American Hunks: The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture, 1860-1970

by David L. Chapman, Brett Josef Grubisic

The "American hunk" is a cultural the image of the chiseled, well-built male body has been promoted and exploited for commercial use for over 125 years, whether in movies, magazines, advertisements, or on consumer products, not only in America but throughout the world. American Hunks is a fascinating collection of images (many in full color) depicting the muscular American male as documented in popular culture from 1860 to 1970. The book, divided into specific historic eras, includes such personalities as bodybuilder Charles Atlas; pioneer weightlifter Eugene Sandow; movie stars like Steve "Hercules" Reeves and Johnny "Tarzan" Weismuller; and publications such as the 1920s-era magazine Physical Culture and the 1950s-era comic book Mr. Muscles . It also touches on the use of masculine, homoerotic imagery to sell political and military might (including American recruitment posters and Nazi propaganda from the 1936 Olympics), and how companies have used buff, near-naked men to sell products from laundry detergent to sacks of flour since the 1920s. The introduction by David L. Chapman offers insightful information on individual images, while the essay by Brett Josef Grubisic places the work in its proper historical context. David L. Chapman has written many books on male photography and bodybuilding, including Comin' at Ya!: The Homoerotic 3-D Photographs of Denny Denfield . Brett Josef Grubisic is author of the novel The Age of Cities and editor of Contra/ New Queer Fiction .

Genres: Nonfiction, History

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Hunks: The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture, 1860-1970 é um belo catálogo cheio de ilustrações que demonstra historicamente e iconograficamente como a veneração pelo corpo musculoso de homens americanos, ou ainda aqueles vinculados a padrões anglo-saxônicos mudou através de um século. O livro não contém muitos textos, apenas um artigo de abertura que vincula o consumo do corpo masculino (bem simbólico) com produtos industrializados (commodities), e explica como, desde o início dessa veneração ao corpo atlético e saudável do homem, tudo esteve vinculado a produtos, sejam eles da indústria per se ou ainda da indústria cultural, como começam a mostrar os filmes dos pépluns e de heróis descamisados como Tarzan. Trata-se de uma deliciosa viagem estética pelo visual que encantou gerações de mulheres e homens gays e contruiu ideias de beleza e de comportamento. Ao longo de suas mais de 300 páginas, ou autores vão dando pequenas notas sobre cada uma das imagens e seus representantes nas mesmas. O único senão deste livro são os pequenos textos de abertura de cada sessão histórica, que poderiam ser mais expandidos num contexto macro, enquanto o contexto específico de cada imagem está prmorosamente descrito.

[Migs Fiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Chapman is an important figure when it comes to male beauty. I enjoyed and learned a lot from this book, but I prefer Universal Hunks.

I don't know why he wouldn't say "Mr. Olympia" in this book and would just refer to it as the most prestigious title in bodybuilding, or something like that. Also, he said that Chris Dickerson was denied this title because of racism, according to critics. This is true, but incomplete. Chris actually won the title in 1982.

[Leslie Nicoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

The “American hunk” is a cultural icon: the image of the chiseled, well-built male body has been promoted and exploited for commercial use for over 125 years, whether in movies, magazines, advertisements, or on consumer products, not only in America but throughout the world.

American Hunks is a fascinating collection of images (many in full color) depicting the muscular American male as documented in popular culture from 1860 to 1970. The book, divided into specific historic eras, includes such personalities as bodybuilder Charles Atlas; pioneer weightlifter Eugene Sandow; movie stars like Steve “Hercules” Reeves and Johnny “Tarzan” Weismuller; and publications such as the 1920s-era magazine Physical Culture and the 1950s-era comic book Mr. Muscles. It also touches on the use of masculine, homoerotic imagery to sell political and military might (including American recruitment posters and Nazi propaganda from the 1936 Olympics), and how companies have used buff, near-naked men to sell products from laundry detergent to sacks of flour since the 1920s. The introduction by David L. Chapman offers insightful information on individual images, while the essay by Brett Josef Grubisic places the work in its proper historical context.

This is a terrific book. You can read my complete review, complete with pictures, here: http://speakitsname.com/2009/11/13/re...

Enjoy!

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent prose (Chapman's a good enough writer, and the introductory essay by his UBC prof co-author is splendid) but pics so gorgeous and lovingly assembled that they put Hooven's Beefcake to shame. A must-read, or at least a must-see.