Hot Guys In Art

The Torture of Prometheus (1819) by Jean-Louis Cesar Lair

Hey, Prometheus, thanks for the fire, and for looking like that.  Sorry about all that "eagle eating your liver" business, but I guess you get used to anything after a while, right?

Models Are Still The New Porn Stars

Four and a half years ago I wrote on this blog that porn stars were being replaced by models in gay culture.  Writing about model Edilson Nascimento, I said:

He's a fashion model, but he is almost always nude, or close to it. What is he selling in these pictures? The couture or his own perfectly formed chest? Are you looking at the swim trunks, or his clearly delineated genitalia? In the past it has always been the accepted wisdom that the model is there to show off the clothes. Nowadays the clothes are almost irrelevant, sometimes non-existent. I'm not complaining. I'm just saying.

Now, consider these photos of Domincan model Mikle Cortina Conde, taken by Justin Violini for Coitus Online, mostly.  Can these photos exist for any other reason than to incite the sweet sensation of sex?  Mikle, God love him,  is pure sexual object here, although to be fair, I've seen photos of Mikle fully clothed in which he still manages to look like a very expensive sex doll.  

Consider the very existence of Coitus Magazine (or Hero, or Electric Youth, or Client).  How do these publications differ from the physique magazines of the 1950s and 60s?  They have higher quality paper,  modern color reproduction, expensive "legitimate" models,  professional fashion photographers, and once in a while a piece of designer clothing. But other than that?  Look, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it.  I own every issue of the print edition  of Coitus, and keep them in zip-lock bags.  It's just that I like to call things by their right names. 

R.I.P Pauline Phillips

Dear Abby: Two men who claim to be father and adopted son just bought an old mansion across the street and fixed it up. We notice a very suspicious mixture of company coming and going at all hours — blacks, whites, Orientals, women who look like men and men who look like women. This has always been considered one of the finest sections of San Francisco, and these weirdos are giving it a bad name. How can we improve the neighborhood? — Nob Hill Residents

Dear Residents: You could move.

Pauline Phillips, a.k.a Abigail Van Buren 1918-2013

The Pits

Ah, the power of the male arm pit.  What accounts for its unholy allure? Brazilian model/professional swimmer  Thiago Cantalogo (sometimes billed as Thiago Pareira) may or may not understand the appeal of the arm pit, but he certainly knows how to take advantage of it.  Even in this video, he's working those pits like there's no tomorrow. 

Styles That Might Not Catch On

Could this be Bozo The Clown's super hot grandson?  Everything about this look suggests the circus, which is OK by me, but don't get upset if people give you funny looks on the subway. Here's a word to the wise:  Faux fur trousers are never going to be a thing, but if you must wear them, I suggest against painting your eyebrows to match.

Our Hyper-Masculine Past

Dirk The Demon (24th Century Archaeologist) only appeared in two issues of Amazing Mystery Funnies back in 1938, but what a manly young man he was!  Dirk's creator, Bill Everett,  had considerably more success with The Sub-Mariner.

Here's A Wonderful Thing

Mr. Mahone

In case you missed him the last time he appeared on the pages of this blog, this is singer / internet sensation Austin Mahone,  who is now signed to a lucrative recording contract with a major label.  I don't think you will see him picking up any Grammy Awards anytime soon, but he sure is a cutie.

R.I.P. Jeanne Manford

So sorry to hear that Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG, has passed away yesterday at the age of 92.  Hers is not a name that most people  know, but she stands as an example of a person who selflessly devoted her life to making the world a better place.

Surely This Photo Lends Itself To A Clever Caption...

But I'll be darned if I can think of  one.
And don't call me Shirley. 

There's Nothing Like Old-Timey Smut

I have to admit that my first impulse, when I saw the image above, was to poke some fun at it. It is awfully hokey after all, and not something that today's sophisticated porn connoisseurs would cotton to.  But, it is really kind of hot, you must admit.  I mean, these are all good looking guys, after all,  and they are naked, mostly.   Also, I recognized the blond boy in the green posing strap as being Sean Patrick,  the epitome of  1960's California twinkdom. I knew that Sean did most of his posing for the camera of a photographer named Mel Roberts, So after I did a little searching, I came across a small selection of Mr. Roberts' work, along with a brief biography, which you can read here.  In fact, I hope that you do.  You'll see that Mel Roberts, along with Bob Mizer,  and Tom of Finland, and lots of other men whose names are lost to history, is a kind of a hero.  I'm sure The Family Research Council would not agree, but they can just go suck it.  So, I'm glad I didn't make fun of that funny picture up there,  and I'm glad that Mel Roberts lived long enough for his images to be rediscovered, publishrd in glossy coffee table books, and shown in fancy-pants art galleries. 

Just for fun, here are two of my favorite Mel Roberts photos. 

Sean Patrick 1968

Rich Thomson- Carmel Beach 1962

Beyond The Valley Of The Super Twink

I just happened to be looking at a Japanese porn magazine a while ago,  and I was completely taken by these photos of some pretty little porn stars that appeared in it. They are all models for a video company called Acceed. Given the sweet, teen idol-ish nature of these photos, and the ultra-twinkish nature of the subjects, (and make no mistake, if you had told me that these were publicity photos for a Japanese boy band, I would not have blinked an eye) you might guess that Acceed specializes in gentle boy-on-boy action, with lots of kissing and reciprocal blow jobs. You know... like an even twinkier version of Bel Ami. But no, Acceed makes good old fashioned "hang 'em from the ceiling, stick a giant vibrator up their bum, pour a gallon of hot candle wax all over them, grease 'em up with Ben Gay, and then jizz on their face" porn.  But they can't show their man parts, unless they ever-so-lightly pixelate them.  It's just so strange.

R.I.P. Miss Patti Page

The Singin' Rage, Miss Patti Page, one of the biggest pop stars of the 1950s, has passed away at 85 years of age.  Her biggest hit was The Tennessee Waltz, from 1950, but she had top ten hits right up until 1965. She also was in a few movies, but failed to take hold as a movie star. I first knew her, when I was a child in the 1970s, as the singer of How Much Is That Doggie In The Window.  She was pure vanilla, but there's a reason why vanilla is such a popular flavor.   Listen to her sing my favorite of her hits,  Old Cape Cod.