The atmosphere of repression was so severe in 1958 Detroit that when the police raided the home based studio of Doug Juleff, aka Douglas of Detroit, they even harassed his models. Only those photos already sold and a group kept at a friend's home remain today, and a relatively high proportion of those have no model's name attached. It could be that Doug removed the names from the pictures his friend kept to protect the models. In any case, I am featuring five of them today.
We must never forget those who suffered for our freedom.
As you so succinctly put it...we really must remember those who suffered for the freedoms we enjoy today. What a magnificent man. I suspect, from his face, quite reserved. Perhaps in the forces. Maybe working out in his garage or YMCA gym. Maybe gay..or not. Just happy to show off his fine physique and other superb masculine attributes. That over 60 years later we are free to enjoy and admire today.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic that you mention the forces. It was said at the time that one of Doug's models was actually a Detroit policeman, a fact which infuriated the raIding police officers and cause them to be perhaps even more severe than they might otherwise have been.
DeleteThis is a stunning picture, however one may interpret it....whether you may be a gay or straight guy, or female...this is a fine example of masculinity....to think that this type of image would have been considered illegal and even being attracted to a fellow male would have resulted in vilification or worse! It's been a long and rocky road, but thanks to guys such as this Doug, although we have further to travel along it, we have come a long way....!
ReplyDeleteThank you Jerry and also “unknown” and bobbert for your fine words. It is hard to imagine how repressive it was in those days, and we have indeed come a long way since the 1967 legislation (here in the UK), but homophobia, discrimination and hate crime is still widespread. We must never forget those who suffered for our freedoms, even if those freedoms are not always apparent.
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