There are usually four basic levels of club affiliation for men in OMCs. These include:

1. Friend of the Club: This level of club affiliation consists of people who have made some sort of formal or informal contact with the club, perhaps most commonly through a friendship or acquaintance with a full patch member, but who have not announced an intention of prospecting for future membership. Friends of the club may decide to join the club on rides or attend other club functions and may do this on a very frequent or infrequent basis. The key distinction is that they have not expressed any intent to join the club. A friend of the club may be a bike rider, though this is not necessary. Friends of the club wear no official club “colors” or patches and pay no dues. A friend of the club may eventually develop an interest in formalizing his relationship to the club by prospecting for the club at some point in the future.

2. Hangaround: This level of club affiliation consists of people who have stated an intention of prospecting for the club but have not either formally announced their desire to prospect yet or have simply not been presented to the club for a vote on their prospect status yet. The “hangaround period” may vary vastly from person to person. It is also possible for one to go from being a hangaround to being a friend of the club or from being a hangaround to becoming a prospect. The former would usually occur when the person, after hanging around the club for a while, decided to no longer have the intent of joining but still wanted to join in on club rides or events. Anyone who intends to prospect for the club must go through some hangaround period first. The hangaround period is a relatively informal time for someone who is interested in the club to spend some time with club members, go on some club rides, etc. It is also a time for the person to get a feel for how much they fit with the club culture, so to speak. It’s also a time for the club to engage in the same evaluation process with regard to the hangaround. A hangaround will usually be a rider with his own bike. This however, will not always be the case and is not absolutely necessary. The hangaround wears no official club colors or patches and pays no dues.

3. Prospect: A prospect is someone who has stated a clear intention of being a full patch member of the club and has also been voted in by at least 75% of the full membership and has a full member sponsor in the club. Typical bylaws state the prospect period will be 3 months to 1 year in duration. A prospect must be voted in by a majority of the full members in good standing to become a full patch member. Not all prospects will eventually become full patch members. Some will realize during their prospecting period that the club is not for them. For others, the club will realize that the prospect is not a good fit for the club. The prospect level of club affiliation is the first level that includes a clearly stated obligation to attend a certain number of rides, meetings and events of the club. While a prospect has no voting privileges, he is considered a “member” of the club in more defined ways than a friend of the club or a hangaround. A prospect is expected to follow the bylaws. A prospect must have his own bike. A club prospect wears prospect colors on both the front and rear of the vest. A prospect pays no dues but does pay for prospect colors and is expected to contribute to the well-being and overall good of the club in any way the club officers, his club sponsor or any full patch member feels is appropriate.

4. Full Patch Member: A full patch member of a MC is someone who has been voted into the club by a majority of the full members in good standing. A full patch member has demonstrated being in alignment with the principles, philosophy and bylaws of the club. The full patch member has voting privileges and follows the club bylaws. A full patch member (and only a full patch member) is allowed to wear the full club “colors” or backpatch and other official gear and nametags bearing the official club colors.

Women in 1%er outlaw biker culture can usually be grouped into one of six categories. Very, very few OMCs allow women to become full patch members.

1. Lay: This is someone that is convenient to satisfy an immediate sexual urge without complicating things with emotional attachments, obligations, or money. The actual vernacular used for this woman is spelled with four letters instead of the three letters seen here.

2. Sweetie: This woman is somebody a biker dates. There might even be cohabitation, but no particular commitments exist.

3. House Mouse: Young girls (usually runaways) will sometimes end up at biker functions, looking for “a walk on the wild side.” These young girls, depending on their temperament, can be taken home as gifts to bikers’ ol’ ladies. A house mouse will help with housework and babysitting in return for free room, board, and protection. Most of the time, a house mouse is not used sexually, but that’s always a possibility. This depends on all the dynamics of the home. If a house mouse is ‘trainable’ she may eventually become a mama or an ol’ lady.

4. Mamas or Sweet Butts: These are women that hang around or live at the clubhouse. A mama is property of the club and sometimes part of a stable of prostitutes or topless dancers that bring their money into the club’s membership in return for housing, protection, power and a little profiling at events. A mama will also keep the clubhouse and motorcycles clean. Her primary goal is to be taken as an ol’ lady by one of the club members.

