: the fetish and kinky community launches its first political manifesto

The Italian fetish and kinky community presents Gear Up. Play Proud. Stand Out., a political manifesto launched by Leather Club Roma on the occasion of Pride Month 2025. In a historical period marked by new waves of discrimination and censorship, this document firmly declares that the presence of fetish and kinky people in Pride marches is “a profoundly political act”, asserting these identities as an integral, vibrant and visible part of the LGBTQIAPK+ community.

The slogan “Gear Up. Play Proud. Stand Out.” encapsulates the key message of the manifesto, making it accessible even to those unfamiliar with fetish culture. “Gear Up” invites people to openly embrace their fetish identity by proudly wearing the symbols and clothing typical of this culture — the gear, such as leather, harnesses and other accessories — and to reclaim a long history of freedom and inclusion. “Play Proud” urges individuals to live their desires and non-conventional relationships with awareness, respect and pride, without guilt or secrecy. Finally, “Stand Out” encourages people to oppose invisibility and conformity, reaffirming the deeply political value of expressing one’s body and sexuality in non-normative, consensual ways. In short: every harness or fetish outfit becomes a flag, and every step in the parade an affirmation of pride and freedom.

Beyond the slogan, the manifesto highlights the social, cultural and political value of the fetish and kinky community, especially within the LGBTQIAPK+ world. This is not just about transgressive practices or eccentric aesthetics, but about a true shared culture. Since the early days of the post-war sexual liberation movement — think of the first leather bars — the fetish/kink scene has created solidarity spaces grounded in deep values. At its core are safety, inclusion, consent and respect: the community builds environments where people can express themselves without fear, where inclusion is not an abstract principle but a daily practice that ensures everyone can be themselves. Informed, explicit and ongoing consent is the foundation of all interactions in kink culture, as is mutual respect that transcends dominance or submission roles. This shapes a living, sex-positive culture that is attentive to sexual health and bodily freedom: pleasure is seen as a right and the conscious exploration of one’s sexuality as a value to be protected, free from stigma and moralism. Thus, the manifesto forcefully rejects phenomena like kink-shaming and body-shaming, affirming that every body has dignity and deserves to be welcomed without judgment. In this way, the fetish and kinky community cares for its members, offering support, education and listening networks, so that no one ever has to feel alone or “wrong” for their desires.

One of the central demands of the manifesto is precisely to secure safe spaces, visibility, inclusion and rights for fetish and kinky people. The document denounces how these identities are still systematically marginalized, deemed “awkward” or “embarrassing”, often even within the LGBTQIAPK+ community itself. Being kinky or fetish often means facing exclusion from public spaces and contexts that promote a conventional image of relationships and family, and being absent from mainstream media narratives. It means being denied the chance to tell one’s story freely, simply because one lives desires that do not bend to the norm. “But our community does not ask for permission: it self-determines!”, proudly proclaim the authors of the manifesto. In a socio-political climate where authoritarian tendencies, moralistic censorship and the erosion of hard-won civil rights are resurging, the visibility of fetish and kinky groups thus becomes an act of resistance. The mere presence of people in leather gear, puppy hoods, rubber or other fetish symbols during Pride marches is a direct challenge to conformity and a claim to autonomy over one’s body and desires.

The Gear Up. Play Proud. Stand Out. manifesto does not stop at principles, but also puts forward a series of concrete political and cultural demands, addressed to both the LGBTQIAPK+ community and broader society. Among its explicit calls are:

• Full political and cultural recognition of kinky and fetish identities within the programs and events of LGBTQIAPK+ organizations: these people must no longer be relegated to footnotes, but valued as a founding part of the struggles that gave birth to Pride.

• Truly inclusive sexual education: calling for relationship and sex education that does not censor kink, but treats it seriously, incorporating topics such as consent, safety, mental and physical health, communication and respect.

• Depathologization: demanding the complete removal of medical stigma from fetish and kinky practices, which are still too often seen as deviant despite the scientific community having long since excluded consensual paraphilias from the list of mental disorders (the DSM V of the American Psychiatric Association did so back in 2013). Kinky people are not “patients to be cured”, but individuals to be listened to and respected in all their complexity.

• Respectful media representation: the manifesto insists on portrayals in the media and pop culture that are free of sensationalism and pathologization. Kinky/fetish practices should not be depicted as dangerous perversions, but recognized for what they are — free and conscious expressions of intimacy.

• Safe and accessible spaces: calling for concrete support to create and maintain physical and digital spaces where fetish and kinky people can meet, learn, express themselves and feel safe. A queer space is truly inclusive only if it is for everyone.

• Recognition of the “K”: finally, and importantly, advocating for the official inclusion of the letter K (Kinky) in the LGBTQIAPK+ acronym. A symbolic move to clearly affirm that non-normative expressions of desire and sexuality are an integral part of the queer mosaic, now and in the future.

Ultimately, “Gear Up. Play Proud. Stand Out.” is much more than a slogan: it is a call to rediscover the original spirit of Pride in its most authentic, inclusive and courageous form. The fetish and kinky community — with its distinctive visibility and core values — offers the rainbow movement a deep impulse for renewal. By rejecting homogenization and challenging respectability politics, these groups bring back into focus the principle that sexual liberation and bodily freedom are essential components of LGBTQ+ liberation. “In our gear there is history. In our play there is politics. In our visibility there is resistance,” declare the kinky voices in the manifesto, underscoring that theirs is not mere exhibitionism but political commitment. Embracing this reality means enriching the entire LGBTQIAPK+ community with new energy, memory and critical awareness, reminding us that without the freedom to be oneself — in all nuances, even the less conventional ones — there can be no true equality.

The promoters of Gear Up. Play Proud. Stand Out. close with an invitation to learn, dialogue and recognize. Overcoming stereotypes and prejudices is fundamental: the fetish and kinky community calls to be heard, understood and legitimized as an integral and living part of the struggle for the rights and dignity of LGBTQIAPK+ people. Opening up to this reality — by seeking information, engaging in conversations without taboos — means expanding the horizons of the movement and of society itself, with the conviction that the diversity of bodily and sexual expressions is a richness to be valued, not a threat to be censored.