John Manning was part Native American, Sioux if I remember correctly. As you will see in the G rated half of this double feature, Bruce of LA took some photos of him in toy store "Indian" props that bordered on the ridiculous. Here, however, Bob Mizer of AMG has chosen show him in color sitting on a fake tiger skin with Classical Era Trojan style props. Go figure. It's still impressive.
What I never understood in this and a few other photos is why his foreskin is back. The exposed glans is somewhat obscene in plains Indian culture; we actually bind our penises so that the skin covers it completely during an inipi (sweat lodge) and during one war dance (and for the war itself). Also doubles as a symbol of sexual abstinence.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, relevant here, the ancient Greeks did the same.
Manning actually got me interested in physique photography. When I was in college, a gay and lesbian studies major saw me coming out of the shower and said how much I looked like a darker version of Manning. He showed me some photos and a short loop of Manning skulking with a spear and dancing with a tomahawk so his "best feature" dangled while danced.
Clearly the foreskins of many early physique models were pulled back to excite the audience. I prefer seeing the foreskin.
DeleteMaybe a "foreskin" category in the future?
ReplyDelete