Shaun Cole

“Macho Man”: Clones and the Development of a Masculine Stereotype

Nineteenth-century sexologists’ theories of homosexuality proposed that male homosexuals had a female soul trapped inside a man’s body, and therefore possessed the personality characteristics of women. This emphasis on binary gender divisions had an overwhelming impact upon the development of homosexual identity: effeminacy became the culturally accepted meaning of homosexuality, and the stereotype of homosexuality. The adoption of female clothing or female associated attributes such as plucked eyebrows, rouged lips, powdered face and dyed hair made a very public announcement of a man’s sexual orientation and self-identity. In fact, until the 1970s, the history of gay men’s dress was dominated by two choices: the adoption of overtly feminine styles or conformity to accepted male dress codes of the day. Shaun Cole

Costume or Dress? The Use of Clothing in the Gay Pornography of Jim French's Colt Studio

Abstract It would seem that one of the intentions of the viewer of gay pornography would be to see the sexual engagement of the participants (and perhaps the “money shot”) with a focus upon the gymnastics and writhing of bodies that constitute the practice and representation of sexual activity within the film. However, before nudity or nakedness is presented the “characters” are dressed. Using the films and photography of Colt Studio and its founder Jim French from the period 1967–81 as a focus this article explores the ways in which the “characters” are constructed through their clothing and costuming. It will address the ways in which these “icons” of masculinity that had developed in the pre-liberation physique magazines and stag films reflected the prototypes, archetypes, and stereotypes of post-liberation gay identity and dressed appearance in the fifteen years following the Stonewall riots and gay liberation. Colt Studio was famed for its particular presentation of hypermasculine images and a “stable” of masculine actors that included Clone superstar Al Parker. This article will offer an analysis of the use of particular items of clothing and the iconic styles of leatherman, motorcycle cop, and gay clone in Colts output of this period.

Considerations on a Gentleman's Posterior

Abstract In discussing J.C. Leyendeckers 1911 painting Man on a Bag used to advertise S.T. Cooper and Sons’ Kenosha Klosed Krotch union suit, Richard Martin noted that the positioning of the male figure had to be careful to avoid raising concerns about anal anxiety, reflecting Freudian theories of sexual development. For this new revolutionary back opening for mens underwear it was essential to depict a rear view of the male figure wearing the garment. However, as Martin noted, there was a certain discomfort around the idea of considering the male rear end. The association of sodomy and homosexuality led to this insecurity about the display of the male posterior. Mens behinds have, however, periodically been put on display throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries through changing fashions and this article will address key moments when male fashion has concentrated and highlighted the male behind such as the adoption of shrink-to-fit blue jeans by teenagers in the 1950s and close-fitting Italian-style trousers worn beneath “bum freezer” jackets that revealed a shapely male behind. It will also consider the depiction of the male behind in underwear advertising and the use of padded underwear to enhance this “asset,” and conclude with a reflection on the mass adoption of the hip-hop-inspired low-slung jean.

Seeing, recording and discussing LGBTQ fashion and style

Introduction to edited special issue of journal on LGBTQ fashion and style. Cole and Lewis were the editors of this special themed issue.