Happy Fucking Birthday to us again: Malebox
By Echo Hamelin
Presently, explicit magazines and media such as Playboy and Pornhub are
household names that are prevalent among our society and culture as a result of
the evolution of sex. Playgirl is
another commonly known publication that illustrates societies journey to sexual
liberation and the acceptance of sex. Although explicit media has come a long
way, it has a fundamental foundation in feminist and LGBTQ+ history, which is
not often apparent. In How Has Sex
Changed, Meyerowitz suggests the historical emergence of transgender
identity in popular consciousness, which challenged the normative ideologies
about gender identities and sexuality.[i]
Thus, the establishment of the magazine organization Malebox in 1991, highlights
a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ archival history, specifically the article Happy Fucking Birthday to us again.
Before beginning, as was mentioned earlier, the magazine was established
in 1991, founded by homosexuals and was for the entertainment of homosexuals. The
establishment was based in Ottawa, Ontario and the magazine was distributed
throughout Canada. The magazine is reminiscent of Playboy in that it includes explicit content and articles, sexual
photos, personal adds and stories, interviews, as well as classifieds.
Evidently it is overtly sexual compared to conventional magazines, however it
is also clear that it is catered to a specific audience. This issue in
particular is number twelve, the
Minister-Free Edition!, of Malebox and was released in May/June of 1993.
Malebox issue twelve, was celebrating the 2nd anniversary of
the establishment and issue. In honor of the issue, it had highlighted the
celebration through an introductory article from the authors, which was of
particular interest and extremely captivating. The title of it was Happy fucking birthday to us and was an
exceptionally interesting article to read, which will be emphasised more deeply
later on. An aspect in particular, that I can appreciate was the feedback and
audience inclusivity, which was prominent throughout the article. Sections of
the periodical such as Letters from Homos
and Interview really highlight how appreciative the
establishment was of their audience and readers. In addition, the periodical was being particularly attentive
to a controversy concerning a previous Malebox issue that shared an explicit
photo of a minister, hence the title. Needless to say, the issue was
exceptionally intriguing, and I can definitely appreciate the content,
especially considering the events that had been occurring throughout the last
few decades.
Canada throughout the late 19th century, had been
undergoing, what was previously mentioned, as the evolution of sex,
specifically challenging gender and sexual normative. What had begun as the feminist
movement in the early 19th century, quickly encouraged social
movements within other communities for the coming years. Initially, the
feminist movement had been established as the result of capitalism, which had
disrupted older familial relations, to enhance men’s economic opportunities but
left women with no independence.[ii]
Fortunately, with the rise of capitalism, there had also arisen new political
theories of individual rights and representative government.[iii]
While women were fighting for suffrage and dress code, the LGBTQ+
community was enduring a difficult time. Around the same time, that the
feminist movement had been occurring, the prosecution of Oscar Wilde had ensued
in 1895.[iv]
In comparison to what the feminist movement was hoping to achieve, the LGBTQ+
community had a journey. Despite the journey, the feminist movement created the
foundation and influenced other marginalized communities to establish their own
identities and social movements. In 1910, Emma Goldman began to speak publicly
in favor of homosexual rights and in 1926, the New York Times was the first
major publication to use the word “homosexuality”.[v]
Following World War II in 1945, Christine Jorgenson became a
world-wide sensation for having undergone sex reassignment surgery and becoming
the first person to publicize it in 1952.[vi]
The publication of the article has been a crucial piece of social history,
specifically for the LGBTQ+ community. Publishing Jorgenson’s story was more
than just a news article in a news paper, the article “opened debate on the
visibility and mutability of sex.[vii]
Essentially, it was able to influence a discussion surrounding questions and
concerns about sex and gender that had never been explored within science in
previous years. The release of the publication also compelled others to
redefine the boundaries of sex and reconsider the categories that they thought
they knew, specifically American doctors and scientists.[viii]
Needless to say, the article was a crucial aspect that assisted in challenging
the gender and sexual norm, especially considering that it compelled doctors
and scientists to reconsider their ideologies.
