Blueboy (November 1980)

When Italian immigrants began their exodus from Italy into the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century, society labelled them – particularly those from southern Italy – as threats to the nation, depicting this migrant group as uncivilized brutes who were violent and sexually voracious. It was a stereotype which had been applied to other immigrants in decades prior, including the Irish during the 1840s. By the 1970s, filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese and actors such as Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta were using storytelling to counter these depictions with varying degrees of success. One unforeseen side effect, as film historian Barbara Mennel argues, was the fetishization of the working-class masculinity of young Italian American men. This can be seen in the article by Jerry Rosco in this November 1980 issue of Blueboy where he depicts Italian American men as “sexy…and dangerous,” melding the stereotypes of the nineteenth century with the eroticized image of the 1970s. Also contained in this issue are listings of gay-themed events occurring in San Francisco and Texas. NOTE: THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE WAS FOUND INCOMPLETE AMONG THE BOXES OF MAGAZINES; HENCE, ITS SPARSE PRESENTATION.

Honcho (October 1979), Part Two

In his mid-twenties when he began modeling for Colt Studios, Hank Ditmar appeared in two films: a camping-themed scene with Mark Rutter in Shack Up and a solo session in Blood, Sweat & Beers, both released in 1979. Although he only performed in two movies, Ditmar was featured in several photospreads for the studio, including their 1980 calendar where he dressed as a sailor. This October 1979 issue of Honcho (which has been broken into two parts) showcases Ditmar the same year as his film roles. Included in this second half (see the first half here) is a photospread praising the eroticism of leather, the short stories “Crotch Watch” (about an encounter in a Denver cowboy bar) and “Men at Work” (where a businessman becomes obsessed with the muscled construction workers erecting the building next to his office), and photos of model Chuck.

Honcho (October 1979), Part One

In his mid-twenties when he began modeling for Colt Studios, Hank Ditmar appeared in two films: a camping-themed scene with Mark Rutter in Shack Up and a solo session in Blood, Sweat & Beers, both released in 1979. Although he only performed in two movies, Ditmar was featured in several photospreads for the studio, including their 1980 calendar where he dressed as a sailor. This October 1979 issue of Honcho (which has been broken into two parts) showcases Ditmar the same year as his film roles. Also included in this first half is the short story “The Challenge” (about two warring adult performers whose rivalry comes to a head during a shoot) and photos of model Ron.