The section on gay personals reminded me of some work I did in undergrad digitizing letters from readers of ONE Magazine, which ran in the 50s and 60s. Many letters came from socially and geographically isolated gay men looking for all kinds of connection and company.
ONE was a very early gay publication in the tradition of the Mattachine Society; it was more an ancestor of Out than After Dark. To me, the letters represent an interesting transitional phase between the coded Hobby Directory ads and the more forthright personals of the 70s and beyond. It was a very touching experience for me as a half-closeted young person to spend time with these letters. You can see some of them here, mixed in with other archival papers–you'll have to dig, but the digging is the fun part: https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/CS.aspx?VP3=DamView&VBID=2A3BXZLZI2PWR&SMLS=1&q=ONE+magazine&RW=1512&RH=773#/DamView&VBID=2A3BXZLZI24KU&PN=1&WS=SearchResults
Thanks for the fantastic article. I'm looking forward to reading this book!
I so value this overview of 20th century gay culture in the US and how it impacts (despite and because) queer culture today.
Middle-aged and queer, I both want to know more about gay history and am intimidated by how MUCH there is to take in. This helps by offering part of a framework through which to loop together other connections.
Sharing this with friends and greatly looking forward to the next post!
thank you for this, i'll definitely be trying to get my hands on a copy. i realized two (three?) things while reading this:
1. my sense of dysphoria is not alleviated by crossing or dismissing the binary but would be alleviated by a sense of community and embraced difference like this. in most "queer" spaces i go to i feel like i don't fit in at best and i feel like i'm in a zoo at worst. (especially because i still take covid precautions) it's very difficult to find people that understand how deep the rabbit hole of queerness goes.
2. i think some of the supposed "media literacy crisis" was birthed out of the diminishing of the arts as unclear communications. between advertisers getting their hands on things, then trying to water them down, queer people had their art ripped from them as a core part of identity. i don't know how to put this into words really well but the idea that we lost our subtleties in favor of bluntness and objectification means we have lost our ability to understand deeper meaning and things that aren't being outright expressed to us.
Yes! In order to telegraph who we really were and what we were looking for, queer people used to *have* to be subtle. We used media references, coded language, Polari, ballroom language, other dialects and slang, flagging, subtext, ambiguity...now everything is sanitized and buffed into a slick presentation that's supposed to be palatable to a general audience, and not only does that make us more vulnerable, it also erodes the real art of the winking queer reference.
The fact presented by advertisements for expensive ~lifestyle~ consumption aimed at a demographic known for its aesthetic sensibilities is rather ironic as style and aesthetic refinement are something you can't buy. You can only develop them, partly in imitation, partly in dialogue with others who share your sensibilities, learning to become discerning, and often puts you directly at odds with consumerism as chasing fads is the opposite of that.
Writing about the intensely personal aesthetic stylings of actual people (often cobbled together from antiques, vintage, or just generally disregarded items and furnishings) doesn't bring the big advertising dollars like luxury brands putting pages of glossy full-color trying to sell you a lifestyle in your magazine does, so little wonder which one won out. To the loss of us all, because the former, even if it's not my personal taste, at least represents an actual person, not some Safe AND Sanitized Brand(TM) Vibe(TM)
I’m not sure how to feel about this. On one hand what makes me part of the LGBTQIA+ community is the least interesting thing about me. So I do like the idea that completely dedicated spaces aren’t as necessary as they were in the past. That is utopian thinking though.
We are not there yet, and even getting home from safe spaces can be treacherous.
Time for queer tiny house communities in the mountains on huge plots of land to build a new society haha
The section on gay personals reminded me of some work I did in undergrad digitizing letters from readers of ONE Magazine, which ran in the 50s and 60s. Many letters came from socially and geographically isolated gay men looking for all kinds of connection and company.
ONE was a very early gay publication in the tradition of the Mattachine Society; it was more an ancestor of Out than After Dark. To me, the letters represent an interesting transitional phase between the coded Hobby Directory ads and the more forthright personals of the 70s and beyond. It was a very touching experience for me as a half-closeted young person to spend time with these letters. You can see some of them here, mixed in with other archival papers–you'll have to dig, but the digging is the fun part: https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/CS.aspx?VP3=DamView&VBID=2A3BXZLZI2PWR&SMLS=1&q=ONE+magazine&RW=1512&RH=773#/DamView&VBID=2A3BXZLZI24KU&PN=1&WS=SearchResults
Thanks for the fantastic article. I'm looking forward to reading this book!
Thank you for sharing this!
I so value this overview of 20th century gay culture in the US and how it impacts (despite and because) queer culture today.
Middle-aged and queer, I both want to know more about gay history and am intimidated by how MUCH there is to take in. This helps by offering part of a framework through which to loop together other connections.
Sharing this with friends and greatly looking forward to the next post!
thank you for this, i'll definitely be trying to get my hands on a copy. i realized two (three?) things while reading this:
1. my sense of dysphoria is not alleviated by crossing or dismissing the binary but would be alleviated by a sense of community and embraced difference like this. in most "queer" spaces i go to i feel like i don't fit in at best and i feel like i'm in a zoo at worst. (especially because i still take covid precautions) it's very difficult to find people that understand how deep the rabbit hole of queerness goes.
2. i think some of the supposed "media literacy crisis" was birthed out of the diminishing of the arts as unclear communications. between advertisers getting their hands on things, then trying to water them down, queer people had their art ripped from them as a core part of identity. i don't know how to put this into words really well but the idea that we lost our subtleties in favor of bluntness and objectification means we have lost our ability to understand deeper meaning and things that aren't being outright expressed to us.
Yes! In order to telegraph who we really were and what we were looking for, queer people used to *have* to be subtle. We used media references, coded language, Polari, ballroom language, other dialects and slang, flagging, subtext, ambiguity...now everything is sanitized and buffed into a slick presentation that's supposed to be palatable to a general audience, and not only does that make us more vulnerable, it also erodes the real art of the winking queer reference.
The fact presented by advertisements for expensive ~lifestyle~ consumption aimed at a demographic known for its aesthetic sensibilities is rather ironic as style and aesthetic refinement are something you can't buy. You can only develop them, partly in imitation, partly in dialogue with others who share your sensibilities, learning to become discerning, and often puts you directly at odds with consumerism as chasing fads is the opposite of that.
Writing about the intensely personal aesthetic stylings of actual people (often cobbled together from antiques, vintage, or just generally disregarded items and furnishings) doesn't bring the big advertising dollars like luxury brands putting pages of glossy full-color trying to sell you a lifestyle in your magazine does, so little wonder which one won out. To the loss of us all, because the former, even if it's not my personal taste, at least represents an actual person, not some Safe AND Sanitized Brand(TM) Vibe(TM)
my jaw dropped when I saw just how well the book had aged and how prescient it was! excellent article, the part about gay porn history is fascinating
As a lifelong Marlene Dietrich fan as I was glad this short showed up in my You Tube feed, Marlene sings 🎵In The Navy https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s58yaukV0Po
As Suzanne Vega sang on her first album,
Marlene watches from the wall
Her mocking smile says it all
As she records the rise and fall
Of every soldier passing
But the only soldier now is me
I'm fighting things I cannot see
I think it's called my destiny
That I am changing
Marlene on the wall
I’m not sure how to feel about this. On one hand what makes me part of the LGBTQIA+ community is the least interesting thing about me. So I do like the idea that completely dedicated spaces aren’t as necessary as they were in the past. That is utopian thinking though.
We are not there yet, and even getting home from safe spaces can be treacherous.
Time for queer tiny house communities in the mountains on huge plots of land to build a new society haha