A Tale of Two Markets: Accessing the Queer Consumer in Pre-Decriminalization Britain (original) (raw)

Abstract

Long before homosexual activity between consenting men was decriminalized in Britain in 1967, Films and Filming subtly established its queer leanings. From its initial issues in 1954, Films and Filming sought what we would today call the Pink Pound, or Britain’s queer market segment. It included commercial advertisements for queer-friendly businesses as well as articles on censorship, profiles and images of sexually ambiguous male actors, and homoerotic photo spreads. The magazine’s contact ads further helped foster a network of queer men across Britain and internationally. Taken together, these elements all reinforced for many readers that despite its respectable credentials and mainstream accessibility Films and Filming was, in fact, queer. But even as it increasingly focused on its homosexual audience, Films and Filming nonetheless remained an internationally respected and successful film journal widely available at mainstream newsagents. This duality was key to both the magazine’s mainstream financial success and its appeal to many gay men would not buy more explicit publications. Relying on evidence from Films & Filming itself, including editorials, advertisements, personals, and imagery, this chapter demonstrates the magazine’s cultivation of and engagement with a queer marketplace. Interviews with editors and contributors, and reminiscences from readers further reinforce its role in pre-decriminalization British queer history. Films & Filming was in fact the longest-running pre-decriminalization magazine to gain success and respect in the mainstream while actively courting a queer market segment. Surrounded by the victimization of queer men by the state and press in the early 1950s, publisher Philip Dosse had recognized both a thriving subculture and a potential market.

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