By Mila Edensor
When they first donned the Fearleaders uniform, the colours worn by the all-male cheerleading squad for the Women’s Vienna Roller Derby, they never thought that onlookers would see a statement, or that politics would even enter the equation. ‘It was just a small group of fans, partners of players, friends of friends,’ says Andreas, ‘and it was more the entertainment factor at the forefront of what they wanted to do.’

Courtesy of the Fearleaders. Photography by Zoe Opratko.
But as they soon realised after their establishment in 2013, the striking image of tiny blue spandex shorts, pulled tighter still by suspenders clipped to the hips, was an image that clashed with the public’s expectations of masculinity – “People were wondering “Why are these guys wearing these short pants…”, “Why are they putting themselves into these ridiculous outfits?’”
The group’s political consciousness was sparked by an influx of media attention in 2014. They were initially shocked, asking ‘Why would somebody want to interview us? It’s really just ridiculous.’ But after hearing the same questions time and time again, they realised that they needed to ‘develop this question of why we, as men in tight shorts, are seen in certain kinds of ways.’ Eventually something clicked! ‘It became clear to us if we pushed the buttons a bit and if we focussed on this as our topic, then we could develop this as a more of a political project,’ Andreas tells us, ‘something in between activism and sports.’
Across Europe, masculinity has become a contested battleground, and nowhere is this more evident than in Austria, where the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) appears poised to seize power. After securing 29% of the vote in the 2024 general election – the highest of any party – the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the People’s Party (ÖVP) attempted to form a centrist coalition to block the far-right’s ascent. However, with those talks collapsing, the FPÖ now looks likely to lead a coalition as the dominant partner alongside the centre-right ÖVP.
Given that the leader of the FPÖ, Herbert Kickl, derides discussion of gender identity as “Genderdiktate”, and ‘praises’ women for ‘managing households, organising daily meals, taking care of children, and keeping their husbands’ backs free.’ – it appears that this image of gender – fascist, backwards and binary – is set to occupy the highest halls of power. In the face of a man with such beliefs, a man who opposed same-sex marriage under the basis that it would ‘treat unequals equally’ – the Fearleaders represent a starkly opposing image – a resistant form of Austrian masculinity.

