Before Insta: 6 homoerotic (and not entirely SFW) prints from mid-century physique magazines

Before Grindr profiles and Instagram thirst traps, there were physique magazines whose black-and-white images of men flexing their muscles spoke a covert language of longing.

In his latest book, Physique, photography critic and curator Vince Aletti unlocks the vault to this lost world, sharing over 250 rare prints from the underground male physique magazines that flourished in mid-20th-century America.

These images — now assembled in a beautifully produced volume published by SPBH
Editions — span the 1930s to the 1960s, capturing a pre-Stonewall era when the male body was both an object of worship and resistance.

At a time when gayness could not be named, these photographs spoke volumes. Distributed via discreet mail-order catalogues and sold under the guise of health and fitness, they provided a coded erotic lifeline to queer men across the US.

Aletti, whose personal archive forms the backbone of the book, pairs these images with a rich, illustrated essay tracing their political, cultural and artistic importance. His writing connects the dots between repression and self-expression, arguing that these prints were more than titillation — they were quiet acts of defiance and communion.

On sale for £50, Physique repositions these so-called ‘beefcake’ images as early queer art — beautiful, brazen and historically significant. It’s a tribute not only to the models and photographers, but to the generation of men who found connection, pleasure and even identity through the clandestine culture of physique photography.

Handsomely produced and deeply researched, Physique is a must for anyone interested in queer history, photography and the hidden stories bodies can tell when allowed — finally — to be seen.

For more information, visit macbooks.co.uk.

Check out issue 365 of Attitude magazine, available to order here, and alongside 15 years of back issues on the free Attitude app.