Real Men Do Wear Pouches

Brian Lamprill, in pouch, by Vic White

 

 

 I recently published a post at the mitchmen Royale Studio Gallery about the hunky Royale model Brian Lamprill. It featured photographs of him taken by a different, British photographer, Vic White. 

 

Vic White was a respected British body-builder in the 50s, so his choice of models and photography of them was based on a true appreciation of the artistic and physical qualities of a well-developed, male physique. 

 

What surprised me about the Lamprill portfolio though, was the sheer sexiness that emanated from it, not just from the model's face, bulk and oily curves, but from the frankly startling shaping of his posing pouch. (which may have got a bit oily, accidentally). It's very revealing that both the photographer and model were clearly comfortable with this.

 

These pictures were published in the British, beefcake magazine 'Man Alive' in 1960. Openly published I nearly said, but it was hard to get hold of copies, except by mail order subscription. Nevertheless, it seems remarkable in those oppressed times. It sparked an (admittedly prurient!) interest in me about this photographer, which revived when I came across the picture below in my files.

 

 

Ray Andrews by Vic White

I freely admit that this model is my 'type', not pretty but he has an innate 'maleness'. As with the image of Lamprill above, that quality emerges more strongly if you subtract the slightly camp, bodybuilder/ballet legs....

 

Ray Andrews by Vic White

 Ray's pouch is more discreetly arranged than Brian's, but you still get the picture. This much derided garment is capable of as much erotic impact as the most slick and skimpy of modern thongs. Its improvisatory appearance is itself part of the appeal, particularly on a man who looks far from being the sort who would be comfortable showing himself and being photographed in such unusual and revealing kit. 

 

After all, this is an era when men's underwear actually fitted around the waist, above the hips and hiding the navel. 

 

Prehistoric Men's Underwear ad

(a time when tents and men's briefs were carefully segregated

and you had to take pills for blue finger)

 

60's underpants also entirely covered the backside, whereas the pouch is completely backless. In these circumstances, Ray's confident looking pose is commendable. This man inspired my title for this post - Real Men Do Wear Pouches. 

 

 

Derek Manthorpe by Vic White

 This photo has similar qualities, a man with pleasant, but unremarkable facial features. You might imagine him working in an office. But he's unexpectedly showing an incredibly bulky torso and an incongruous pouch that seems weighed down by its contents. His expression seems to convey manly bewilderment at being asked to wear such a thing and having to hold his hands behind his back, (as if they were tied together) to leave the embarrassing, brazen display (and imaginary access to it by any viewer) entirely unrestricted. 

 

White has arranged Derek's pouch to be narrower than Ray's (pushing together the top hem, which slides freely on the support string like a simple curtain). His pouch sides drop vertically, creating the impression of weightiness (and, for the wearer, increasing the sense of brevity and openness at the sides). There's possibly (probably) been some sanitising of the pouch surface, but the w-shaped shadow/stain at its base is reassuringly shapely, crying out to be cradled, like billiard balls in a bag. White himself has cropped off the lower half of the picture but stopped just short of the pouch and that draws attention to it.

 

 

Ken Restall by Vic White

Ken Restall was another mature-looking man who looked an improbable choice for a model, but you can't argue with that physique! 

 

White has employed the same crotch-level, cropping device here and created a strange shadow underneath, which gives an impression of exceptional bulk in the pouch without showing any sensitive detail. It's set very low down on Ken's shaved abdomen, but the strings at the side suggest it should be even lower. It looks like unfinished adjustments.

 

Ken's finely chiselled torso is well worthy of the unrestricted display afforded by the hands above the head pose, but rather than opting for conventional bicep flexing arm he's chosen a hands-clasping position that gives the faint impression of him being tied.

 

 

Mike Tozer by Vic White

 Mike Tozer was something of a catch for White, well muscled with a photogenic personality. White snapped him in a traditional muscle pose here, but again with the pouch slung very low on a shaved abdomen. It looks like his pubic hair has been painted out just above the pouch. The photo is cropped slightly lower down the legs than those above, which brings out his impressively-sized thighs but seems to miniaturise the pouch.  

 

The pouch itself is at the opposite extreme to those just above - loose fitting, apparently, with an indentation that suggests thick material, which certainly hasn't been wetted. Perhaps Mike brought his own. Some of that linen crispness is attributable to the extreme AI adjustments I've resorted to, in order to create a brighter, sharper image, but the pouch looks just the same in the noisy original.

 

 It's not very flattering to a man, appearing to have very little to show seems worse than showing everything. However, spots like this, dark in the middle with a bright halo, often appear on old photographs, so I've experimented with a version treating this as noise.