5. Citizen Wife: Sometimes bikers will legally marry a citizen wife and keep her completely separate from his biker culture. She is not included in on runs or parties and is kept out of club business. She is there to maintain a clean home front and raise children in an uncontaminated, citizen environment. Also, in some cases, an outlaw biker will keep a legally married citizen wife at home and also an ol’ lady on the side as his biker companion.

6. Ol’ Lady: Some say old lady and others argue about using the ‘d’ on the end of old. However one chooses to pronounce it—when a biker decides he likes a woman well enough to keep her as his personal property, he takes her as his ol’ lady. The term ol’ lady is considered a term of endearment, not one of disrespect. A woman may or may not have any choice in the matter of being made a biker’s ol’ lady. Once a biker has introduced a woman as his ol’ lady to his brothers, it is his choice to determine if or when the relationship is over. A biker will usually present his ol’ lady with a property patch to wear on her vest that says “Property of _________ (club name followed by biker’s name and the patch is in club colors)”. In some cases a tattoo somewhere on the ol’ lady’s body will suffice as a property patch. The property patch is the social equivalent of a wedding ring. A good ol’ lady will attend runs with her ol’ man; help in any way with club functions and will even pack (carry) his weapons or drugs. Being an ol’ lady is wife status and greatly respected. Sometimes there is a legal marriage and sometimes there isn’t. This is strictly a personal choice. Having multiple ol’ ladies at one time isn’t unusual.

A former ol’ lady says:

Being a female, I can only describe what it was like being in the one-percenter culture, but not the actual club Members must be men. But make no mistake: women who are the wives or girlfriends of these men still spend a great deal of time around club members doing club stuff.

My ex was a member of the Bandidos for several years. I found that the illusion of being in a biker gang and the reality of being in a biker gang were very different.

Over the years, people in the one-percenter world would tell me their stories of how they had ended up being a Bandit or a Proud Bandito Ol’ Lady (PBOL), and I would see some distinct patterns in the lives of people drawn to the outlaw biker lifestyle.

Interestingly enough, I was surprised by the women in the culture, and their reasons for being drawn to it. The outlaw biker women are very much second class citizens in that testosterone-driven life. Everyone knows that. But what surprised me was these women still tended to be more loyal and devoted to the spirit of the brotherhood than most of the men who were actually in it.

Outlaw biker clubs are a one-stop shop when you’re looking for things in life geared toward stroking your own ego.

· There’s the thrill that comes when one flirts with danger.
· There’s the adrenaline rush of being affiliated with something notorious and known world-wide, like the Bandidos, Hell’s Angels, Outlaws, etc.
· There’s the cat and mouse game you play with every cop around. Every time a news story runs about law enforcement mobilizing in preparation for a visit from the club, you can’t help but feel like a movie star.
· There’s the satisfaction of being either respected by citizens or feared by them. Both reactions are equally acceptable.
· There’s knowing that so many people wish they were where you are, and never will be.
· And most common attraction to the life—a bond almost stronger than that of blood, and a dedication to each other’s lives that most people would never understand. Your problem is everyone’s problem, and theirs are yours.

There’s always a trade off in everything, and outlaw clubs are no exception. These clubs are not democratic organizations, ruled by the many for the good of the all. They are run very firmly by men who usually clawed their way to the top of this primal food chain, and considering the general savagery of the ordinary member, that’s impressive. Private agendas and cut-throat politics are the typical motivations that see these men to the top, and what keep them in power.

Many men and women enter this lifestyle thinking that every member in it lives by the creed of love, loyalty and respect between every brother. The club is huge, and the every member and his family bring with it different values, different expectations, and invariably, people clash. A misunderstanding gets magnified by these impossible expectations, and the ensuing disappointment is almost crushing to so many of these people. It’s rather common for a large percentage of patched men to be out of the lifestyle with 5 years’ time of their patching out.

The lifestyle is expensive, and time consuming. Depending on where your ole man is in the hierarchy, you can either find it somewhat of a steady sort of hobby, or your life can be immersed daily in club stuff. Hobby members never last long, so if you manage to stay in it long enough, it consumes every part of your life.

