Sleeping Beauty 2

It's not hard to understand why somebody would take a picture of this beautiful man lying nearly naked, asleep on his bed. I can't help but wonder who took the photo? Was it the guy's mother? Was it a straight roommate thinking this'll be good for a laugh? Or was it a case of unrequited love (lust)... the buddy who longed to lay down on top of this perfect specimen-- but knew such a thing could never happen.

We'll never know but it resonates for me and speaks of my own experience as a closeted gay kid. Hell, I didn't even know I was "gay." I just knew that, when I saw a man like this I couldn't take my eyes off him. And if I was lucky enough to be able to get a picture of him without getting caught, I'd sure do it.

This snapshot was sold for $77 (a lot for a snapshot, very little for a fantasy) by Tanquerochicago.

Gay Interest

If you've spent anytime looking for homobilia on eBay the most common label you'll see is "gay interest." It's applied to just about any photo of a man. Two men in the same photo: "gay interest" no matter how disconnected they are.

If one man lays a hand on another's arm or shoulder, well you can be pretty sure that gay collectors will go ape-shit for it.

Or so eBay sellers hope. If there is such a thing as gaydar it can be directed at photos as well as people. Very few photos of men together are actually of "gay interest."

So what does this photo reveal? Two well dressed, cigar smoking men pose for a formal portrait. There is but one chair. The man on the left (call him Peter) sits on the others' knee. The other man (call him Albert) puts his right arm around Peter and holds him closely.

Gay interest? Absolutely. These guys are comfortable with each other. There's a matter-of-fact quality about their physicality, an intimacy you rarely see between two straight men. But that doesn't make them gay.

We can actually identify these men. Peter Aardahl on the left, Albert Aardahl on the right. Brothers. Farmers in North Dakota. Their photo was taken between 1912 and 1920. Before straight men learned to worry about being mistaken for gays. Now that's gay-interest.