I’ve been bonkers busy the last couple of weeks, as a couple of projects I’ve been working on for more than 18 months (one fitfully, the other consistently) are at peak “pay attention to me.” (More news coming on both of those soon, I very much hope.) HOWEVER, work can’t stop me from looking through 1970s queer magazines, and how better to while away a summer afternoon than by laughing at—I mean sharing historical appreciation of—some classic display ads.
The first thing to say is that most of the display ads you’d find in the gay press in the 1970s were predictable—photos of cute mustachioed naked guys doing things you don’t normally do naked, like eating dinner; photos of naked guys shot from behind to reveal tan lines so deep that these days you’d think they might be tattooed on; and dull ads for travel agencies (remember them?) and tax preparers and law offices.
But there were a few surprises. For example: companies tried to sell some truly HEINOUS garments to gay men. Check out these items. The first ones are especially mind-boggling.
Taken from June 14, 1978 issue of The Advocate
My pal Ben Frisch correctly observed that they really should’ve called those "disco pants" disco diapers. What’s really mind-boggling, though, is that, adjusted for inflation, those $33 disco diapers—which, yes, appear to be frilly shorts you wear over your jeans???—would cost $164 today.
After seeing the quantity of ads pushing weird, ugly shirts, I now realize why so many gay men dance shirtless. Who wouldn't want to whip these odd tops off?
Taken from the Jan. 11, 1978 issue of The Advocate
And talk about saying the quiet part out loud ...
Taken from the March 22, 1978 issue of The Advocate
I wasn't surprised by the number of ads for backrooms and baths, but I was kind of charmed by how low-fi some of these ads were. This apparently hand-drawn ad showed up quite often:
So charming!
I later came across a much bigger version that suggested that DIY charm was a design choice, not an indication that Glen's for Men was a rinky-dink operation:
Taken from the December 4, 1974 issue of The Advocate
Speaking of baths, I loved seeing that some enterprising New Yorkers were offering to share Continental Baths gossip with their West Coast brethren. (Limited edition!)
Finally, could it possibly be that famously sarcastic, irony-loving Brits were more earnest about some things? I loved this ad for Gay News (which admittedly appeared inside Gay News!)
Taken from Gay News No. 99, from 1975-ish
UPCOMING EVENTS: In late September I’m going to do an event in Edinburgh in collaboration with the Lavender Menace Archives (I’ll be talking with legendary Lavender Menace co-founder Sigrid Nielsen) and the awesome book group Wuthering Dykes. More info soon.
Details are also coming together for my West Coast trip in October. Still pinning down a few things, but I will have all the info by the time my next newsletter goes out.
RECOMMENDATIONS: How great are these T-shirts?
Let women speak.
— www.TransLucent.Org.UK (@TransLucent_Org) June 21, 2025
Thank you, Edinburgh. pic.twitter.com/8GVwaPWQip
That's the awesome Jo Sharp, Val McDermid, and Kate Charlesworth wearing them at Edinburgh Pride.
LISTEN TO ME: I joined Dana Stevens and Julia Turner on the Slate Culture Gabfest to discuss the movie Sorry, Baby, the HBO Max documentary Dear Ms.: A Revolution in Print, and the disappearance of the straight, white, cis, male literary novelist. I also popped up on the Queering the District podcast, recalling the sticky floors of DC dyke bars circa 1985!