Following the release of Christine Jorgenson’s article, it had
influenced and augmented various aspects apart of society. From the 60’s
onwards, LGBT issues became increasingly more prominent within political
discussions, newspapers, research and the overall public sector. Many positive
things were able to arise as a result of the outcome, however it also revealed
an ugly side of society. Meanwhile in Montreal, police were investigating and
cracking down on gay bars on Montreal’s Stanley Street during 1976; and Toronto
raided four bathhouses in 1981.[ix] For the
following years to come, raids in bathhouses and gay bars would become
increasingly more frequent within Montreal.
Needless to say, these events and moments in history are crucial
pieces in the establishment of Malebox magazine in 1991. Issue twelve of
Malebox, between May/June, was of particular interest when it came to exploring
evidence that perpetuates the time in which challenging sex and gender norms
were at the forefront of society. Specifically, the article Happy fucking birthday to us celebrates
the publications two-year anniversary, however it highlights a few problematics
that the establishment had been encountering.
Initially, the article says a quick hooray for their birthday then
proceeds to mention the scandal involving the explicit photo of a minister from
a previous issue. Unfortunately, the photo resulted in the minsters job loss,
to which the article began receiving a lot of backlash from readers and other
publications. Despite the backlash, this seemed reminiscent of what Jorgenson
had accomplished with the release of her story. She had been able to open up a
conversation about the “visibility and mutability of sex” and to redefine the
categories that were already known.[x] Essentially,
Jorgensons’ story pressed the boundaries of sex, which is precisely what the
minister had done. Publications were questioning the role that Malebox played
in the situation, and the article Letters
from Homos had readers asking if this was a gay rights issue or poor
judgement. As was mentioned earlier, the individual pressed the boundaries of
sex for sharing explicit photos, whilst being a holy man. Fortunately, the
minster had consented to the release of the photos and Malebox had the
receipts.
Following
the release of the controversial article, Malebox had an influx of new readers
and magazine subscriptions. Happy fucking
birthday to us continued to state that, with the inflow of new magazine
subscriptions, there had been numerous requests for Malebox to accept credit
cards. Unfortunately, Malebox had been unable to accept credit cards,
specifically from Canada Trust MasterCard, however had been waiting on a
response from VISA. Nevertheless, Malebox explained that MasterCard would not
say “in no uncertain terms that unless Christ himself was going to co-sign each
credit charge”, they were not interested in their business and had to provide
VISA with a $10 000 security deposit. Needless to say, Malebox was being
discriminated against from these institutions, however it also highlights the
influence of Jorgenson’s story. Again, without her story, the LGBT community
would not have as much visibility and influence as it had. Despite the
complications with credit card institutions, gay publications would not have
been seeking out these services had it not been for the influence that
Jorgenson’s story had.
Despite
the disparities that they were enduring, before ending the article, Malebox had
one final interesting remark. Evidently, Bank institutions were not subjective
to the LGBT movement, yet Malebox highlighted how everything else had been.
Again, courtesy of Jorgenson, 90’s pop culture involved Boy George, Disco,
dance, drag and everything gender-bending. Ultimately, Jorgenson accomplished
more than an article, she challenged gender and sexual norms, which influenced
society and culture for the decades moving forward.
The small, one-page excerpt of Happy
fucking birthday to us had been celebrating more than just a two-year
anniversary. Evidently, the publication was also celebrating two years of
challenging the gender and sexual norm and being apart of a movement that had
changed society. Without the influence of the feminist and LGBTQ+ movement as
well as Jorgenson’s story, Malebox would not have the fundamental foundation
that it had during that time.
[ii] Alex D. Ketchum, Sexual Diversity and
Social Movement(s) History (PowerPoint, 2018).
[iii] Ketchum, Sexual Diversity, 14.
[iv] Ketchum, Sexual Diversity, 31.
[v] Ketchum, Sexual Diversity, 32.
[vi] Meyerowitz, How Sex Changed, 1.
[vii] Meyerowitz, How Sex Changed, 2.
[viii] Meyerowitz, How Sex Changed, 2.
[ix] Ketchum, Sexual Diversity, 38.
[x] Meyerowitz, How Sex Changed, 2.
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