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Fortunately and finally, historian David K. These magazines, created largely by and for gay men created a “gay market” which ultimately crafted the bones for the broader gay movement. As Johnson himself makes clear, these owners and consumers were as conservative and closeted as the homophiles, and their concern with incrementally overturning censorship laws is a far cry from the radical pride and progressive politics advocated by gay lib orgs like GLF and STAR.moreĭuring the 1950s and 60s, magazines focusing on the male form exploded across the United States, and yet their academic value has mostly been ignored. The former point’s convincing, the latter less so the author overstates his case. Johnson considers a wide array of businesses such as Bob Mizer’s Athletic Model Guild and Lynn Womack’s gay book club, contending that the circulation and consumption of subcultural commodities led to the creation of a robust gay market and strong sense of community on the eve of Stonewall. Johnson considers a wide array of businesses such as Bob Mizer’s Athletic Model Guild and Lynn Womack’s gay book club, contending that the circulation and consumption of subcultural commo A well-researched look at postwar gay consumer culture, Buying Gay argues that physique magazines, book clubs, and other middle-class commercial enterprises helped link together well-off gay men across the nation on a massive scale that far eclipsed that of the homophile movement during the fifties and sixties. Buying Gay reconceives the history of the gay rights movement and shows how consumer culture helped create community and a site for resistance.moreĪ well-researched look at postwar gay consumer culture, Buying Gay argues that physique magazines, book clubs, and other middle-class commercial enterprises helped link together well-off gay men across the nation on a massive scale that far eclipsed that of the homophile movement during the fifties and sixties. Post Office, including the court victory that allowed full-frontal male nudity and open homoeroticism. Physique entrepreneurs were at the center of legal struggles, especially against the U.S. This network of producers and consumers helped foster a gay community and upend censorship laws, paving the way for open expression.
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With circulation rates many times higher than the openly political "homophile" magazines, physique magazines were the largest gay media outlets of their time. Offering a vivid look into the lives of physique entrepreneurs and their customers, and presenting a wealth of illustrations, Buying Gay explores the connections-and tensions-between the market and the movement. Johnson shows how gay commerce was not a byproduct but rather an important catalyst for the gay rights movement. Such businesses have often been seen as peripheral to the gay political movement. The publishers behind them were part of a wider world of "physique entrepreneurs" men as well as women who ran photography studios, mail-order catalogs, pen-pal services, book clubs, and niche advertising for gay audiences. For many men growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, these magazines and their images and illustrations of nearly naked men, as well as articles, letters from readers, and advertisements, served as an initiation into gay culture. The publishers behind them were part of In 1951, a new type of publication appeared on newsstands-the physique magazine produced by and for gay men. In 1951, a new type of publication appeared on newsstands-the physique magazine produced by and for gay men.