Courtesy of the Fearleaders. Photography by Zoe Opratko.
As Starbuck tells us, another member of the Fearleaders, the group was ‘a space for men to be able to be soft.’ It’s a place where rigid boundaries are blurred, given that it’s ‘not specifically queer space as well.’ ‘I am queer,’ he says, ‘but a lot of the Fearleaders aren’t. So for me wearing tiny shorts is normal, it’s fine – but especially for a lot of straight men, they’re not usually able to do that without a reaction.’
In this sense it’s a group that stands against a rising wave of bigotry and machismo. Rather than hide behind an invincible strongman facade, they remain open to introspection. As the group developed they encouraged a ‘self-reflection process… thinking about our impact on each other and the way that we talk to each other and listen.’ Starbuck in particular was a key force in this direction: ‘I’m the only person in the Fearleaders who’s trans. And so, because I started transitioning when I was 25, I had a lot of time living as a woman and knowing how it feels to deal with men. I think I had the advantage of being able to remember that, having experienced things that others in the group just have never had to experience. So I could articulate it differently. I think that was one of the things that sparked change.’
As the group evolved – from entertainment to politics, from atomistic to interconnected – their sense of humour remained a steadfast thread. Each year, they produce a calendar, the Fearelli, with every edition themed around subverting masculine expectations. Highlighting one of his favourite images, Starbuck recalls ‘one that was making fun of that image of Putin topless on horseback. And so instead it was a Fearleader who’s like quite a big guy. He doesn’t have a six pack, let’s say – and he’s sitting on a carousel horse, just being grand; majestic… but on a carousel.’ According to Andreas, playfulness as protest registers as the group’s prevailing philosophy – ‘I believe that humour can have a very strong effect, a positive effect. And it’s not hurting someone.’
In line with the group’s desire to resist dominant narratives, they recognised their lack of demographic diversity. As Starbuck puts it, ‘we can only portray images of the people that we are and so it’s difficult to express anything about groups that we’re not part of. We want to talk about a lot of things we care about; but how do you talk about that if the pictures are all of white guys who are not in that group?’ Facing this head on, they realised there were ways to put this privilege to good use – ‘people tend to believe the things that we say just because we’re white men, people give us assumed knowledge and authority.’ The group believe that this can make their message more palatable to wider audiences; as Andreas sees it, ‘Average people can watch our pictures and watch our shows and can find something interesting and funny. I think this is the strongest thing about what the Fearleaders do. They can approach a very average audience as extremely average men. We can motivate others to try things out, to not give a shit about what to wear, or about looking ridiculous in public… people might ask themselves, if the Fearleaders can do what they’re doing, well, why can’t I?‘
In possessing similar bodies to those in power, to those who are pushing a conservative masculinity, their subversions have more impact, and they can directly imitate and mock. One such example of this is when they took aim at Austrian fraternity culture, which is ‘very strong and very right wing,’ as Andreas explains – ‘most right-wing parties fill their ranks with people from fraternities.’ Satirising this form of masculinity, this culture which fosters the poisonous politics we see today, the group decided to take ‘this picture in front of a university… standing all together with beer’ while donning the attire of a typical Austrian frat (of course, atop the quintessential spandex). Rather than portray an image of cruel ritual hazing, beer is instead held high above two men – arms around each other and making out. Unsurprisingly, Andreas says the group faced backlash, ‘There was one particular comment on this picture, somebody calling us soy boys – and at that moment I’d never heard the term before; didn’t know what it meant.’ When they finally uncovered the definition ‘that was the moment where we thought… Well, soy boys is actually a very accurate term for us. We don’t want to be like those milk-drinking idiots!’

Courtesy of the Fearleaders. Photography by Severin Wurnig.
Unfortunately, due to increasing production costs, and an increasingly tense political environment, ‘2025 will be the first year since more than a decade that we didn’t manage to produce a Fearelli,’ says Andreas ‘and it’s a strange coincidence that now in the midst of this conservative backlash, we’ve stopped producing this calendar. It’s a pity.’
However, all is most certainly not lost – as Starbuck puts it, ‘going into 2025, the Fearleaders are trying to open up the conversation… there are varying opinions on how we should approach it and we haven’t fixed exactly what we want to do… talking to other Fearleaders about it, it seems like people want to platform the groups directly affected.’ At the group’s core, they ‘exist to support female athletes’ – and in this goal they remain undeterred. Hopeful, Starbuck says ‘Whenever I speak to young people, there seems to be an overwhelming majority who don’t like the way that things are going and who really care about these topics. The thing about younger people is that pretty soon they’re in those positions where they can make those decisions. There are generations of people who’ve had to fight for their rights – there’s always a pushback – but then that inspires an even more forceful push in the right direction. There is always a way to get through to people and make change… I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to do it – unless climate change kills us all!’
You can find out more about the Fearleaders through their website, www.fearleadersvienna.com, or on their Instagram.
– – –
GAY45 is committed to publishing a diversity of journalism, prose, and poetry. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. And here’s our email if you want to send a letter: [email protected].
– – –
TODAY IS NOT AN EASY DAY
Queer press and books are forced into silence. Donald Trump is the president-elect of the USA. Europe is dominated by far-right political movements.
But we have something powerful on our side. We’ve got you. You make us strong.
GAY45 is funded by readers. Our editors decide what we publish—no one else.
Donate as much as you can. Every 5€ is a way to help the community, the independent press and fight against silence.
GAY45 is Europe’s leading queer magazine of culture, politics and ideas. Because of you.
Donate to support our Queer Journalism Campus and GAY45 now.
We appreciate it. Thanks for reading.