November 18th, 2006
Army Bath-time
I recently came across this Second World War US ad for Buna bath-towels on the web.
I could say something about lost ‘innocence’ and how in the past a lack of knowingness could, paradoxically, mean more explicitness. Or how patriotic gay porn was being used to sell product to women 60 years ago.
Or how those gay bath-house shower scenes in ‘Top Gun’ suddenly look much more realistic and traditional.
But all I can really say is: where do I get some Buna bath-towels??
![\buna2 Army bath-time\](http://marksimpson.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/buna2.jpg "\buna2 Photo\")
February 21st, 2007 at 12:48 am
Funny, and sexy, but nothing pornographic about it. Homosexuality probably seemed too distant and taboo for these guys and the ads’ readers to read into them any explicit homoeroticism. It’s just servicemen getting clean, enjoying their camaraderie, and happy not to have died in battle. (And any gay soldiers among them would probably feel this way, too.)