Gay Pulp

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Stranger on Lesbos front cover. A blonde is seen, at a three-quarter angle with her back to the reader, towards the left, facing left of the cover. Her hair is partly undone, partially covering the back of her neck. She has bangs above her eyebrows. Her back is almost entirely exposed, a white lace blouse hanging beneath her shoulders, revealing the straps and back of her brassiere. She has her head bowed down halfway, and her eyes are closed. Her left hand touches her right cheek, and her right hand can be partially seen tucked under her left, folded arm. She wears what seem to be a black skirt. In front of her, to the left of the image, several garments can be seen hanging disorderly on a rack. To her right, a dresser with a mirror also displays several clothes sticking out from its drawers in a disordered fashion. A few objects lay on top of the dresser, including a book. The background is a texture of reds and oranges that range in tone. The scene is lit from the top left. The image is inserted inside a line frame that is curved at the bottom corners. Above the image, and over white, the title, author's name and descriptions are displayed in black and red type.

The MSVU collection includes a couple of gay male pulp fiction titles. The image of the lone gay man is reminiscent of the solitary lesbian, especially when depicted looking away from the reader.

The Strange Ones front cover. A woman in a satin nightgown is standing behind the headboard or footboard of a green, metal-framed bed shown in the foreground at a slight angle. The rest of the bed is outside the frame. She has long hair partially tied up at the back of her head. The straps of her nightgown are hanging over her arms, partially showing her chest. Both her arms are raised behind her head as if she were rearranging her hair. She is shown in profile from her thighs up, in the center of the image, her left side facing the reader. Her eyes are slightly closed, looking to her left, directly toward the reader. Behind her, to the right of the image, a man is shown leaning on his forearms against a door painted olive-green. His forehead is on his fists, which touch the door. His expression is tense or stressed. He is fully dressed in a long-sleeved, striped shirt, black pants and a belt. He is in full profile, the right side of his body facing the reader, and can be viewed from his knees up. The scene is lit from the front left.

Specific to gay pulp fiction is the image of an impotent man with a worried or impatient woman.

This Bed We Made front cover. Two women and one man are in a bedroom. A brunette with short, curly hair and a black negligee, lays on her back on a bed with a pink blanket, her shoulders and head on a propped-up pillow, looking slightly toward the right of the image with a slight smile and half-closed eyes. Behind the pillow, a wrought brass headboard is partly in view. Her left arm is bent at the elbow; hand curled inwards. She holds a cigarette in her right hand; outer side rested on her right thigh. She also wears stockings to the middle of her thighs. Sitting up on the bed by the brunette's legs is a blonde. Her body is at a three-quarter angle facing right of the image, and she appears to be fully naked except for a nylon, light blue shawl which is wrapped around her hips and across her chest, covering her breasts. She holds the shawl with both arms crossed in front of her under her breasts and on her right hip. Her hair is tied in a ponytail with a light green bow, and her head is turned towards the brunette. In the background to the left, a man stands against the wall. He has short, brown hair parted to the side, and is wearing a dark blue t-shirt and gray pants with a black belt. His right hand is on his waist; the left arm stretched down across his side. He also looks down toward the brunette, with a slight smile on his lips. To his left, a bowl with fruits can be seen on a bedside table. The background matches the pink of the bed spread, and the scene seems to be lit from the right of the reader.
The Lesbos Jungle front cover. Two women in the image seem to attack a single man in what looks like a back street alley. A red brick wall is behind them. A garbage bin is partially shown in the foreground, and a wooden crate is partially revealed to the left. There is a bottle on the ground and a puddle. The blonde on the left of the image is shown ripping off the man's shirt, while the brunette on the right grasps his arm by the bicep. The women are fully dressed while the man wears jeans and boots; his belt is unbuckled, and his jeans are half-unzipped. The blonde is wearing a white, turtle-neck sweater, black leather pants and black leather boots and her hair is long, with bangs across her forehead. The brunette is wearing a white turtle-neck blouse under a black leather jacket, black leather stiletto boots and white pants. Her hair is short and wavy. The man looks surprised and scared, right arm bent, hand in front of his face as if trying to cover his eyes from the light that comes from the front left. His eyes and mouth are wide open.

When men appear on a lesbian pulp cover, they are usually either in a conflicted or voyeuristic relationship to the women featured on the cover.

Sources

Young, Ian. Out in Paperback: A Visual History of Gay Pulps. LMB Editions, 2007.

Zimet, Jaye. Strange Sisters: The Art of Lesbian Pulp Fiction, 1949-1969. Viking Studio, 1999.

Gay Pulp