Homoerotic Archaeology: Mandate (March 1988), Part One

Friday, March 12, 2021

Mandate (March 1988), Part One

In October of 1987, more than half a million gay and lesbian activists gathered at the nation’s capital to rail against the government’s apathy toward the AIDS epidemic, particularly the Helms Amendment which prevented federal funding for AIDS educational material that promoted homosexuality. The event launched a series of similar protests throughout the nation as well as in Europe, with fifteen hundred demonstrators marching in retaliation to Bavaria’s mandated HIV antibody testing for civil servants. This March 1988 issue of Mandate (which has been broken into two parts) champions the October protest with both an article on the event and an erotic short story, “Coast to Coast,” about a New Yorker and San Franciscan’s rendezvous while attending the Washington march. Also included in the first half of this issue are spreads of models Aleck and Roland, information about substance abuse in the gay community, and a piece on the Pisces astrological sign.

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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.