This "homosexual with virile bodily development" appeared on a website that described it as mid-20th Century. I suppose some publisher may have gotten away with it in a medical text, but I don't know where in the English speaking world this could have been safely published before 1967.
This image is a reproduction of Figure 51 from the book Geschlecht und Gesellschaft (Sex and Society) by German physician and sexologist Dr. Bruno Goldmann. I am working on when it was published but it was before 1950. The photograph was used in the context of early sexology and theories surrounding homosexuality. It belongs to an era when doctors and researchers used images as visual "evidence" for burgeoning theories on sexuality and gender identity, often categorizing individuals based on physical appearance and perceived traits. The original caption describes the subject as a "male homosexual with virile bodily development," reflecting a specific viewpoint in early 20th-century discourse that challenged the prevailing stereotype of homosexual men as effeminate. The image was likely intended to illustrate that male homosexuality could coincide with traditionally masculine physical traits.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the details!
DeleteI like the look of pride? defiance? nonchalance? on the subject-Dee Exx
ReplyDeleteAll three, and I like it also.
DeleteI really do not know how the photograph would indicate what a homosexual man would look like. That is ridiculous! The man in the photograph MAY have been homosexual, but homosexual men don't ALL look alike.
ReplyDeleteOf course he could be of any sexual orientation, but portraying him as masculine was a refreshing change.
DeleteIn der Fußstapfen von Magnus Hirschfeld und seine Marbeiter Karl Giese und Li Shiu Tong. (“)
ReplyDelete