Men 9 Troy Halston 17 A.J. 29 Mark Andrews
41 Derek Cameron 53 Chet
63 Diego
69 Kevin Miles Fiction
24 Pit Stop
34 New Release
58 Sweatshop Features
3 Editor's Note
6 Mandata
16 Man Mail
76 Man Video
80 Manuscripts
82 Image and Memory
Editorial Note
THE CULT OF THE COWBOY
Maybe it was those cigarette ads that imprinted this particular manly ideal on
us. Or it might have been all those games of Cowboys & Indians that ended
with wrasslin' matches in the woods. I know for me it was the first time I saw
Joe D'Allesandro in Lonesome Cowboys, Andy Warhol's most homoerotic film. But
whatever the gay specifics, at some point practically every queer man has keyed
into the rough-and-tumble wrangler icon. I mean, at the very least, we've all
been in a gay watering-hole that was decorated with corral posts and wagon wheels—and
if you say you haven't you're either lying or you weren't paying attention. Maybe
this particular fantasy is so widespread in the homo-sphere because it's so damn
versatile: A cute, geared-out cowboy can produce a boner in the leather aficionado
and the jock fanatic alike. In fact for some guys, the cowboy icon is just that—another
form of butch drag, another man in uniform. It's the gear that turns them on.
From the ten-gallon hat to the belt buckle that's begging for a spit shine, from
the work-worn boots—spurs always ready to punish a pair of willing flanks—to
the crotch-framing chaps, showcasing the bronc-buster's bulge. And then there's
that smoking horsepistol.... For others the cowboy represents all those het buckaroos
who tamed the Wild West without what is politely termed "female companionship."
Their solution to this predicament (a legendary predilection for "busting"
each other's "broncs") has earned the cowboy a permanent place in the
classic straightguy-can-be-had fantasy (which 90% of gay men are afflicted with,
whether it's politically correct to mention or not—but I'll tackle that
in a future column). And anyway, even the most horse-phobic gay I know would happily
ride herd all day just to be there at night to offer those roughriders a helping
hand—or whatever. And if today's gay rodeos serve up images for our collective
lust, they especially stoke the desire of those who are looking for a man with
your basic athletic prowess—and maybe the reek of a good workout about him.
And by the way, as good as this collection of studs looks geared up—they
look even better bare-back. Case in point, check out the butt on A.J. (page 17).
Or Troy Halston's horse-worthy meat. Whatever the origin of our attraction to
The Men of the West, this classic gay icon still going strong as ever. Long before
the first marine got a crew cut, the first surfer donned his jams, or the first
rebel straddled a motorcycle (which are really nothing but newfangled horses,
anyway), the wrangler was adjusting his cock and balls in his sweaty work-jeans
and riding into the sunset with his buddies. It's easy to imagine a citified slicker
in the 1880s waxing his johnson while longing for some "hands-on" experience
of the men-only culture of the Wild West. I hope you get the same ultimate satisfaction
he did—several times over—while leafing through this issue. Happy
trails. Stay Dirty.