 

Mike Tozer by Vic White (pouch modified)

This modified version is more like what you'd expect and credits Mike with a manly presence.  

 

Ray Golding by Vic White

White's manipulations with pouches seem to have reached a crescendo with this image. It's not obviously faked. How did he persuade the model to get into this? More to the point, I suppose, how did he persuade the conservative magazine, Man's World, to publish this in February 1959, well before the dawn of the permissive 60s? 

 

Ray Golding has the pop-star looks of that era and a physique that looks trim rather than well-muscled. Not White's usual material.

 

 

Ray Golding by Vic White

 

I don't know if Ray Golding is related to Roy, it's from late 1958 (Man Alive, issue 2) so it's conceivably the same person, but this image of him is worth including in its own right. He's got more oil on his body that he's got on his hair but its has a magical effect on his youthful physique. 

 

He gives the impression of a frustrated, young man who has just been told he can't borrow Dad's car. Or punished by having to wear a skimpy pouch, in my twisted imagination!  

 

His right arm is semi-flexed, like a bodybuilder pose, but it's placed on the far side so as not to interfere with the line of his body that flows down to the pouch nestling between his thighs. The pouch itself is clean and natural-looking with intriguing, if faint, contours and a teasing opening at the side.

 

 

Doug Preddy by Vic White

Another tribute to youth from around the same time (Aug 58). Doug strikes a 'thinker' pose, similar to Ray's, but more philosophical and classical. Doug's muscle credentials demonstrate a good deal of time spent in the gym, with the photo capturing splendid arm details. 

 

His raised leg ensures a clear pouch outline with bulkiness and ambiguous shaping that seems more suggestive than genuine. Sorry Doug! The indrawn ab just above compensates, seemingly inviting exploration and delving.

More on Vic White to come

Vintage Bath Nite imagery

The final image in Etienne's 'Bath Nite' was probably inspired by AMG's images of Wally Shillicut bathing himself in a tiny bathtub.

Wally Schillicut in the Tub 1 (AMG)

This image tantalises, screening what might be happening under the water. In reality, he's probably wearing a pouch.

 

Wally Schillicut in the Tub 2 (AMG)

Now the pouch is visible, full and beautifully shaped for aficionados. The clingy, near-transparency indicates that it's wet. Wally's nether regions suspended over the water are erotic in their own right. But, spare a moment to appreciate the tension in the model's torso.

 

Wally Schillicut in the Tub 3 (AMG)

Sitting on a box to wash his feet, Wally's pouch exhibits more tension, topped off with a descending dribble that challenges the restrictions of the era. 

 

Wally Schillicut in the Tub 4 (AMG)

AMG roped in animals on more than one occasion to supplement their model's charms. In this image, the cuteness of the ducks seems to rub off on Wally. The strategic positioning is more amusing than erotic, since Wally's pouch strings are clearly visible.

 

Wally Schillicut in the Tub 5 (AMG)

 A single duck offers more possibilities for visual punning when placed between the legs, but Wally seems to have a bit of a handful with this one. Just as well he's got his pouch on here, but it's not entirely hiding his 'embarrassment'. Better watch out for that pecker! At least he didn't have to contend with a goat or a donkey or a monkey like some other AMG models did.

~ 

 Wally's AMG shoot didn't only inspire Etienne....

 

William MacLane - Bath House

 

William MacLane transplanted the imagery to a Japanese bath house, which in the post-WW2 era of the 50s might well have been patronised by USN sailors, as suggested here. Such intercultural encounters were a popular theme at the time in films and books, usually with depressing plots. MacLane is making a conscious attempt to be artistic and literary here. Relevant, we might say, today. 

 

However, the pose, which is about a man washing himself in primitive conditions, doesn't really work in this context.  Even with another (sexy) sailor watching him closely and touching his leg with his back, the washer women drain the eroticism out of the picture far more effectively than any number of ducks. However, that hint about gay relationships, possibly one-way in this case, is an interesting feature, also found in William MacLane's other work.

 

~ 

 

This surge of interest in bath-tub washing, at a time when most households were consigning the practice to history and turning to showers, may in its turn have been inspired by James MacArthur's erotic splash in the 1958 movie, 'The Light In The Forest' (below).

 

MacArthur plays a white boy who has been brought up by Native Americans. Captured by settlers, he is introduced to the pleasures of civilisation. The images are tantalisingly homoerotic, but I don't think the conversation here is about back scrubbing! 

 

 

Or chest shaving either, here!

