Queer Ads: Gay Male Imagery in American Advertising

Abstract

The multimedia presentation Queer Ads: Gay Male Imagery in American Advertising chronicles the history of gay male images in American print and video advertising. It does this within the context of the history of the gay rights movement and with a focus on advertisements for a variety of product and service categories. It concludes that, although very rare, gay images appeared in subtle but non‐judgmental portrayals early in the twentieth century. Starting at the end of the 1920s, imagery, equally rare, tended to depict gay men pejoratively as objects of ridicule or scorn. This approach changed in the 1970s when more positive and edgy images began appearing. Today, a broad range of gay male images—both positive and negative—appear in print and video advertisements. This document provides information intended to supplement the presentation. It includes (1) dimensions of what comprises a gay male image; (2) the method used to locate the images; (3) the narration script of the presentation annotated with references; (4) links to images for which copyright reprint permission was denied; and (5) a list of references.

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