Universal Hunks: A Pictorial History of Muscular Men around the World, 1895-1975

by David L. Chapman, Douglas Brown (Foreword)

Over the last one hundred years, the image of the muscular man has known no boundaries; it has been the object of envy and desire, and used to convey optimal health and fitness, product appeal, political power, and military might. Universal Hunks , David L. Chapman's follow-up to American Hunks , is a captivating collection of historical images of muscular men from around the world, beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing up until the 1970s, including photographs, posters, advertisements, magazine and comic book covers, and product packaging. The book considers the eroticized, politicized, and commercialized male image through history, and evaluates its fascinating cultural context by country and continent; culled from the author's personal collections, it includes materials never published before, including images of Asian bodybuilders, European comic-book superheroes, and muscleman posters from the Soviet Union. The book also includes a foreword by cultural and sports historian Douglas Brown. Full-color throughout, Universal Hunks is a thought-provoking and sexy visual tour of musclemen from all parts of the globe. David L. Chapman is the author of twelve books on male photography and bodybuilding, including American Hunks , Comin' at Ya!: The Homoerotic 3D Photographs of Denny Denfield , and The Male Physique Pin-up , as well as the book Venus with A Pictorial History of Muscular Women .

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2013

Reviews

[Migs Fiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by the male physique, ever since I was a kid. I would look at pictures of muscular men online for hours and save pictures of half-naked men I see from newspapers and underwear packaging. I would suppress my interest in male beauty, though, because this is considered pornography and a gay interest.

And then there's David Chapman who extensively collects male physique photos and puts an intellectual touch to his books about bodybuilding and male physical culture. This is another one of those books I wish I read sooner, because I could have felt a lot better about myself as a queer kid had I known that simply looking at a beautiful male figure is an artistic experience.

I thank David L. Chapman, together with Douglas Brown, once again for giving us a gem of a book. Universal Hunks is well-researched and gives the reader snippets of the history of physical culture. It contains pictures I could not find on google and I am impressed that some of the rare photos were even identified. If only I could get my hands on Chapman's photo collection!

Additionally, I am so pleased that this book contains a decent amount of Filipino representation. I didn't know our Pinoy grandfathers and great grandfathers had it in them to be so fine.

[Chantelle Messier · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband bought this for me because of my dual interests in sexual history and ogling muscular men. David Chapman offers informative and lively notes on this collection of photographs. His project in this book is to organize a history of our focus on the male body, a subject long neglected in gender studies. From bodybuilding as Nazi Nationalism to Japanese and Indian assertions of masculinity during times of cultural duress, Chapman's notes handle the topic with surprising sensitivity and insight. The pictures were lovely, but I found myself even more intrigued by this exploration of the male body's political and cultural meaning.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

review to follow

[Doris Raines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice. Photo