 

MacArthur's character suffers the customary range of humiliations meted out to captives...

 

He's tied up and abducted...

 

 

 Forced to wade across rivers in his best buckskins, under the watchful (and I like to think, lecherous) eye of his captor. 

Who could blame him for it?

 

James' preparation for playing the role seems to have been equally closely policed by minders. Poor James! Surprisingly, an obvious career as a sex bomb did not materialise for him.

 

~

 

I can't leave the subject of bath tubs without reference to one of the best known examples of the genre in the gay canon. Once again it's AMG who are responsible.

 

 

The GI standing in the bath tub seems to saying, 'do I have to?' As if this is a punishment. We might take his companion to be another soldier, but he's actually armed with a civilian shotgun rather than a military weapon, so he might really be an enraged father making sure his daughter isn't going to be left in the lurch by the trigger-happy GI she's been messing around with. Either way, it's a great example of a man being put in his place.

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha'

 Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' dates from the nineteen sixties. It appears to be related in concept to, and a precursor to, the better known 'Sailors Beware' story, which came out in its first version shortly after 'Pasha', judging by the Kris Catalogue numbering. 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha', Original Catalogue images
(rearranged from a vertical strip)

The Kris Catalogue entry for 'Pasha' (replicated above) showed 6 images, with all the characters in them respectably 'draped'. Three of them were also published in a larger format in a different catalogue. This article features an uncensored version which I found on the Tim In Vermont website before it was taken down. It didn't give any source information. 

 The three 'big' earlier images are included in the article below in the appropriate places. Unlike the revised version of 'Sailor Beware', the underlying images don't seem to have been significantly altered other than replacing the loin-cloths and pouches with not quite erect organs. No sex is shown.  

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 1

 

The Golden Pasha lounges in luxury while around him a harem of conspicuously naked, young men entertain him with music, grovel and pamper him. Notice the phallic uprights of his throne.

 

Stephen was quite fond of depicting musicians at this time. I suppose there's a certain innuendo in the horn blowing and string plucking of long-necked instruments.

 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 1 (original version)

This earlier version shows all the characters in exactly the same positions. The three on the right have acquired pouches which seem to be carefully detailed with patterns (and jewels in the Pasha's case). The covering of the guard at the doorway, however, seems to have been painted on rather clumsily by comparison. The Pasha's pantaloons have also been altered, extending all the way up to his waist rather than finishing high up on the thigh, like stockings. 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 2

 

The Pasha seems to be a hard master to serve. In the dungeon below, those who displease him are chained up, and he personally punishes each of them with his whip. His suspender belt is meticulously detailed and impressively jewelled. It's apparent that the 'Golden' tag relates to his wealth, not his sunny personality.

 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 3

The Pasha's maltreatment of his slaves means he must watch them with an eagle eye for any signs of rebellion. But one slave at least has had enough. He has somehow procured a sleeping potion and secretly drugs the Pasha's wine. 

This picture almost seems to shift the scene to Japan, as witness the bonsai-like trees. The intricate decoration of the pillar on the left which includes a Fuji-like mountain, a stylised chrysanthemum and more typically Japanese style patterns in-between (plus an incongruous elephant, which is neither Arabian nor Japanese).

Some of Steve Masters' images around this time featured decorative detail like this. 

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 3 (original version)

This earlier version is little different. Again, the Pasha's pants have become thigh-wraps and his dick is covered by a jock-like, ribbed pouch (with a jewel encrusted top hem!). We can see more of the foreground, bottom left, which turns out to be a pool with fish and lilies. A show of his opulence.

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 4

Once the Pasha has fallen into a drugged sleep, his slaves rise up against him. Some have weapons, perhaps taken from the Palace Guards who seem to have deserted their master. Someone, at some point, has removed his pants and boots. As a result, the Pasha lies in a tempting, splayed legs position*. One of the rebels seems to be inviting everyone to have a go. 

*This is a favourite pose of Stephen's, it seems to turn up in many stories, twice in Night Patrol, in image 5 and image 8. The Pasha version is more convincing than some.

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 5

The Pasha awakes to find a knife menacing his chest and his treasure chest being looted. Perhaps more startlingly for him, his legs are in physical contact with the intimate regions of two of his slaves. One is resting between the buns of the looter. The other is raised between the legs of his immediate attacker, almost as if they had just had intercourse. Who knows? The threat of the knife seems to be equated with the threat of his dick. A choice to be made?

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 5 (original)

In the original version of image 5, pouches have sprouted once again, to conceal the less offensive weapons of the attackers.  The disappearance of the primary attacker's dick makes his knife seem a lot more menacing, although he's still deliberately angling it out from his groin. 

