Homoerotic Archaeology: Playguy (March 1980), Part One

Friday, March 22, 2024

Playguy (March 1980), Part One

In Sigmund Freud’s 1923 article “Certain Neurotic Mechanisms in Jealousy, Paranoia, and Homosexuality,” the psychoanalyst contends homosexuality is a byproduct of failed psychosexual development. According to Freud, children begin life with a strong connection to the parent of the opposite sex (sons toward mothers and daughters toward fathers). If a child fails to progress out of the phallic stage and form a bond with the parent of the same sex, they form a fixation where they seek relationships with members of the same sex because they do not want to betray their parent. Hence, Freud argues gay men seek the affection of other men because seeking the same with women would be a subconscious betrayal of their mother. Although modern Psychology no longer subscribes to Freud’s theory, a reader-submitted fantasy in this 1980 issue of Playguy (which has been broken into two parts) would have given Freud ammunition to bolster his claim. In the submission, the reader confesses that one of his greatest fantasies is to walk in on his mother being raped and masturbating to the sight of four men violating her. Also included in this first half is the short story “Hitchhiker” (where the narrator picks up a sexy traveler on his way home from the beach).

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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.