Public Viewing Of Vintage Nude
Another slide found in a box of vintage men's magazines, this one is clearly a snap of a magazine page (Body Beautiful, 1955).
At first I thought the idea of photographing a magazine page rather odd... After all, if you have the magazine, why make a copy of it -- and one which isn't exactly subtle viewing?
I imagined a man, alone in his bachelor pad, preferring to project copies of naked photos on his screen (or wall) rather than turning the pages of the magazines; and it didn't make much sense. Neither did images of him inviting his buddies over for a night of naughty slide shows -- even if such commercial slide sets were available.
Well, OK, maybe this was like stag films; a private party event with semi-public viewing of risque & nude slides... Perhaps this magazine photo was a favorite and needed to be included in the show?
But the idea of such naughty boys' nights 'in' just seems strange to me.
Perhaps it's our current closeted ideas of sex which render the idea so unfamiliar... Even strip clubs seem less popular than ever, with more and more city ordinances (in all the cities and states I've lived in for the past decade) cracking down, removing licenses, and generally just saying 'no' to adult entertainment. So wrapping my mind about such lurid group viewing seems odd...
And then it hit me.
Like any collector -- like this collector -- the original owner produced this content for public viewing, for sharing. This vintage slide, a copy of a magazine page, was produced with the intent to be shown off, with pride, to anyone who'd care to see it. Just as I do with this blog.
The slide show was that guy's blog.
At first I thought the idea of photographing a magazine page rather odd... After all, if you have the magazine, why make a copy of it -- and one which isn't exactly subtle viewing?
I imagined a man, alone in his bachelor pad, preferring to project copies of naked photos on his screen (or wall) rather than turning the pages of the magazines; and it didn't make much sense. Neither did images of him inviting his buddies over for a night of naughty slide shows -- even if such commercial slide sets were available.
Well, OK, maybe this was like stag films; a private party event with semi-public viewing of risque & nude slides... Perhaps this magazine photo was a favorite and needed to be included in the show?
But the idea of such naughty boys' nights 'in' just seems strange to me.
Perhaps it's our current closeted ideas of sex which render the idea so unfamiliar... Even strip clubs seem less popular than ever, with more and more city ordinances (in all the cities and states I've lived in for the past decade) cracking down, removing licenses, and generally just saying 'no' to adult entertainment. So wrapping my mind about such lurid group viewing seems odd...
And then it hit me.
Like any collector -- like this collector -- the original owner produced this content for public viewing, for sharing. This vintage slide, a copy of a magazine page, was produced with the intent to be shown off, with pride, to anyone who'd care to see it. Just as I do with this blog.
The slide show was that guy's blog.
Labels: Collecting, Essays, Images, Magazines, Photographs, Sex History
posted by Silent-Porn-Star at
8:41 AM
3 Comments:
"The slide show was that guy's blog"
That made me laugh out loud because you're completely right. It makes you wonder if he obsessed over how many people showed up at his party or whether he was going to get a book deal out of it.
I love that you live in my head, Shon; or I in parts of yours ;)
I imagine that he did obsess over his attendance numbers, or at least his reputation... Surely he had a limited space and that the shows were invite only to persons he knew, but he had to be competing with the shows/collections of others in some regard.
And certainly, he, like adult bloggers, had to straddle the 'be known' & 'remain private' if only for his family's sake...
He may not have imagined the 'book deal', but he had to want some acknowledgment &/or respect for what he had and was doing. I just wonder if the hearty smack on the back & guffaw was enough... And if not, what 'making it' was.
I should really knuckle down and ask my Dad about this. Our fathers must have stories, or heard legends of such neighborhood heroes, right?
Interesting...
I'm old enough to have sat through hours and hours of slides of family vacations etc., and then 8 mm home movies -- so I get the entertainment value for groups. But obviously (and I hope it's obvious!) I never viewed any such adult shows at home... Or later, with friends. And you're right, it's difficult to imagine.
When the 80's & videos ushered in the age of home pornos, it never occurred to me that the movies would be watched by anyone other than those wishing to get laid...
The difference between the 70's Golden Age of Porn and it's theatrical releases and 80's VHS was huge, not just in terms of film quality but entertainment value -- 70's flicks were entertaining in many ways, not just erotic &/or dirty, so one can imagine getting the girls together and heading out to see Behind the Green Door... But I can't imagine inviting anyone over to watch a porno at your house, unless it was foreplay.
Perhaps that's something to do with being female too... That to enter a person's home is a much more vulnerable place than to enter a public movie theater, and so it removes the possibility for me.
But interesting stuff.
And I think we should all ask our dads ;)
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