Buying Gay, a study of the so-called physique magazines and pictorials so popular with gay men during the 1950s and ’60s, offers a unique approach to three aspects of gay history: the construction of an identifiable gay male consumer base, the use of direct mail to break down isolation, and the legal battle over “obscenity” via direct mail. The book also reveals heroic roles played by gay men, lesbians, and straight allies in defending the circulation and sale of materials that were often the only social lifeline (and regular publications) for closeted men. We learn that while some of these contested book services had less than ideal business practices, these daring and dedicated entrepreneurs paved the way for other and more open homophile publications and membership societies.
Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement, by David K. Johnson. Published by Columbia University Press. The editor is Bridget Flannery-McCoy. Buying Gay is a finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction; the winner will be announced on April 30.