Homoerotic Archaeology: June 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

Numbers (June 1984), Part Two

1984, historian Michael Bronski explains, witnessed a cultural backlash against the sexual liberation of gay men. As the AIDS epidemic ravaged the community and neo-conservatism swept throughout the nation, the hedonistic pursuits of the 1970s came under fire as both heterosexual and homosexual critics questioned the safety and validity behind the regular and random connections in bathhouses and tearooms. As a result, the year marked the beginning of a major push to close bathhouses and a rise in police monitoring of public restrooms. The June 1984 issue of Numbers (which has been broken into two parts) presents an intriguing glimpse into this shifting opinion: a review of Rollo Production’s Bathhouse Fantasies upholds the romanticized image of the domain as a sexually emancipated playground, whereas Chas Dietrich’s short story “Subway Patrol” takes a darkly erotic look into the racism and homophobia of police officers patrolling public restrooms. Presented in this second half (see the first half here) is the Bathhouse Fantasies review, along with spreads of models Joe, Mark, and Paul.

Friday, June 18, 2021

Numbers (June 1984), Part One

1984, historian Michael Bronski explains, witnessed a cultural backlash against the sexual liberation of gay men. As the AIDS epidemic ravaged the community and neo-conservatism swept throughout the nation, the hedonistic pursuits of the 1970s came under fire as both heterosexual and homosexual critics questioned the safety and validity behind the regular and random connections in bathhouses and tearooms. As a result, the year marked the beginning of a major push to close bathhouses and a rise in police monitoring of public restrooms. The June 1984 issue of Numbers (which has been broken into two parts) presents an intriguing glimpse into this shifting opinion: a review of Rollo Production’s Bathhouse Fantasies upholds the romanticized image of the domain as a sexually emancipated playground, whereas Chas Dietrich’s short story “Subway Patrol” takes a darkly erotic look into the racism and homophobia of police officers patrolling public restrooms. Presented in this first half is Dietrich’s tale, along with a showcase of Willard of New York’s photography and spreads of models Nick and Russ.

Friday, June 11, 2021

Torso (June 1987), Part Two

Best known for his role in Rebel Without a Cause, which launched him to stardom in 1955, actor Salvatore Mineo, Jr. become more open about his bisexuality in the late 1960s and early 1970s, appearing in the gay-themed play Fortune and Men’s Eyes in 1969, providing journalist Boze Hadleigh an interview about his sexuality in 1972, and performing as a bisexual burglar in P.S. Your Cat Is Dead in 1976. That same year, though, Mineo was stabbed to death in the carport of his West Hollywood apartment and Lionel Ray Williams was tried and convicted of the crime. In 1986, over a decade after their conversation, Hadleigh released Mineo’s interview as part of his work Conversations with My Elders, which complies several other interviews with bisexual and homosexual actors about their experiences in Hollywood. Published in this June 1987 issue of Torso (which has been broke into two parts) is an excerpt from Mineo’s conversation with Hadleigh. Included in the second half (see the first half here) is an article about how to detect infidelity in your partner and photo spreads titled “Body Buddy” and “Gentleman’s Pleasure.”

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What is Homoerotic Archaeology?

In 2016, I discovered several discarded boxes at an estate sale. Under their flimsy flaps were hundreds of well-worn issues of homoerotic magazines from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I purchased them out of mild intrigue and, as I perused their pages, I was startled to realize that something commonly disregarded as pornographic smut earnestly chronicled the evolution of gay culture: the social and sexual liberation of the 1970s, the crushing devastation from AIDS during the 1980s, and the gradual strengthening of the community in the 1990s. As a gay man, I was touched by the subtle narrative these publications told. As a historian, I was motivated to digitally preserve their content. And, as an educator, I was driven to create a platform to share that information freely with others interested in the progression of gay society. Homoerotic Archaeology is that venue. Here you will find the advertisements, articles, short stories, and (of course) pictures found in these magazines lovingly preserved and presented for future generations of gay men to enjoy and study.

Why Preserve Homoerotica?

As early as the 1970s, scholars such as June Rook have stressed the need to preserve homosexual history in an effort to combat repression and establish a cultural background for future generations. Much of the preservation process admirably focuses on the substantial works of homosexual artists and thinkers; however, it sadly ignores other elements quintessential to the community’s history, particularly homoerotica. Although frequently labeled obscene filth, homoerotica has, just like the significant creations of artists and thinkers, been a prevalent part of the group’s culture and has played an integral role in shaping identities and perceptions (consider how influential Tom of Finland’s hypermasculinity has been in molding the body ideals of modern gay men). Due to this factor, the conservation of homoerotica is just as essential as the preservation of major artistic and theoretical homosexual works.