Pin the Macho on the Man: Mediations of Gay Male Masculinity in The Body Politic, 1971-1987

The document from 5 years ago examined how The Body Politic, a prominent Canadian gay and lesbian newspaper from 1971 to 1987, influenced perceptions of gay male masculinity. The paper's editorial team addressed masculinity in various ways, often indirectly through discussions on race, desire, the body, space, and HIV/AIDS. The Body Politic was a key platform for exploring and expressing concerns about heteronormative, ableist, and racial influences on gay male masculinity. The dissertation analyzed different themes in the newspaper, including pornography and visual culture, the portrayal of the hypersexualized white able-bodied "macho clone," spatial navigation, the imposition of colonial values on racialized bodies, and the marginalization of disabled and AIDS-affected bodies. The study concluded that The Body Politic not only reinforced but also challenged the self-regulation of hegemonic masculinity in gay male culture, playing a significant role in legitimizing and destabilizing these desires.