Contains over 100 interviews with activists, artists, writers, and others who helped lay the groundwork for the current LGBTQ world. Primarily conducted in the 1990s these chats with some of the defining members of the community provide an excellent window onto the world. Collectively these primary source interviews provide substantial insight into an ear that may have been only a few decades ago, but was also a world away.
The third photo-packed volume of interviews with gay porn stars from author and editor Owen Keehnen seeks to disprove the preconceived notions about the men who live out gay men's sexual fantasies on camera, getting the biggest names in porn to open up about their likes and dislikes about the industry, their future ambitions, as well as their thoughts on love, relationships and bareback videos - as well as sex, naturally!
The LGBT Book of Days is a reference book, a fun trivia compilation, and a tool for further investigation into our rich, colorful-and profoundly challenging-past. Year by year, month by month, day by day, this book chronicles the unforgettable events and incredible lives that have forged our history and made us the strong, brave and proud community we are today. Compiled by gay author and historian Owen Keehnen, this comprehensive and important book has been written in appreciation of those who have come before... And as a reminder to those who will follow.
From music to movies, literature to dance - the arts have always been influenced by the work of LGBTQ people. LGBTQ+ Icons spotlights the history and contributions of 50 pioneering artists who lived and worked around the world. Bold, whimsical illustrations by David Lee Csicsko (The Skin You Live In) and concise bios from historian Owen Keehnen celebrate a diverse group of artists, from LGBTQ icons James Baldwin, Frida Kahlo, and Freddie Mercury to lesser-known colorful characters like vaudeville performer Ada "Bricktop" Smith, the toast of 1920s Paris café society who opened a queer-friendly club where all were welcomed, and Australian dandy Leigh Bowery, whose unapologetic flamboyance influenced an entire generation of fashion designers. LGBTQ+ Icons is an entertaining exploration of a part of history most people don't know is even missing. It will inspire readers young and old to be confident in who they are, and to take pride in their own creativity. Produced with premium materials, this book is a must-read for Pride month and a perfect collectible year-round!
Both B&W ($24.99) and full-color ($79.99) editions available.A prominent Chicago gay activist and entrepreneur is the subject of an in-depth biography, Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow, by journalists and authors Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen. The book contains more than 300 images, including murals and drawings by Dom “Etienne” Orejudos, posters for International Mr. Leather (IML), and photos from the Gold Coast, Pride Parades, IML contests, physique magazines and more. The book is published by Prairie Avenue Productions, 414 pages, $24.99 black and white (ISBN 1-46109602-2), $79.99 color (1-46111908-1). It is available on Amazon.com. Living as an openly gay man in 1950s Chicago was no easy task. For Chuck Renslow, that was only his first of many bold moves. Just out of high school he began what was to become a six-decade empire, starting more than two dozen businesses in Chicago, as well as a few in other cities. He has owned bars, discos, photo studios, health clubs, bathhouses, gay magazines and newspapers, hotels, restaurants, and bookstores. Throughout it all he dealt with Mafia and police payoffs, anti-gay political policies, harassment from censors, and even controversy within the gay community. In the mid-1950s, after having a portrait and then cheesecake studio, Renslow began experimenting with beefcake photography and began Kris Studio. With his longtime lover, the artist Dom Orejudos aka Etienne and Stephen, at his side, Renslow created Kris Studio a leader in male physique photography, resulting in such magazines as Triumph, Mars and The Rawhide Male, producing thousands of erotic images as well as several films. In 1959 Renslow took over the Gold Coast Show Lounge and transformed it into one of the most lowdown libidinous gay leather bars in the world. With Etienne's murals adorning the walls, a leather/Western/uniform dress code for patrons, and a dark Pit that featured all sorts of goings-on, the Gold Coast set the standard for raunchy kink and gay sexual liberation. It was the birthplace of motorcycle clubs and sex groups, but above all a place for people to meet, connect, and explore themselves and their sexuality. The Gold Coast was also the birthplace of the first leather contest, which in the span of a few short years evolved beyond the bar's capacity and became International Mr. Leather in 1979. More than three decades later, it continues to be one of the world's most popular gay events. Renslow was also one of the pioneers in taking a bathhouse beyond merely the borders of a mere sex club. Man's Country became something truly unforgettable in the 1970s - a sex-and-entertainment complex with a variety of rooms, shops, and a Music Hall that attracted top names touring in the “K-Y circuit,” from Sally Rand to Wayland Flowers to Rusty Warren and Charles Pierce. Renslow was a dynamic force in Chicago politics under mayors starting with Richard J. Daley, and he ran to be a delegate for Sen. Ted Kennedy's 1980 presidential run. He danced with another man at a 1977 inaugural ball for Jimmy Carter. Renslow helped protest against unfair policies, fought censorship and entrapment, and battled Anita Bryant. He even served as a field contact for the pioneering work at the Kinsey Institute, as well as performing sexual acts for Kinsey researchers. He knew entertainment celebrities from Marlene Dietrich to Rudolf Nureyev, from Divine to Grace Jones, and from Sylvester to Quentin Crisp. In their heyday Chuck Renslow's annual White Parties were celebrations beyond compare. When Chicago's gay community faced the loss of its newspaper, Renslow bailed out and ran GayLife. He also co-founded the Leather Archives & Museum (with Tony DeBlase).Through it all Renslow has also been Daddy of the Family, a unique created group of lovers, tricks, and friends who were bound by sex and oftentimes love and by a goal of providing comfort and support to one another.
