Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica

by Simon Sheppard

Simon Sheppard opens this first-of-its-kind book with a whirlwind tour of gay history as reflected in queer men's one-handed reading, from the end of World War II —when sex stories were mimeographed in Tijuana and smuggled to the States—to today's ubiquitous web-based porn.

Included in the collection are well-remembered stories by renowned authors like Jack Fritscher, Aaron Travis, and Bob Vickery alongside old pulp-paperback pornography and up-to-the-minute "literotica." A rough-trade biker takes a farmboy to the barn in a 1953 story by Phil Andros. Richard Amory's 1966 Old West classic "Song of the Loon" sets a horny frontiersman among hunky Indian tribes. In John Preston's 1979 iconic "Mr. Benson," a submissive finds his ultimate master. In Sheppard's wide-ranging collection, men have sex in a psychedelic-'60s Berkeley orgy, under fire in Vietnam, and on a roadside somewhere in Texas. Populated by a colorful mix of characters, from leathermen, drag queens, sailors, and hustlers to uptight accountants and gay vampires, this is an outstanding new collection put together by one of gay erotica's favorite voices.

Genres: LGBT, Erotica, Short Stories, Queer

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Simon Sheppard is a writer of gay erotica and a sex-advice columnist from San Francisco. He is the author of many highly acclaimed works of gay erotica/pornography, including the books Kinkorama, In Deep, and Sex Parties 101. He is also the editor of Homosex: 60 Years of Gay Erotica, winner of the 2007 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT erotica; the anthology Leathermen; and is the coeditor of the anthologies Rough Stuff and Roughed Up. Sheppard's work is wide-ranging, often combining history, philosophy, or culture — high and low — with hardcore sex. His first book, Hotter Than Hell and Other Stories, won the Erotic Authors Association Award for Best Collection of the Year, and the title story of In Deep was shortlisted for the Rauxa Prize for Erotic Fiction. His work has appeared in over 250 anthologies and he writes the columns "Sex Talk" and the online serial "The Dirty Boys Club." Sheppard is openly gay, active in the queer artistic, political and AIDS-activist communities, and has publicly opposed the Iraq war. He lives in San Francisco, where San Francisco dubbed him "our erotica king."

Reviews

[india :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought a lot of stories in this book were so awesome and beautiful and it made me happy to know that I have them with me. Here were my favorite stories and why: "Song of the loon" because I loved to read a character's thoughts on love that are so similar to mine, "Blue light" because it was actually the most fascinating fucked up fantasy erotica I have ever read my mouth was actually dropped with the magic the character could perform and how it was used in this setting, and "Walt" because I loved having the love interest being a trans bear and how the main character evolved to love this person in different ways throughout the story and how his misconceptions became things that made him love even harder.

[Rosa · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many of these stories are about men who were forced, as boys. This is horrible.
What I read of this book has really done damage. If I ever meet the editor, I don't know what I'd do, if I'd use words or fists or tomatoes.
Why are people like this allowed to exist?
I'm crying for help!

[Dilo Keith]

This is one of the best collections I've read, primarily because it has representative works from a 60 year period. Some of the stories aren't better than those in other collections, but as a set, this book stands out. It might be the only place you'll find some of the oldest stories. I purchased extra copies to give as gifts. (I'll have to add a "worth giving" shelf, even though it will have a few books now.) Those of you who read a lot of gay erotica already know that Simon Sheppard is an excellent author and editor.

[♡✧⁠*the waterlily fairy⁠✧⁠*⁠♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this anthology. It's a treasure chest of gay erotica stories spanning from 1945 to 2005. The stories are hot, but also fascinating for the way they reflect gay history. Very much recommended and definitely worth a read.

[Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable and interesting read, but also a bit annoying if you are a reader that really gets into the stories quickly. Most of the stories included in this book are „snapshots“ from longer ones, and I would have LOVED to read the whole story for many of them.
I basically ended up feeling slightly teased most of the time…

The stories are in chronological order, which of course made it very interesting in regards to how gay erotica might have developed overtime. There were unfortunately only short introductions to each story, and I would have liked a bit more analyzing text from the author.

Personally, I liked the earlier stories best. I was surprised to see how raunchy and explicit they were. The later stories (from -80s/-90s) often tended to be a bit „artsy“ IMO, which I didn’t really find erotic. Although there were quite a few hot stories there as well, like „Aids is over“ from 2000.
Not unexpectedly, the later stories were also a sadder read, since many reflect the impact of AIDS.

[U. H. Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite anthologies of all time and a great introduction to 20th c. gay erotica. Not every story is a hit, but I respect Sheppard's reasons for choosing every one of them. Ever since I first read through my worn out secondhand copy of Homosex five years ago, I've reread over half of the stories every year. "Walt" and the excerpt from Mr. Benson have especially been important to me.

Rest in peace Simon Sheppard.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will admit that I didn't finish this. I truly enjoyed "Pulp Friction: Uncovering the Golden Age of Gay Male Pulps" by Michael Bronski and thought that this would be more of the same. But I found this collection of mainly short stories that appeared in magazines to be much less interesting.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

These stories are as much a passage through the decades as they are about the joys of gay sex. They are serious, playful, blunt, subtle, deadly serious and occasionally humorous. The stories as varied as their writers and a few require a steely nerve.

One story was so bizarre that it made me goggle as I read it and I’ve read a staggering variety of erotica throughout the years. “Blue Light” is utterly unlike anything I’ve ever read, managing to combine S/M dominance, magic and rough sex in one dangerous, unbelievable fashion.

If you crave m/m, this is one goody bag with loads sticky treats to sample.

[Ryal Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book – it was my first foray into reading gay erotica, specifically chosen because I wanted a general overview of erotic writing throughout a period of time. Edited by Simon Sheppard, This anthology gives the perfect taste, beginning with a wartime conquest so exciting, exclamation points are employed with abandon!

It provides a little slice of the history of gay erotica, with commentary at the beginning of each story that notes what was happing in society and gay culture at that time, and many pieces reflect important strides in gay themed literature, the beginnings of sub cultures such as leather, and confrontation of the era of the AIDS epidemic.

read my full review on my website stories for boys http://in2thewood.com/2012/06/09/book...

[Michael Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I enjoyed most about this was the movement of time and social change.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly diverse, well-written collection of gay smut, also noteworthy for its focus on earlier, less well-known or "literary" pieces of queer pulp.