A while ago I posted something about some ads the authors of a 1960s gay magazine called Drum interpreted as "so gay." Fascinated, I found some ads for male-oriented products in some 1960s magazines. One ad particularly caught my eye. I can't stop looking at the crotch here, and I'm sure the composers of that ad wanted that to be the focal point.
Now, supposedly the ad is geared for the stylish male who wants to pick up groovy chicks, but I'm pretty certain the gay male would find that angle enticing.
And the copy for this ad really suggests sexual aggression: stalkers, stompers, lopers ( what does that mean? ), and lovers.
What was the sexual climate in those days? The double standard still pretty much applied then in the days before women's liberation. Men could have their fill, but the girls, even if they succumbed to wearers of slacks like these, were still trying to hook a husband, even though Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl at that time was encouraging girls to become financially independent and enjoy sex outside of marriage.
Gay men at that period were still pretty much in the closet. Some men like Harvey Milk at that time were in monogamous relationships that tried to mimic Ed and Jane Smith in Middletown, but for many gay men, serial sexual anonymity, being "stalkers and stompers" in parks and T-rooms, was the norm.
I also found out that the manufacturer of these hot slacks, Campus Sweater Co., located in Cleveland, Ohio, was at that time the largest manufacturer in the country of men's casual clothing. The company's business really took off in the 1950s as weekend leisure time spent around suburban barbecues or in urban nightclubs became more prominent as more men began to take off their hats and ties.
I would like to see whoever posed for this ad take off more than his hat and tie. Preferably, those slacks. I can't help looking at the crotch.
For more retro gay items, check out Bijou's Vintage Gay Culture Magazine section, which includes Arch Brown's The Night Before, featuring a scene where a magazine ad comes to life.
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