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The Resource Buying gay : how physique entrepreneurs sparked a movement, David K. Johnson

Buying gay : how physique entrepreneurs sparked a movement, David K. Johnson

Creator
Author
Summary
In 1951, a new type of publication appeared on newsstands - the physique magazine produced by and for gay men. 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 a wider world of "physique entrepreneurs" men as well as women who ran photography studios, mail-order catalogues, pen-pal services, book clubs, and niche advertising for gay audiences. While such businesses have often been seen as peripheral to the gay political movement, in Buying Gay David K. Johnson shows how gay commerce was not a byproduct of the gay-rights movement but an important catalyst for it. Offering a vivid look into the lives of physique entrepreneurs and their customers, and presenting a wealth of illustrations, Johnson explores the connection - and tension - between the market and the movement. With circulation rates many times higher than the openly political "homophile" magazines, physique magazines were the largest gay media outlets of their time. This network of producers and consumers helped foster a gay community and upend censorships laws, paving the way for open expression. Physique entrepreneurs were at the center of legal struggles, especially against the U.S. Post Office, including the court victory that allowed full frontal male nudity and open homoeroticism. Buying Gay reconceives the history of the gay movement and shows how consumer culture helped create community and a site for resistance
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xvi, 308 pages
Contents
  • Introduction
  • Emerging from the muscle magazines: Bob Mizer's Athletic Model Guild
  • Selling gay books: Donald Webster Cory's "business with a conscience"
  • The Grecian Guild: imagining a gay past, and future
  • "I want a pen pal!:" Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield and the Adonis Male Club
  • Defending a naked boy: Lynn Womack at the Supreme Court
  • Consolidating the market: DSI of Minneapolis
  • The physique legacy
Isbn
9780231189101
Instance
Label
Buying gay : how physique entrepreneurs sparked a movement
Title
Buying gay
Title remainder
how physique entrepreneurs sparked a movement
Statement of responsibility
David K. Johnson
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
In 1951, a new type of publication appeared on newsstands - the physique magazine produced by and for gay men. 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 a wider world of "physique entrepreneurs" men as well as women who ran photography studios, mail-order catalogues, pen-pal services, book clubs, and niche advertising for gay audiences. While such businesses have often been seen as peripheral to the gay political movement, in Buying Gay David K. Johnson shows how gay commerce was not a byproduct of the gay-rights movement but an important catalyst for it. Offering a vivid look into the lives of physique entrepreneurs and their customers, and presenting a wealth of illustrations, Johnson explores the connection - and tension - between the market and the movement. With circulation rates many times higher than the openly political "homophile" magazines, physique magazines were the largest gay media outlets of their time. This network of producers and consumers helped foster a gay community and upend censorships laws, paving the way for open expression. Physique entrepreneurs were at the center of legal struggles, especially against the U.S. Post Office, including the court victory that allowed full frontal male nudity and open homoeroticism. Buying Gay reconceives the history of the gay movement and shows how consumer culture helped create community and a site for resistance
Member of
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Johnson, David K
Dewey number
306.76/620973
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
HQ76.3.U5
LC item number
J583 2019
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
Series statement
Columbia studies in the history of U.S. capitalism
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Gay men
  • Gay erotica
  • Bodybuilding
  • Gay consumers
  • Gay business enterprises
  • Gay rights
  • Gay business enterprises
  • Gay consumers
  • Gay erotica
  • Gay men
  • Gay rights
  • United States
  • SPORTS & RECREATION / Bodybuilding & Weight Training
  • United States
Label
Buying gay : how physique entrepreneurs sparked a movement, David K. Johnson
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-291) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction -- Emerging from the muscle magazines: Bob Mizer's Athletic Model Guild -- Selling gay books: Donald Webster Cory's "business with a conscience" -- The Grecian Guild: imagining a gay past, and future -- "I want a pen pal!:" Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield and the Adonis Male Club -- Defending a naked boy: Lynn Womack at the Supreme Court -- Consolidating the market: DSI of Minneapolis -- The physique legacy
Control code
1035441993
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
xvi, 308 pages
Isbn
9780231189101
Lccn
2018033079
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Note
UMKC: Z Coll. copy forms part of the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America Collection.
Other control number
40028945395
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1035441993
Label
Buying gay : how physique entrepreneurs sparked a movement, David K. Johnson
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-291) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Introduction -- Emerging from the muscle magazines: Bob Mizer's Athletic Model Guild -- Selling gay books: Donald Webster Cory's "business with a conscience" -- The Grecian Guild: imagining a gay past, and future -- "I want a pen pal!:" Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield and the Adonis Male Club -- Defending a naked boy: Lynn Womack at the Supreme Court -- Consolidating the market: DSI of Minneapolis -- The physique legacy
Control code
1035441993
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
xvi, 308 pages
Isbn
9780231189101
Lccn
2018033079
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Note
UMKC: Z Coll. copy forms part of the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America Collection.
Other control number
40028945395
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1035441993

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