Clint, Great observarions on collecting! As I have said before, posing magazines were part of my growing up and coming out some 66 years ago. I wish I still had those magazines but your archive posts are wonderful reminders. Are you familiar with https://www.gerberhart.org in Chicago? Fondly, Michael
Thanks, oh master of collections. You inspire so much goodness. And share so much too! I wasn’t familiar with Gerber/Hart before, but I’m excited to peruse their online offerings. And maybe see it later in the year. Still mulling a trip to Chicago this fall or next spring. Cheers, my dears!
This is SO on target for me and my husband. We are the ones that have our family memories in the form of pictures, genealogy charts and essays written by our ancestors long gone, special dishes and decorative objects, furniture pieces that are special memories of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even some pieces that a gg grandfather brought back from the south after serving in the Union army- plus his little diary from 1862 keeping track of the various battles, but also the time between the battles. Our straight cousins, nieces, nephews don't care, don't want the stuff. We do pretty well at just saving those items that 'give us joy,' as Marie Kondo would put it. And we make sure that it's not clutter, or piles of stuff like hoarders- we are mostly selective in what we keep. The difficult items to consider getting rid of are the boxes of old skin mags, my collection of the Straight to Hell books written by Boyd McDonald- collections of his reader's 'true homosexual experiences' which still serve as great JO material! My nephew might understand the family memorabilia, but I'm sure that the porn collection will be reviewed with disgust, (or maybe curiosity and serve as JO material for him???) I continue to ponder whether I should part with the queer ephemera- but just can't bring myself to burn or dumpster it. I've been looking for a way to keep it separate from the non-queer stuff, without destroying it. There must be places that would serve to archive it. I doubt that the current generation of gay/bi men have any clue about the porn that those of us in the 70's and 80's relied on prior to online sources. How are others from those decades dealing with this vintage porn. I still enjoy the STH books as one handed reading material. I'm not opposed to video at all, but a story allows for more imagination/fantasy.
Jay, thank you for sharing your thoughts about all your stuff…familial and/or historical. If there’s a LGBTQ historical society in your area, I urge you to reach out to them to see if they are interested in your collection (once you’re done with it of course). I know the ONE Archives here in LA does take some materials, though I’m not sure exactly what. Worst case scenario, I’m happy to post about a collection needing a new home and help connect you with a new custodian. Cheers, my dears!
Jeffrey was 19, and I was 30. I caught a lot of shit for being a chicken hawk, but he was the love of my life, and no gave a fuck when he died at 23.
He was not the innocent one. I was. He had far more experience as a gay man than I did. He had been living in Haight Ashbury, working in his father’s restaurant for years, before he moved back to Oregon.
My parents said it was too bad, but nothing more. I lost all of his photos, etc. in a flood, and all I have is this Highschool photo I found on the internet.
Oh, dear Michael, I’m so sorry for your loss. So young you both were. My condolences and thanks for keeping Jeffrey’s candle lit so we can all appreciate the love and light your shared together. Sending hugs….
Go Brian Go, for me.....nah to ephemera cluttering up my nooks and crannies......all my collected histories/mysteries are locked away in my mind. Well once that goes well it doesn't matter to anyone 😁 I made a conscious decision a while back to get rid of my ephemera so on one hand to make a decision about what to do with it once I'm gone and dust again. Painful decisions once your not a spring chicken any more 😲😎😁 Cheers DougT
Oh, it and you matter to far more people than you’ll ever know, dear Doug. I would love to read your memories of your life. And I’m sure lots more would too. But spring chickens will do what they want, won’t they? I hope you consider sharing more of your world before you leave this one…which I pray is many, many years from now. Much love and light…
You are so right and express it so well. I liked the other comments, too.
