Homoerotic Archaeology: Torso (August 1989)

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.

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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.