Homoerotic Archaeology: December 2025

Friday, December 5, 2025

Blueboy (December 1983), Part One

Born to a conservative Catholic family in Queens, New York, Robert Mapplethorpe was no stranger to controversy. Using the pull of his wealthy paramour, art curator Samuel Wagstaff, he established himself as a leading photographer between 1977 and his death in 1989. Focusing principally on sadomasochistic themes, his “The Perfect Moment” exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, was pulled by director Christina Orr-Cahill in June of 1989 when she feared the photographs’ gratuitous nudity would cause the museum to lose its funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, his eroticization of black men has sparked debates among scholars like Essex Hemphill over the racist undertones of his imagery. This December 1983 issue of Blueboy (which has been broken into two parts) features several of the images which have sparked this discussion, along with photos of models Jeff, Steven, and Tim.

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.