Whisper Campaign

An issue of Whisper from June, 1956, an example of the gossip-fueled tabloids that multiplied in the 1950s,
answering (and creating) the American public’s thirst for scandals – especially about
actors and actresses, and exposés of the underbelly of the middle class.

Among such articles about wife-swapping in the suburbs and crime rings for hire,
are overtly hostile profiles of gay men, including the pan of Liberace’s first starring role in a film
and a frank open letter to Tennessee Williams penned by his “old friend,” Max Maxwell.

The magazine is also filled with ads promising body-reshaping, sex tips, and
and the extremely practical “hair-do cutouts” from Hollywood Hair-Do (located on Long Island).

Queer Zine Explosion!

Issues of queer zines, ca. 1990-2000 from a growing collection at Beinecke Library.

Inversions

A theme issue of a French magazine from August, 1923,
focusing on the subject of “inversion” or homosexuality.

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Issues of a newsletter for a gay men’s community, near Amherst, Mass. in the 1970s.

[Click to enlarge]

What’s for dinner, Mary?

An advertising flyer from the Dorian Book Service, which offered
gay- and lesbian-themed publications in the 1960s.

[View the large size to read the hilarious introduction –
using what can be considered today “sanctioned vocabulary”.]