Buying Gay - How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement

David K. Johnson tells the story of the physique magazine produced by and for gay men to show how gay commerce was not a byproduct of the gay-rights movement but an important catalyst for it. He offers a vivid look into the lives of physique entrepreneurs and their customers, presenting a wealth of illustrations.

List of contents

Preface
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Emerging from the Muscle Magazines: Bob Mizer’s Athletic Model Guild
2. Selling Gay Books: Donald Webster Cory’s “Business with a Conscience”
3. The Grecian Guild: Imagining a Gay Past, and Future
4. “I Want a Pen Pal!”: Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield and the Adonis Male Club
5. Defending a Naked Boy: Lynn Womack at the Supreme Court
6. Consolidating the Market: DSI of Minneapolis
7. The Physique Legacy
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Notes
Index

About the author

David K. Johnson is professor of history at the University of South Florida. He is the author of The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government (2004), which was made into an award-winning documentary.

Summary

David K. Johnson tells the story of the physique magazine produced by and for gay men to show how gay commerce was not a byproduct of the gay-rights movement but an important catalyst for it. He offers a vivid look into the lives of physique entrepreneurs and their customers, presenting a wealth of illustrations.

Additional text

The business of producing and disseminating homoerotic images helped forge a movement. Case well made.

Product details

• Authors: David K. Johnson, Johnson David K.
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.01.2021
• EAN: 9780231189118
• ISBN: 978-0-231-18911-8
• No. of pages: 328
• Series: Columbia Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Society; Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Media science; USA, Media Studies, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Corporate & Business History, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Gender & the law, United States of America, USA, Gay Studies (Gay Men), SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / Gay Studies, c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), Law and society, gender issues, LGBTQ+ Studies / topics