 The Pasha's modesty is protected by a casually draped cloth, looking a bit like leopard skin. Oddly enough, that device makes his nudity and vulnerability seem more apparent. His hairy legs, glimpsed in earlier pictures, come to the fore.

 All the slaves' faces have been upgraded in the nude version, in line with Stephen's later technique. In the original, we can see more of the architectural detail of the room, which adds greatly to the depth of the image. We can also see some subtle shading in the trees, which is probably washed out in the later version by the reproduction process.

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 6

In the final image, the Pasha himself is chained like a slave and forced to kneel, cringing in submission to his former slaves. He is stripped of his turban, the symbol of his rank, as well as the last vestiges of his clothing (except for one sock). He looks very naked now, and the raised position of his hands, behind his back, suggests he's desperately trying to free himself. Aware perhaps that he will soon make his first acquaintance with the business end of his own, vengeful whip in the dungeon. 

 

This is an interesting study of feet, which are less evident in the earlier pictures, but soon became Stephen's unique trademark. Perhaps the Pasha is being invited to address them with respectful lips. Their exaggerated size here creates a sense of powerful men and menace surrounding the cowed ruler. 

 

The intertwining of the feet with Stephen's signature seems to be deliberate, but it's unclear why, perhaps indicative of his personal fascination with them. I'm afraid it reminds me of sticky carpets in sleazy bars!

 

Stephen's 'Golden Pasha' 6 (original)

This cropped version comes from Drummer in 1976. It's interesting that that particular publication should decide to crop out the whip. It makes the Pasha seem cornered, rather than surrounded. Interesting too, that Drummer don't seem to have had the nude version at their disposal (unless, of course, they preferred the contrast and subtle power of nude vs clothed, i.e. CMNM). Either way, it's a tribute to the essence of domination in Stephen's drawing of this scene.

 

~ 

 

The Golden Pasha doesn't quite have the power of other Etienne stories. The draughtmanship is good quality, the sexuality subdued, but bubbling teasingly beneath the surface and between the frames. The Pasha's relationship with his harem/slaves seems to be strictly sadistic. It's they who seem to threaten him with sex as a punishment and humiliation. The simple morality of the story is a far cry from the aggressive sexual subjugations of Night Patrol, Marine Training and Here Comes the Groom to name just a few of Stephen's later creations. 

 

Perhaps that reflects the political changes of the 60s and the greater freedom of expression subsequently afforded to gay men. 

  

 ~

 

There are numerous other posts about Etienne here at mitchmen,

check out my Etienne index for articles mainly about him,

a general search on Etienne will bring up every reference.

 

There's also an 'Exclusively Etienne' Google Group 

that's easy to join.   

Art by David Angelo 1

 

 The vintage gay art of the sixties that was printed in beefcake magazines of the time often seems quite amateurish, however this example by David Angelo has a pleasing blend of technical accuracy and sensuality. 

 

Inevitably, the model is clad in a posing pouch, a garment that often attracts derision in our own time, but the artist's treatment gives us a sense of size inside and entrapment, a straining to escape that shows us how the men of the time really saw it. Something truly erotic. 

More on vintage pouches 

 Angelo's drawing is based on a photograph of course, the model's physique and face looks rather like the great Rick Wayne.

 

David Angelo - Gunslinger

 

Cowboys were big in popular culture in the sixties, replete with handsome heroes. Angelo has given this one another idealised treatment, with prominent pecs and nipples straining at his tight shirt. The gun belt fulfils a similar restraining role below the waist. This last detail was not pure invention....

 

Robert Fuller as Jess Harper in 'Laramie'

  

Robert Fuller sneaking up behind John Smith in 'Laramie' 

 

David Angelo - Wrestlers

For this image of two wrestlers, Angelo has cleverly used the same stark lighting to cover up a bold erotic statement. 

 

One of the fighters is caught in a position where he's off-balance and vulnerable. His flimsy pouch inevitably draws the eye, but it's also attracted his opponent's hand. It's groping underneath, in the shadow of his groin. This hold has nothing to do with wrestling! 

In addition, the fighter in the foreground is totally naked, and the dark shadow that hides his far leg accentuates the impression that he's presenting his backside to us. 

It's not simply the sexuality that is so daring, it's the homosexuality. In 1960, just putting men together in a picture was suspect.

 

The lattice pattern in the corner is not part of Angelo's picture, it's part of an adjacent image in a magazine spread. 

