When we think of “gay pulp fiction,” John Travolta in a bolo tie and ponytail doing The Twist with a coked-up Uma Thurman immediately comes to mind. But let’s take a moment to remember yesterqueer and the exploitative “literature” of the ’50s, ’60s and early ’70s detailing the seedy underbelly of homosexual life. They were the literary version of Bravo: cheap, trashy entertainment exclusively for gay men and bored housewives. And their covers were sometimes more entertaining than their plots.
In the spirit of reading being fundamental and a picture being worth a thousand words, here are 30 salacious covers from the golden age of pulp fiction:
ProfessorMoriarty
I was going to comment that these covers were more poignant than hilarious…
Chris
Say what you will about these covers. But they were daring for their time. And this sort of pulp gay-fiction is one of those things that got all of us who remember those days through being beat up, called names, bullied, and otherwise treated as if we were worthless scum.
Doug
Would really like the opportunity to read some of these, I’ll bet they’re a hoot! Anybody know if these are available anywhere?
crowebobby
“Boys of Boise” isn’t pulp fiction, it’s excellent reportage of how a local politician turned the arrest of three gay men and one hustler into a witch hunt to go after one of his political opponents, tossing the constitution in the trash under the guise of “saving the children.” The town gives Patriot-Act like powers to a naval officer who has nothing to do with law enforcement, allowing him and the police to do literally anything they want. Only two gay men escape unscathed: a lawyer, and a school teacher who, while sitting at breakfast, heard of the first arrest, got up from the table, got into his car and drove to the nearest big town. It’s an excellent and infuriating report of how helpless the average gay was in 1955. It is well worth reading.
tricky ricky
nothing beats the covers of the Gordon Merrick novels in the 70’s. they were sold in supermarkets and drugstores and oh so obviously tastefully tacky gay.
Guy068
Are there any archives of these online?
bobbyjoe
@Doug
Quite a lot of them– and similarly interesting gay titles from the same era– are available on ebay; you just have to keep your eyes open and know how to bargain-shop (be careful about buying the first copies you see listed as a number of buyers seriously over-charge).
b2rocketfan
Satan was a Lesbian sounds like the book Trump is writing about Hillary. She can write one called “Suck my dick, Trump, you dirty bitch!” I’d read that.
GG
Confession: I am a character in a novel of this genre. Seriously. I was working at a, um, health spa, and one of my co-workers wrote about the goings on there. Of course, names were changed to protect the guilty . . .
Billy Budd
This is fabulous. I find it endearing.
martinbakman
Thunderballs!
Ybarry45
Before I found out what “gay” meant….yes, there was a time when it was a code word and not a lifestyle. I found a copy of The Adventures Of Gaylord Merryweather on the street. It was an eye opening book for a small-town teenager who thought he was by himself. I was hoping to see its cover. It stayed hidden, within reach, until it fell apart.
helios3003
“Am I Ready Chest Hair?” reads like a contemporary parody to me. I don’t think the noun “twink” was used in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s. One slang equivalent used then was “chicken.”