1960’s Beefke to Fire Island: Jim Stryker | Fire Island P History | Gay Culture — Fire Island P Historil Society

Contents:

• BEEF AT GAY INSULT
• GAY BEEF
• VIO RURFAC OF KG VON TELLG POLICE HE'S "GAY" TO RELOTE IN JAIL

BEEF AT GAY INSULT

Beefke Photography & the Gay Communy: 1940s to 1960s.

The beefke imagery was quickly appropriated by the gay muny to bee a visual ttimony of same-sex sire durg the pre-Stonewall era. By the 1940s, a wi variety of homoerotic imagery had begun to be available to a wi public through male fns or physique publitns.

Magaz such as Physique Pictorial, heavily illtrated wh sexy photos of bodybuilrs, were g fns as a pretext and were maly targetg a largely unrground gay subculture.

GAY BEEF

At the end of the 1950s, photo studs such as Bob Mizer’s fluential Athletic Mol Guild (AMG), the Wtern Photography Guild, and Spartan of Hollywood emerged and gradually dropped the pretense of physil culture or bodybuildg tert to market their photographs (somewhat) more openly to gay nsumers. This was soon to be followed the 1960s by an unrground dtry promotg a more erotic versn of this type of imagery for s gay muny mostly through anonymo mail orrs at a time when the productn, distributn, and also posssn of homosexual imagery was illegal.

For stance, Peter Berl and Bce of LA‘s photographs and illtratns of hypermascule men reveal a signifint erotic turnout, while Walter Kundzicz’s Champn Studs, opposn, promoted a return to natural though playful homoerotic pictn. Yet beefke culture is not jt to be nsired as a tool promotg a homoerotic athetic.

It was iologilly a symbol of gay liberatn, by exposg the sexist myth of the female body as the only erotic vector, embracg the homoerotic ntent, and driftg away om the heterosexual paradigm of sire. Ever sce the silent film era, Hollywood beefke photos have tillated both female and gay male fans.

VIO RURFAC OF KG VON TELLG POLICE HE'S "GAY" TO RELOTE IN JAIL

Here we ntue our seri celebratg gay, bisexual, and straight movie stars wearg next to nothg at all. Gay actors Farley Granger and Roddy McDowall are ready to share — a Coke?

Gay star Gee Nar was lked wh another famo hunk — g up... Guy Madison was a sailor plucked om obscury by gay agent Henry Willson.

The troubled but betiful gay star Montgomery Clift. Montgomery Clift was sexually lked to many gay stars, cludg Rock Hudson.

Gay tck driver Roy Fzgerald was transformed by gay agent Henry Willson to superstar Rock Hudson. Rock Hudson and Gee Nar — gay BFFs or somethg more? Gay actor Sal Meo was the go-to boy to play a troubled teen — and never more overtly gay than Rebel Whout a Cse.

1950s heartthrob Tab Hunter was another gay hunk whose reer was built (and then stroyed) by agent Henry Willson. Tab Hunter's homosexualy was an "open secret" until he officially me out a memoir and new film. Gay buddi Tab Hunter and Roddy McDowall: "Ssage or ke?

“The Yellow Book was kd of had a gay subtext, or a very effete subtext. Each issue spir new ias om Pierson, who reveals, “The fourth issue was the least homoerotic – except wh the four huge posters of male nus that I took of mol Mil McMillan.

Jt when people thk this is a homo magaze full of naked guys, I’ll pull back and make a very dry art magaze, jt to change the look. When you thk about gay culture the 1960s on Fire Island, one in to md: Jim Stryker. The photographs quickly turned him to the first (and still most endurgly popular) gay ins of all time.

Kundzicz’s Impact On 1960s Gay Culture. Kundzicz’s imag of boyishly playful mols skimpy stum, pictg everythg om all-Amerin football players to Bonanza-style wboys, stood stark ntrast to the realy of gay life at the time, and his e of bright, saturated lors only phed the fantasy farther. Champn’s magaz of Stryker were every gay boy’s fantasy.