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I've become transfixed by vintage images male friendships captured on film. They provide an interesting and unexpected view on changing notions of masculinity, friendship, and possibilities of intimacy between men. Of course I've gone overboard and decided that I need to collect, inspect, and ponder the meanings of every possible image available on the internet.
It's just my way. Something captures my interest and I'm down the rabbit hole.
Keep your eye on my
Tumblr or
Twitter feed -- I'll be posting the images I'm looking at in both places.
Here is a small collection of pictures of men together in photo booths. Some images are easily read: two men kissing convey a very strong message of same-sex attraction. It's also helpful that some of the images are from a collection of an LGBT archive and the men and their relationships are named.
In the case where the people in the individuals can be identified, we can be clear that the image of intimacy between men suggest sexual attraction. The other images are not so easy to read. The identities and feelings of most of the men pictured here have been swallowed up by history. We don't know if they are friends, lovers, or something else.
The level of intimacy men are permitted to have with each other changes through time. There are ample accounts of men walking hand-in-hand down city streets in modern & past culture (
here,
here,
here,
here, and
here). These men aren't gay--they are friends expressing closeness and intimacy that is no longer permitted in American culture.
That's precisely what I find so interesting in these photos. We don't know the nature of the relationship between these men in the photo booths. Some are friends, capturing an image of their friendship to cherish. Others are lovers, capturing an image of their friendship to cherish. These images of men cause to wonder how easy (or hard) it was for men with primarily same-sex attraction to live out a public life featuring their intimate relationship without notice.
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And what about the modern day? At least on one occasion,
young men are punished by being forced to hold hands. Such a sad statement on how we have changed.
For more images of vintage men and their relationships (some gay, some straight) visit: Two Men and Their Dog; Adam and Steve in the Garden of Eden: On Intimacy Between Men; A Man and His Dog; The Beasts of West Point; Vintage Men: Innocence Lost | The Photography of William Gedney; It's Only a Paper Moon;Vintage Gay America: Crawford Barton; These Men Are Not Gay | This Is Not A Farmer | Disfarmer; Desire and Difference: Hidden in Plain Sight, Come Make Eyes With Me Under the Anheuser Bush, Hugh Mangum: Itinerant Photographer, Two men, Two Poses; Photos are Not Always What They Seem,Vintage Sailors: An Awkward Realization, Three Men on a Horse, Welkom Bar: Vintage Same Sex Marriage, Pretty in Pink: Two Vintage Chinese Men, Memorial Day Surprise: Vintage Sailor Love, Memorial Day: Vintage Dancing Sailors, The Curious Case of Two Men Embracing, They'll Never Know How Close We Were, Vintage Love: Roger Miller Pegram,Manly Affections: Robert Gant, Homo Bride and Groom Restored to Dignity, The Men in the Trees, The Girl in the Outhouse, Tommy and Buzz: All My Love,Men in Photo Booths, and Invisible: Philadelphia Gay Wedding c. 1957. You can also follow me on Tumblr.
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Oh soooo cute...I love man on man love, whether homoerotic or platonic. I wish more men were affectionate. I love how European men kiss each other and hold hands (as you have noted elsewhere on your blog). I am lucky to live in a very liberal area and straight men can be affectionate if they choose, without stigma, and gay men are very accepted. Always, there will be work to do, however!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the adorbs pics.
Where do you live? I also enjoy the shock some people face when returning from visiting some countries in the Middle East where it's still somewhat common to see heterosexual male friends walk hand in hand--much as there was in the the US in the era prior to WWII.
DeleteOf course -- this isn't to say there isn't significant homonegativity... But that's another topic.
Thanks for stopping by.