Friday, August 30, 2024

Playgirl (August 2002), Part Two

In a 2010 interview with Towerload, George Duroy, the founder of Bel Ami, argues the Gay Liberation Movement’s four decades of activism has weakened the stigma encompassing homosexuality, allowing younger men the freedom to experiment with their sexuality with reduced ridicule. As a result, more male models at the start of the twenty-first century began bridging the gap between gay and straight porn, such as Vlad Castle and Brock Cooper. Based on Duroy’s stance, it is not surprising that Jimmie Cannon appears in both this August 2002 issue of Playgirl (which has been broken into two parts) and the November 2001 issue of Advocate Men, along with solo scenes filmed for Cruiser Boys under the name Vik Luca. Contained in this second half (see the first half here) are photographs of models Bryan Burlingame and Justin DeVinney.

Friday, August 23, 2024

Playgirl (August 2002), Part One

In a 2010 interview with Towerload, George Duroy, the founder of Bel Ami, argues the Gay Liberation Movement’s four decades of activism has weakened the stigma encompassing homosexuality, allowing younger men the freedom to experiment with their sexuality with reduced ridicule. As a result, more male models at the start of the twenty-first century began bridging the gap between gay and straight porn, such as Vlad Castle and Brock Cooper. Based on Duroy’s stance, it is not surprising that Jimmie Cannon appears in both this August 2002 issue of Playgirl (which has been broken into two parts) and the November 2001 issue of Advocate Men, along with solo scenes filmed for Cruiser Boys under the name Vik Luca. Also contained in this first half are photographs of model Seneca Samella.

Friday, August 16, 2024

Torso (August 1989)

One of Kristen Bjorn’s first videos shot in Brazil, Island Fever (1989) features ten sensuous men in the tropics of South America. Yet, as scholar Clare Westcott claims, these earlier films lack the racial variety common in the region. According to Westcott, longstanding and widespread interracial marriages yielded a racial diversity in Brazil; however, this assortment is lacking in Bjorn’s movies. Citing a 1997 interview with Bjorn, though, Westcott reveals this decision was made by the American distributors, not the filmmaker: “They thought that black or white was all right but what they didn’t like were all the shades in between. . .they felt that Americans were used to blacks and they were used to whites but not the other things that couldn’t be categorized as either one.” What resulted, in turn, is a series of films which Westcott argues “provides North American viewers with idealised sexual scenarios that are different, but not too different, from that which they are familiar.” Featured in this August 1989 issue of Torso are several models from Bjorn’s film, including Aurelio and Jorge. NOTE: THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE WAS FOUND INCOMPLETE AMONG THE BOXES OF MAGAZINES; HENCE, ITS SPARSE PRESENTATION.

Friday, August 9, 2024

Advocate Men (August 1988), Part Two

In Donald Vining’s “The ‘Married’ Gays” (contained in the June 1985 issue of Blueboy) and Dennis Decameron’s “What Is This Things Called a Lover?” (found in the May 1987 issue of Torso), the writers examine gay relationships. As both contend, sex tends to be the primary focus, with monogamy often transitioning into an open relationship. In fact, Julie Lee argues monogamy among homosexuals – especially gay men – is a brief novelty that eventually breaks down, with the concept lasting no longer than ten years in most couples. This August 1988 issue of Advocate Men (which has been broken into two parts) provides evidence that both supports and rejects the ideas of Decameron, Lee, and Vining. In one reader-submitted narrative, the writer explains how a proposition for a foursome ended up separating both couples; whereas, in another reader-submitted tale, the author attests to his thirty-two-year relationship with a man he met while working as a bartender. Contained in this second half (see the first half here) is the short story “Doubling Up with Darryl” (where a former actor recalls sleeping with his costar while on tour with their play), a Donelan cartoon, and spreads of three models all with the first name Dave: Dave Hill, Dave Stewart, and Dave West.