Homoerotic Archaeology: November 2026

Friday, November 6, 2026

Blueboy (November 1980)

When Italian immigrants began their exodus from Italy into the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century, society labelled them – particularly those from southern Italy – as threats to the nation, depicting this migrant group as uncivilized brutes who were violent and sexually voracious. It was a stereotype which had been applied to other immigrants in decades prior, including the Irish during the 1840s. By the 1970s, filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese and actors such as Sylvester Stallone and John Travolta were using storytelling to counter these depictions with varying degrees of success. One unforeseen side effect, as film historian Barbara Mennel argues, was the fetishization of the working-class masculinity of young Italian American men. This can be seen in the article by Jerry Rosco in this November 1980 issue of Blueboy where he depicts Italian American men as “sexy…and dangerous,” melding the stereotypes of the nineteenth century with the eroticized image of the 1970s. Also contained in this issue are listings of gay-themed events occurring in San Francisco and Texas. NOTE: THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE WAS FOUND INCOMPLETE AMONG THE BOXES OF MAGAZINES; HENCE, ITS SPARSE PRESENTATION.

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.