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UAL Research Online

Costume or Dress? The Use of Clothing in the Gay Pornography of Jim French's Colt Studio

Cole, Shaun (2014) Costume or Dress? The Use of Clothing in the Gay Pornography of Jim French's Colt Studio. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, 18 (2). pp. 123-148. ISSN 1362-704X

Type of Research: Article
Creators: Cole, Shaun
Description:

It would seem that one of the intentions of the viewer of gay pornography would be to see the sexual engagement of the participants (and perhaps the “money shot”) with a focus upon the gymnastics and writhing of bodies that constitute the practice and representation of sexual activity within the film. However, before nudity or nakedness is presented the “characters” are dressed. Using the films and photography of Colt Studio and its founder Jim French from the period 1967–81 as a focus this article explores the ways in which the “characters” are constructed through their clothing and costuming. It will address the ways in which these “icons” of masculinity that had developed in the pre-liberation physique magazines and stag films reflected the prototypes, archetypes, and stereotypes of post-liberation gay identity and dressed appearance in the fifteen years following the Stonewall riots and gay liberation. Colt Studio was famed for its particular presentation of hypermasculine images and a “stable” of masculine actors that included Clone superstar Al Parker. This article will offer an analysis of the use of particular items of clothing and the iconic styles of leatherman, motorcycle cop, and gay clone in Colt’s output of this period.

Official Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/175174114X13890223974461
Publisher/Broadcaster/Company: Berg Publishers
Your affiliations with UAL: Colleges > London College of Fashion
Research Centres/Networks > Centre for Fashion Curation
Date: April 2014
Digital Object Identifier: 10.2752/175174114X13890223974461
Date Deposited: 30 Jun 2014 15:26
Last Modified: 11 Sep 2015 14:32
Item ID: 6662
URI: https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/6662

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