Clint, Great observarions on collecting! As I have said before, posing magazines were part of my growing up and coming out some 66 years ago. I wish I still had those magazines but your archive posts are wonderful reminders. Are you familiar with https://www.gerberhart.org in Chicago? Fondly, Michael
Thanks, oh master of collections. You inspire so much goodness. And share so much too! I wasn’t familiar with Gerber/Hart before, but I’m excited to peruse their online offerings. And maybe see it later in the year. Still mulling a trip to Chicago this fall or next spring. Cheers, my dears!
We must plan a get together if you come to Chicago. I'll take you out to dinner. Fondly Michael
I would love that. I’ll keep you posted when I figure out my plans. Cheers!
This is SO on target for me and my husband. We are the ones that have our family memories in the form of pictures, genealogy charts and essays written by our ancestors long gone, special dishes and decorative objects, furniture pieces that are special memories of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even some pieces that a gg grandfather brought back from the south after serving in the Union army- plus his little diary from 1862 keeping track of the various battles, but also the time between the battles. Our straight cousins, nieces, nephews don't care, don't want the stuff. We do pretty well at just saving those items that 'give us joy,' as Marie Kondo would put it. And we make sure that it's not clutter, or piles of stuff like hoarders- we are mostly selective in what we keep. The difficult items to consider getting rid of are the boxes of old skin mags, my collection of the Straight to Hell books written by Boyd McDonald- collections of his reader's 'true homosexual experiences' which still serve as great JO material! My nephew might understand the family memorabilia, but I'm sure that the porn collection will be reviewed with disgust, (or maybe curiosity and serve as JO material for him???) I continue to ponder whether I should part with the queer ephemera- but just can't bring myself to burn or dumpster it. I've been looking for a way to keep it separate from the non-queer stuff, without destroying it. There must be places that would serve to archive it. I doubt that the current generation of gay/bi men have any clue about the porn that those of us in the 70's and 80's relied on prior to online sources. How are others from those decades dealing with this vintage porn. I still enjoy the STH books as one handed reading material. I'm not opposed to video at all, but a story allows for more imagination/fantasy.
Jay, thank you for sharing your thoughts about all your stuff…familial and/or historical. If there’s a LGBTQ historical society in your area, I urge you to reach out to them to see if they are interested in your collection (once you’re done with it of course). I know the ONE Archives here in LA does take some materials, though I’m not sure exactly what. Worst case scenario, I’m happy to post about a collection needing a new home and help connect you with a new custodian. Cheers, my dears!
Jeffrey was 19, and I was 30. I caught a lot of shit for being a chicken hawk, but he was the love of my life, and no gave a fuck when he died at 23.
He was not the innocent one. I was. He had far more experience as a gay man than I did. He had been living in Haight Ashbury, working in his father’s restaurant for years, before he moved back to Oregon.
My parents said it was too bad, but nothing more. I lost all of his photos, etc. in a flood, and all I have is this Highschool photo I found on the internet.
Oh, dear Michael, I’m so sorry for your loss. So young you both were. My condolences and thanks for keeping Jeffrey’s candle lit so we can all appreciate the love and light your shared together. Sending hugs….
Go Brian Go, for me.....nah to ephemera cluttering up my nooks and crannies......all my collected histories/mysteries are locked away in my mind. Well once that goes well it doesn't matter to anyone 😁 I made a conscious decision a while back to get rid of my ephemera so on one hand to make a decision about what to do with it once I'm gone and dust again. Painful decisions once your not a spring chicken any more 😲😎😁 Cheers DougT
Oh, it and you matter to far more people than you’ll ever know, dear Doug. I would love to read your memories of your life. And I’m sure lots more would too. But spring chickens will do what they want, won’t they? I hope you consider sharing more of your world before you leave this one…which I pray is many, many years from now. Much love and light…
Oooh Matron, thankies for the kind words. DougT
Queer history survived because enough ordinary weirdos looked at a box of “junk” and thought, actually, this matters. 😃
Eggz-zack-lee! Because we matter. And so does every branch of the Rainbow Family Tree. Past, present, and future.