Homoerotic Archaeology: Advocate Men (June 1986), Part One

Friday, June 5, 2020

Advocate Men (June 1986), Part One

Staring in almost forty bisexual, gay, and straight pornographic films, Jeff Stryker, born Charles Casper Peyton, established himself as a legendary adult entertainer in the late 1980s and early 1990s; however, his talents extend beyond the realm of eroticism: he was featured in four international movies in non-sexual roles – the Italian drama Dirty Love (1988), the Italian horror film After Death (1989), the German made-for-television Der schwarze Fluch (1995), and the German short film Can I Be Your Bratwurst, Please? (1999) – and released a music album, Wild Buck, in 1993. The June 1986 issue of Advocate Men, which has been broken into two parts, features Stryker at the start of his career. Also present in the first half of this issue is a spread of model Julian Adams, a Donelan cartoon, the short story “Night Waltz” (about a man’s strange series of phone-sex sessions after answering a random call in a phone booth), a showcase of Eddie George’s photography, reader submitted fantasies, an advertisement for the film The Young and the Hung, and sex advice about inhibited ejaculation and concerns over penis size.

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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.