We recently lost one of the great pioneers of the modern gay movement.
Dr. Charles Silverstein (April 23, 1935 – January 30, 2023), who died aged 87, was the co-author (with Edmund White) of the revolutionary 1977 book, The Joy of Gay Sex. Silverstein also closely assisted in the campaign to remove homosexuality from the mental health list in America – a pivotal moment for no longer viewing homosexuality as a mental illness.
Decades before the internet, it became the go-to gay male sex manual covering subjects as wide-ranging as backrooms, meeting others, loneliness, rimming, foreskins, fidelity, crabs, cock size, and bisexuality. The world of the 1970s had not seen anything like it as a manual/dictionary for an entire closeted gay male community.
It was revolutionary in every sense. In the privacy of our home, we became educated, empowered, and sexually fulfilled – titillated too.
Having Gay Sex…And Enjoying It
The Joy Of Gay Sex
The book’s subject matter is further enhanced by Julian Graddon’s (and others’) line-drawn illustrations. They’re not only informative but graphic and diverse in their depictions of gay men enjoying sex. Yes, having sex – AND enjoying it!
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Satisfaction is everywhere in the visuals, with each illustration saying to the reader that it is ok to be gay, sexually have fun, and to know that this is a normal, daily activity for like-minded men the world over. Guilt and shame were not to be tolerated.
Remember that this was at a time when decriminalizing homosexuality was only beginning to happen in Australia.
A Gay Revolutionary
The authors were unlocking us from that closet and setting us free to grow, develop and share our sexuality without self-guilt hindering us. For a repressed minority, an underground community like ours back then, this book was the golden bullet – the right book at the right time with the right attitude.
For the first time since the ancient Greek paintings, there was a universally available manual that said it like it was in a body-friendly, honest, and educative manner.
In my view, this book was equally important to my older generation of gay men worldwide as the invention of the printing press or the arrival of the internet were.
We should not forget such trail-blazers as Silverstein and White (and their brave publisher), nor the power of words and visuals to change lives. Such honesty and bravery changed millions of men’s lives, especially mine, for the better. Revisit your bookshelf and rediscover that revolutionary publication that probably changed your life, too.
You will be surprised how relevant it remains today.
The Star Observer is reporting that Dr Charles Silverstein died earlier this year, at the age of 87.
Silverstein was the co-author - with Edmund White - of the 1977 book, The Joy of Gay Sex.
In a time before the internet, The Joy of Gay Sex instantly became to go-to manual for gay men. The book covered subjects such as backrooms, meeting others, loneliness, rimming, foreskins, fidelity, STIs, cock size, and bisexuality. It was revolutionary in every sense - documenting and frankly discussing everyday aspects of what happens when gay guys get it on.
One of the stand-out features of The Joy of Gay Sex are the line-drawn illustrations - primarily drawn by Julian Graddon. The illustrations are explicit, engaging, and show men enjoying the sex that they're having.
The Joy of Gay Sex played a huge role in 'normalising' being gay. It helped shape a public identity of gay men - we saw ourselves in this book, we saw the sex that we have, we saw that it was presented not as something shameful or controversial or taboo. It reflected the reality of who we are.
In the aftermath of Stonewall, amidst the emergence of the Pride movement, and the height of the sexual liberation and gay liberation movements, The Joy of Gay Sex was a key moment in our queer history and has helped shape who we are today.
Silverstein was also a leading voice in the campaign to remove homosexuality from the mental health list in America – a pivotal moment for no longer viewing homosexuality as a mental illness.
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Reader's Comments
At the time I was editing a popular gay magazine in Australia. We had an advice and information column and we had many letters from readers who asked for help with gay-related problems. As I'm not a trained GP or psychologist and Dr Silverstein's good advice was a great help to us int trying to deal with our readers' problems. Many lived in country towns or on isolated farms and often had no gay contacts at all (other than our publication) until they could travel to the cities, one or two times a year. Often they wrote to us about mental and physical issues, areas, made all the worse by isolation, and obviously they were afraid to discuss these concerns with 'mainstream' GPs or nurses.
Today's young gays have no idea how difficult those times were for us, then in our prime, now the older generation in our subculture. Sydney and Melbourne had its gay venues in Paddington and Prahran, but everywhere else, in fact even in the not so far out outer suburbs of those two cities, if you were "camp" or "bent" (gay) you hung out in toilets in the parks at night and otherwise you hid out, pretending to everyone that you were "square" (straight) - and you suffered.
So to us The Joy Of Gay Sex was like a Bible - I hesitate to use this term given its religious connotations, but that's what it was. It led the way and it helped us to relay a positive message to many of our readers that they were not "aliens" in a strange, monopolistic culture such as Australia was back then.
Back then Australia was incredibly 'backward' in gay issues compared to the rest of the Western world. Homophobia was rife and gays had to cope with discrimination not only from the mainstream but often from within their own ranks. Repression and self-hate did so much damage, not only from mainstream society but sadly by gays to their own.
The tide turned a little bit in 1978 when gay Sydney went through its own Stonewall
Fortunately, times have changed now. In 1977 four of our five states had yet to decriminalize gay sex - South Australia had led the way, under the enlightened rule of the late Don Dunstan - who as it later came out he himself was bisexual, which may have fostered his commitment to social change and more tolerance to the gay sub-culture there. Ten years then had to pass before Victoria legislated the same changes (in 1982), followed by New South Wales (1985). The last holdout was Tasmania which didn't decriminalize until the early 2000s, a shameful footnote to the history of tolerance and democratic justice in our country.
I for one owe a great deal to the pioneering efforts of the late Dr Silverstein and Mr White (who I believe is still with us and writing).
We do well to remember our gay pioneers, and to honor them in their passing. They were the ones who led the way and for this we should not forget them.
So from me a heartfelt Thank You to Mr White, and my wish that the late Dr Silverstein may Rest In Peace knowing his great contribution to our collective well-being.
DANN
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