Homoerotic Archaeology: September 2024

Friday, September 27, 2024

Unzipped (September 1999)

In a whimsical contrast to Corey Frederick and Thomas Nakayama’s 2003 article in Queer Theory and Communication, which argues the uniform-clad police officer symbolizes both animosity and fetishization, Mike Boomer’s article “Uniforms Are Not a Drag” – found in this September 1999 issue of Unzipped – upholds uniforms feed into gay men’s heightened sensitivity to fantasy, whether it is the illusion wrought by wearing them or the desire sparked in seeing them on other men. Also included in this issue is an interview with Cole Tucker and reviews of Mustang Studios’ Up for Grabs and All World’s How the West Was Hung.

Friday, September 20, 2024

Adam Gay Video (September 2007), Part Two

A subsidiary of Falcon Studios, Mustang Studios was formed in the 1980s. Featuring several films directed by Chi Chi LaRue and focusing on homoerotica which included mature models, Mustang Studios reached its peak in the early 2000s, with its final movie released in 2012. This September 2007 issue of Adam Gay Video (which has been broken into two parts) offers reviews of two Mustang Studios films – Afterhours and Limits. This second half (see the first half here) contains appraisals of Arena Entertainment’s Fever, Citiboyz’s Real and Raw Miami, Latin Heat’s Latinolicious, and Raging Stallion’s Mirage.

Friday, September 13, 2024

Adam Gay Video (September 2007), Part One

A subsidiary of Falcon Studios, Mustang Studios was formed in the 1980s. Featuring several films directed by Chi Chi LaRue and focusing on homoerotica which included mature models, Mustang Studios reached its peak in the early 2000s, with its final movie released in 2012. This September 2007 issue of Adam Gay Video (which has been broken into two parts) offers reviews of two Mustang Studios films – Afterhours and Limits – along with appraisals of Lucas Entertainment’s The Bigger, The Better and Red Devil’s How To Seduce a Straight Man.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

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.