Sailors, Romans, cowboys, wrestlers, and boys next door—what more could gay men in the 1950s and 60s want? In Rizzoli's Beefcake: 100% Raw, All Natural, Petra Mason and Lady Bunny have transported the reader back to an era where the male physique was all about playful, muscular masculinity. The photographs are mostly from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, therefore they are done under the guise of weight-lifting or "art" that references Greo-Roman mythology.
The photographs in the book range from beautiful to sexy to cheesy, but they are all a reminder that male sexiness has not always been the over-plucked monotonous boys trotted out by fashion houses and magazines.
To the left is a photo titled Brooklyn boys, by Danny Fitzgerald and Les Demi Dieux, from 1963.
Courtesy of Robert Loncar and James Kempster, and the Les Demi Dieux website. https://lesdemidieux.com/
Cowboy and Indian themed erotica may seem incredibly cringeworthy today, but they were apparently a popular category decades ago. According to Petra Mason, "Lusty cowboys and working-class youths were a Bruce of Los Angeles specialty. The cowboys and Indians theme is now considered a classic of the age—an uncomplicated politically incorrect homage to the era." The stars of these Bruce of Los Angeles—also known as Bruce Bellas—photographs included The Wilde Brothers, Dick Dene, Black Hawk, and John Manning, who is in the photograph on the left. Manning, the book notes, was actually Sioux.
Photo Credit: William O’Connor, courtesy of Robert Loncar, Dimitri Levas, and James Kempster https://lesdemidieux.com
Photo Credit: Dimitri Levas
Similar to Renaissance-era painters looking to depict scenes outside of the Bible, photographers in the mid-century turned to Greco-Roman mythology. The image to the left is from 1963 and was taken at Walter Kundzicz's Champion Studios in New York.
Photo Credit: William O’Connor, courtesy of Robert Loncar, Reed Massengill Collection, and James Kempster https://lesdemidieux.com
Photo Credit: Reed Massengill Collection
Another Bruce of Los Angeles classic was the depiction of erotica in the form of male on male sport. "To outwit the censors," writes Mason, "the photographers had young bucks battle it out in action and wrestling poses that showcased 'form and function' in desert and studio settings."
The image to the left is from the 1950s by Bruce of Los Angeles. The two models are Mario Casili (left) and Bob Smithers (right).
Photo Credit: William O’Connor, courtesy of Robert Loncar, Dimitri Levas, and James Kempster https://lesdemidieux.com
Photo Credit: Dimitri Levas
One guarantee Mason makes is that "both men and—gay or straight—who buy this book are bound to find the model George O'Mara totally irresistible." The image to the left is from a set of session with KRIS Studio in 1958, one of which appeared on the cover of Mars magazine. He was called "a poseur from out-of-this-world" and his biography in the magazine described him as a "27-year-old athlete" who was once in the U.S. Navy.
Photo Credit: William O’Connor, courtesy of Robert Loncar, Leather Archives and Museum, Chicago, and James Kempster https://lesdemidieux.com
Photo Credit: Leather Archives and Museum, Chicago
Beefcake: 100% Raw All Natural by Petra Mason. Published by Rizzoli.
Photo Credit: William O’Connor, courtesy of Robert Loncar and James Kempster https://lesdemidieux.com
Courtesy of Rizzoli