 

 

David Angelo - Pop Star's Finale

In 1963 when this picture was published, pop music was starting to shed its veneer of respectability with Beatlemania converting music concerts into manic, adoration events. With its focus on young love, however, it was (and still is) relentlessly heterosexual. Not many pop stars dressed in transparent shirts and matador pants like this (not yet). 

 

Nevertheless, many gay artists tried to incorporate pop into their images. Tom of Finland's 'Ringo' openly sought to subvert the idea of straight entertainers and I suspect Angelo is doing that here too, by showing us his rear view, tensed above opened legs, raised up on tip toes. The singer seems to be ignoring his female fans, who are noisily lusting after his front profile. He's casting aside, too, the female shape of his guitar*. "Come and get me", he seems to be saying. To us, not them.

 

Ultimately these images fail to capture the magical attraction of pop stars, because away from the mic', he's just another bloke. I think I have seen art images of a star being seduced on stage, but I can't cite it at present. Sex in front of a horde of screaming women is a bit niche for me!

 

*The singer's own shape has interesting undulations at waist level, with an odd fit into his pants at the left. It's almost as if Angelo couldn't quite decide how slim, how masculine to make him look.

 

 

Angelo - Slave Auction 

Ever since Victorian times, the Slave Auction has been a 'go to' for artists seeking to portray gender power play and sexploitation in a semirespectable way. It fitted readily into the adoption of classical settings by gay artists seeking to avoid censure in the 50s and 60s. 

 

Angelo's Romanesque take has a very unusual night setting, giving him an opportunity to play with light effects*. The physiques of the two spectacularly muscular men who are manacled and up for sale, are greatly flattered by it - to the benefit of their value too, I suppose.  

 

A key ingredient in this scenario is the depiction of the slaves' emotions. One is proudly displaying himself, seemingly indifferent to the fate which might await him. His companion is, if anything, more muscular, but seems to be cast as a younger servant. He reaches forward, holding up the cloth which screens their groins (for the time being). 

 

The bidders we can see in the audience seem to have their own favourites, suggesting these two will not remain united after the sale.

 

*Angelo seems to have achieved this night effect using chalk or crayon on black paper. It gives something of an etched effect. Some of the detailing is spectacular - the creases of the toga for example. Unfortunately, his characterisation of the second slave, using voluminous hair and rounded cherub cheeks is very much of it's time and doesn't work for us, even if we believed in such improbable muscularity to go with it. With a man's head and face, the whole image would work much better.

 

~

 

More Angelo in Part 2 

 

 
 

 

 

FOOTNOTE 

The Many Faces of James Seely

Last year I posted a series of articles showcasing the vintage model, James Seely (or Selig)

His spontaneous facial expressions in the pictures I found fascinated me as much as his sex appeal.

So much so that I couldn't resist playing with the imagery.

 

James Seely and Dave Hodge (AMG)

 

This is his look of 'I can't believe he just said that'

Dave's is the look of 'why do I have to break them all in?'

James Seely and Dave Hodge (AMG)

The AI-cartooniser brings out an extra dimension to both men's physiques
that's not so obvious in the original photograph - two very shapely bottoms 

with James's being definitely the bubbliest of the two.

 

 

James Seely and Dave Hodge (AMG)

Actually James doesn't look very worried, just a bit defensive. 

James Seely and Dave Hodge (AMG)

 

James is a big boy and seems a lot of fun, so you can't blame Dave for trying!

His expression here seems rather like 'I don't want to think about that sort of stuff'.

Meanwhile, back at the motorbike......

 

 

James Seely and Dave Hodge (AMG)

 Such innocence!

 

James Seely and Dave Hodge (AMG) - Naked Bikers

The look of domestic recriminations between two, very sore losers.

James Seely and John Manning

The contrasting looks of innocence and sexual experience

Innocence is an irresistible challenge

and as we know, experience usually triumphs over it.

 

 

James Seely and John Manning (AMG)

The look of appraisal - and of being appraised and feeling exposed. 

 

 

James Seely and John Manning (AMG)

 Torn between getting paid and getting out of here.

 

James Seely and John Manning (AMG)

Like a Boy Scout, James believes in being prepared.
 

James Seely and John Manning - Wrestling (AMG)

This is what is known as putting on a brave face.

 

 

James Seely and John Manning - Wrestling (AMG)

 

The James Seely series :

The Abandoned Slave

Vintage Bondage - James Seely 

(with onward links) 

More Seely captions in 'Fun in the shower'

~

   This No 33 in 'The Look' series at mitchmen blog,

click on the label at the foot of this post to view the others

or use the mitchmen search function (top right in sidebar)