Retrophilia: My Mother Lives in Cincinnati
retrophilia (ret troh FEE lee uh) n. 1 An intense attraction for things of the past. 2 a weekly series for popsucker wherin the irrepressible Wootini reveals the horrors of the past to the present to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
In honor of Gay Pride, I thought I'd post a gay-themed Retrophilia this week. And if you can explain to me what the hell that title is supposed to mean, I'd greatly appreciate it. This ad is from 1972 (the guy's porn 'stache and hair are a dead giveaway, I know), so maybe "My mother lives in Cincinnati" is some kind of secret gay code or something. I don't know. All I can think of when I hear it is in Superman: The Movie where Valerie Perrine cries to Gene Hackman that her mother lives in Hackensack.
Sorry, got off-topic there for a second. Anyway, make the jump to see what kind of gay stuff you could mail order in 1972!
Honestly, while you'd think the shirtless guy in the top center would pull your focus, the thing my eyes go to first every time is the crazily-well hung torso on the top right. "A must for the collector of the beautiful and unusual?" Quite.
And I love the Paisley Flares and the Sensuous Slip-On Widepants. What's the difference between flares and widepants? I love the patterns, and it makes me wish this ad was in full-color. Also, it's sweet that they're available for women, as well. It's a nice gesture, since that's so very clearly not the audience they're going for.
With those pants, the jewelry, and the Cavalier Shirt with Muslin Flares I feel like somehow this company was the predecessor of International Male. You know?
But to me, the funniest thing about this ad is the statue of "The Wrestlers" in the upper left. I love that Hercules is grabbing Diomede's wang. Or the other way around. The copy says it's the two of them, but I don't know who's taking the liberties. Either way, it's hilarious to me because a miniature version of this statue (the one here is almost a foot tall) is in the window of a real estate office around the corner from me! Did they even look at it?
Wootini
Posted to Hot Stuff, Retrophilia on 29 June 2009
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: advertisement, gay, mother inc, retrophilia, seventies
Well, with the wrestlers... that is how how Greek wrestling worked. You wrestled naked and there were some instances where you could grab the man-bits for leverage and such.
Really, from the tiny picture it looks like a faithful copy of the original. famous statue.
I don't really see anything erotic about it but I'm a history major so... *shrug*
I am struggling to not burst out in giggles. That said, I want those flares.
For the record, Hercules is the one being... ah... manhandled, as it were. Personally, I'm sort of lamenting the lack of color in this ad, as I'm sure those flares are eye gougingly, awesomely bright.