Dugan's Bistro and the Legend of the Bearded Lady is a folklore-bio of the Disco Era - a time and place that were key in the evolution of Chicago's LGBT community. The Bearded Lady's story is a gateway to the decadent nightlife and exuberance of a "lost" generation - and what happened after the party ended.
Meet Young Digby Swank...a gay boy in a very Catholic world. This is his story-from his miraculous birth, his troubled childhood and his quest for popularity, all the way to his dreams of becoming Pope and/or a beauty queen. Follow Digby through Cub Scouts, through his stint as an altar boy, a prankster, an outcast, a cross dresser, a vengeance seeker, a hell-bound sinner, and more. But it's not just Digby you'll meet on this journey! Say hello to Digby's overbearing relatives, a few bullying nuns, some eccentric neighbors, and oh, let's not forget the parish gossips of Running Falls, the small blue collar town in which Digby lives. Yes, meet Digby Swank. A boy searching for love, belonging... and maybe even a halo. Surely those devil horns will help keep it propped up!
Welcome to The Sand Bar, the notorious tavern where most gay folks in Bayetteville and the surrounding area get together. Come in through the back door off the alley. The bar is at the end of that long hallway. Pull up a stool and let hunky Cody the bartender get you a beer or mix up one of his famous margaritas. Make yourself comfortable and have a look around. You never know who you're going to meet here. Those punks over by the jukebox are Del and his buddy Slags. Chances are they're up to no good. The kid standing near them is Fred who's had a crush on Del since even before Del started hustling. That redheaded guy at the table by the dance floor is Kevin. He's got a girlfriend waiting for him at home, but lately he and Cody have been making eyes at one another. At the end of the bar Jack-O is swaying on his stool and going on to Heather who's killing time waiting for her latest lady friend to get off work at the mall. Sitting alongside them looking like a cardinal sin in that skin tight black dress is Brushcetta. She's nice enough, but don't cross her. The pock-marked guy down at the other end of the bar sucking on a longneck is Leo. He owns this place and lives upstairs. He opened The Sand Bar after being convinced the town needed a gay bar by his best friend Sister who's the one in the flannel shirt with one boot on the bar rail waiting his turn at pool. Make yourself comfortable and stay a while. What's being offered is a glimpse inside the intertwined loves, dreams, downfalls and dramas of the these folks as well as several others. Along the way there'll be plenty of sex, some laughs and even some tears. Though it may not be pretty or always nice, The Sand Bar isn't a place you're likely to soon forget and the people who've come to call it home are even more memorable.
Doorway Unto Darkness" is a psychological slaughterhouse of horror. A grisly tale of possession, murder and vengeance that transcends time. This is the story of Michael Rogers, whose dull life grows suddenly complicated when a spirit ¿ Mel, a merciless killer ¿ takes up residence in his body. After each carnage, Mel vanishes and Michael returns to face the grisly scene.Told in journal format, the novel traces Michael¿s mental and moral deterioration. His world is one of confusion and dread. As the plot unfolds and the body count rises, clues emerge that reveal Michael¿s ancestral history with Mel."Doorway Unto Darkness" is a gripping, brutal, gore-choked read that is sure to have you looking over your shoulder, checking the locks on the doors, and looking a bit closer in the mirror¿.
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