Monday, September 17, 2012

Bosom Buddies

I came across an interesting article called "Bosom Buddies: A Photo History of Male Affection" on "The Art of Manliness", written by Brett and Kate Mckay a while ago. It is full of old photos of male friends that weren't afraid to show how much they cared about each other through intimacy. Here is an outtake from the article:

"The poses, facial expressions, and body language of the men below will strike the modern viewer as very gay indeed. But it is crucial to understand that you cannot view these photographs through the prism of our modern culture and and current conception of homosexuality. The term 'homosexuality' was in fact not coined until 1869, and before that time, the strict dichotomy between 'gay' and 'straight' did not yet exist. Attraction to, and sexual activity with other men was thought as of something you did, not something you were. It was a behavior - accepted by some cultures and considered sinful by others."

So here now follows some of these photos that "are not about sexuality, but intimacy."












































































3 comments:

  1. I think their bond is beautiful and you see it now, but in a different way. I prefer this. Men think if they get too emotional or close it's gay, which is just silly. Closeness and carrying a bond is wonderful and if you can't have that in life than what do you have!?! Women should have more of this too, women tend to cat fight against each other for men and otherwise, when really we should bond together like these men here, quite beautiful it would be :) Happy Monday my darling girl!! <3 <3 <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. These photos are awesome especially since homosexuality was frowned upon then, I wonder if any of these dudes were gay for each other but afraid to say, it's a crazy thing to think about and adds a cool dimension to these awesome photographs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful post. Really enjoyed looking at this set of images.

    ReplyDelete