Outsiders, called citizens, once close friends, will fade away. The secrecy of all things club-related often makes citizens feel somewhat insulted by their exclusion. It’s a very specific kind of lifestyle that can only work for certain personality types.

Men must be able to follow without question, trust without proof, and be someone people can depend on. It attracts a certain amount of men who genuinely dislike women, but those members rarely make it through the prospecting period. Should they manage to hide this fact long enough to get their patch, thepatch-itis, ( the arrogance a newly patched out member gets that irritates everyone within a mile of him), renders him unable to hide his mommy issues, and he is tossed out quickly. It’s complicated when it comes to the girls, but I’ve never witnessed men who hate women ever allowed to stay in.

Women must be outwardly submissive, be thick-skinned about sexist attitudes, and be able to get along reasonably well with the other women. The women, thrown together regularly, bound by the same rules, and who share a common interest, have their own sort of club. It’s taboo to suggest this to any member of the club, but that is the very definition of a club. The women control of nothing about her club affiliations, though. You spend a great deal of time with other women you may or may not find interesting, gathering in places that the guys picked out, usually without considering any of the female’s thoughts on the matter. Strip clubs and dive bars were common watering holes.

PBOL’s have basic rules they must live by to get by. She never disrespects a patch holder in public, including her own ole man. She’s the eyes and ears for the club, and lives in a precarious place between what she should know about and what she shouldn’t know about.

It really isn’t all that hard to understand the attraction for most men. After all, boys will be boys.

The women, however, are far more complicated and interesting, in my opinion. Very few of them actually resemble the media’s stereotypical outlaw biker chick. On the surface, they seem to hold no sway over their own lives. Yet they also tend to be most common reason for the male members ending up in jail. While it can be frightening to break up with a member of the Bandidos, the statistics show, it should be equally scary for a Bandido to break up with a PBOL. Scorching the earth and poisoning the wells is a very woman thing to do, and PBOL’s are still very much women.

PBOL’s can stir up strife between members, chase off girlfriends/wives of other brothers, and quietly impact the club in ways only the most observant will notice. Every woman going in knows that every part of her club affiliation is on loan to her by her Bandido, PBOL patches and clothes included, and he can take it all away whenever he pleases. But knowing this, and actually experiencing it, are much different, as so many of us would find out.

There’s really no good way to explain how much harder it is to break up with a club than it is to lose just one man. In a split second, everything and everyone is simply gone. Friendships that once felt so loyal, strong, and enduring, are simply over, and the silence is deafening.

Some of these women will find another member of the club to hook up with, choosing to find a way back into the culture they love. Others walk away bitter and angry at the betrayal of not only her old man, but an ocean of people you thought were your friends.

I loved my husband, and he loved being a Bandido. I set aside my natural instinct to demand respect and compromised with myself in order to make him look good. I carved out my own niche, and for the most part, was able to preserve some of my self-respect. But when he was gone, so were my reasons to conform to things I found ridiculous.

I resented the assumption that my vagina automatically rendered my intellect inferior to a person with a penis and a three piece patch. I hated the lip-service to brotherhood when the reality was, when the hard time came, the bonds never held. Friends had turned their backs on me when I needed a friend most of all, and their welcomes when I returned only made me despise all of this even more.

How can this be a brotherhood when there is no real friendship? I stopped allowing a patch to dictate how I was treated by a person. If you wanted my respect, then you needed more than a patch to earn it.

Finally, I decided to leave all of it behind. Too much about me had changed, and I was never going to fit in again. Better to part ways now.

I’m a writer, and it is often rumored I will someday write a tell-all book about the my time with the Bandidos. I won’t. If I were to write on this subject, I would write about the women instead.

They surprised me so many times, with their resilience, patience, and sacrifice. They are assumed to be morally bankrupt and unintelligent, selling themselves into a life of slavery to a club. Frankly, I never met a single woman that fit this stereotype in the decade I was in.

Instead, I saw many a PBOL wield her own sort power by simply influencing her own old man. Some aided political agendas; others mediated potential problems for the club; and all of them had sway over the club in some small way. The women are the ones who show what true brotherhood should look like, and they sacrifice for those they love all the time. The endure a lot in the outlaw culture, and their men reap the reward.

If you ask me, it is the PBOLs are the real outlaw bikers.