''Blueboy'' was a gay men's magazine with lifestyle and entertainment news, in addition to photos of nude or semi-nude men. It was published monthly from 1974 to 2007.
The ''
Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' described the publication as "a full-color, slick gay version of ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine."
History
''Blueboy'' was originally a small black and white journal purchased in 1974 by publisher Donald N. Embinder. The former advertising manager for the arts magazine ''
After Dark'' rebranded ''Blueboy'' as "The National Magazine About Men," which became the publication's longstanding tagline. The debut issue's cover parodied ''
The Blue Boy'' by 18th-century painter
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...
.
Initially sold at adult bookstores and gay bars, the Miami-based magazine secured national distribution by its fourth issue. Regular features included lifestyle columns, celebrity interviews, film and music reviews, book excerpts and articles on politics, gay rights and gay popular culture.
By 1978, monthly circulation reached 150,000 issues.
Embinder characterized the readership as some of the "most sophisticated and affluent" people in the United States. Notable contributors and interviewees included
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
,
Truman Capote
Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...
,
William S. Burroughs,
Edmund White
Edmund Valentine White III (January 13, 1940 – June 3, 2025) was an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer, and essayist. A pioneering figure in LGBTQ and especially gay literature after the Stonewall riots, he wrote with ra ...
,
John Rechy,
Patricia Nell Warren,
Christopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...
and
Randy Shilts.
The publication's additional outreach included the
gay pulp fiction series Blueboy Library. ''Blueboy Forum'' became the first weekly, live forum from a gay perspective since 25 October 1976, airing on
WKID-TV in Hallandale, Florida and as a late-night talk show on New York City's UHF Channel 68 (
WBTB-TV).
Beginning in the 1990s, however, with competition from such gay publications including ''
Out
Out or OUT may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
*Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
*Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
*O ...
'', ''
MetroSource'' and ''
Genre
Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
'', ''Blueboy'' focused much more on overt nude images, and jettisoned most of its non-pornographic content. The magazine's final issue was published in December 2007.
Legacy and revival
In 2020, the
Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...
in partnership with the
Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...
showcased
Monica Majoli's series ''Blueboys'', featuring centerfolds from the magazine by photographer Alex Sanchez. The exhibition included a new interview with ''Blueboy'' contributing artist
Mel Odom and critical context by Miss Tiger, executive director of the Blueboy Archives and Cultural Arts Foundation.
The Blueboy Archives and Cultural Arts Foundation was founded in 2017 to preserve and contextualize the magazine archives, as well as other historical LGBTQ periodicals, books, films and ephemera.
''Blueboy'' will return as an annual magazine in February 2022.
In popular culture
Singer
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...
mentions the publication in the first lines of her song "
She Bop":
: Well, I see him every night in tight blue jeans
: In the pages of a ''Blueboy'' magazine
See also
*
List of LGBT publications
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website of Blueboy MagazineOfficial website of the Blueboy Archives & Cultural Arts Foundation
Defunct magazines published in the United States
Gay male pornography in the United States
Gay male pornographic magazines
Magazines established in 1974
Magazines disestablished in 2007
Pornography in California
Pornographic magazines published in the United States
Magazines published in Los Angeles