Items

• Men loving men : a gay sex guide and consciousness book
  Disappointed by the heterosexism of ‘The Joy of Sex’ (1972), Mitch Walker (1951-) produced this practical sex guide for men “who want to love other men” and “be themselves”, in the same year as Charles Silverstein and Edmund White published ‘The Joy of Gay Sex’. Walker also emphasises queer kinship, distinguishing a more emotionally and socially encompassing “gayness” from a medico-scientific “homosexuality”. Explanations of sexual acts such as masturbation and fellatio are interspersed with quotations and images on love and sex between men from other times and cultures. The book is illustrated with expressive line drawings by Bill Warwick and black-and-white photography by David Greene. Copies of ‘Men Loving Men’ sent to ‘Gay News’ in the late 1970s were destroyed by Customs. It also met with Customs’ disapproval in Canada and New Zealand, where it was banned as indecent in 1983.
• Men loving themselves : images of male self-sexuality
  The publisher of this book, Down There Press, was founded by sex therapist and feminist Joani Blank (1937-2016), to publish works advocating for sex positivity. She also edited this book which explores male masturbation, primarily through black-and-white images of men depicted in the act. Jack Morin (1946-2013) photographed twelve straight and gay men in settings of their choosing, alongside statements outlining how masturbation relates to their sexuality. The book ends with a section entitled ‘The Psychology of Male Self-Sexuality' which provides a conceptual framework for the images. It includes a list of recommended readings, and an advert for a poster of the book’s cover, available to purchase. Other books exploring gay men’s sexuality, ‘The Joy of Gay Sex’ and ‘Men Loving Men’, were also seized during ‘Operation Tiger’.
• Slashed to ribbons in defense of love : and other stories
  Eleven semi-autobiographical short stories of gay love and sex in New York City (and popular gay beach resort, Fire Island). It was published by the collective Gay Presses of New York (Sea Horse Press, Calamus Press and J.H. Press). Felice Picano (1944-) founded Sea Horse Press in 1977 and the Gay Presses came together – with co-editors Terry Helbing and Larry Mitchell – in 1981. An award-winning writer, Picano had published several novels, short stories and a book of poems before this collection, and has been prolific since, producing memoir, plays, screenplays and co-writing ‘The New Joy of Gay Sex’ with Charles Silverstein in 1993. This copy is signed by the author and inscribed on the titlepage, “In brotherhood – and against censorship!”
• The joy of lesbian sex : a tender and liberated guide to the pleasures and problems of a lesbian lifestyle
  Published a year after ‘The Joy of Gay Sex’, the subtitle of this volume introduces the “problems” as well as “pleasures” of lesbian life in marked contrast to its gay male counterpart. Written by Dr Emily L. Sisley (1930-2016) and novelist and Daughters, Inc. founder Bertha Harris (1937-2005), and illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert, Charles Raymond and Patricia Faulkner, it follows the formula set by ‘The Joy of Sex’ in 1972. It covers all aspects of lesbian life and sexuality from “Alcohol and sex” to “Water, water, everywhere”, followed by a bibliography. It had a smaller initial print run than ‘The Joy of Gay Sex’ – 50,000 rather than 75,000 copies – and its reception was mixed. One (lesbian) reviewer objected to its misandry while another suggested its “authors cling to the concept of a penis”. It was also criticised for its omissions, “myths and misconceptions”, particularly around disability, race and class.