On Pinterest this morning, this entertaining vintage ad, from the site Envisioning the American Dream (“A visual remix of the American Dream as pictured in Mid-Century media”), in “Unintentionally Gay Ads — Does He or Doesn’t He?” by Sally Edelstein on 6/12/13:
(#1) A 1944 ad for Wilson Wear pajamas and shorts; SE’s comment: Boxers, bedrooms and pajamas were a natural setting for a romp among “roomates”
What makes this one so funny (because unintentionally gay) is something the ad agency surely never considered. They wanted to advertise a Wilson Wear line by showing both the pajamas and the boxer shorts. So they depicted two guys in intimate menswear in the same pattern — suggesting that they’re boyfriends in His and His clothing, guys who are, as they say, in each other’s pants.
Me, I think it’s sweet.
One more from SE, in her Bi-Curious? category:
One of the most famous homo-erotic advertising campaign was put out by the beer that made Milwaukee famous Schlitz Beer with their series “I was curious.” Whether the theme was lake side picnic, ski lodge or a visit among friends, by the third panel in all these ads there is nary a woman to be found.
(#2) The ski lodge ad, from 1950
I only have eyes for you, buddy — and my beer.
As for curious used for ‘curious about same-sex sexual relations’, aka bi-curious and questioning (the Q in LGBTQ), I don’t know its history; I don’t recall the usage from the 1950s (but then memory is a fragile thing), but it was fairly widely established by the time of the Swedish erotic movies I Am Curious (Yellow) in 1967 and I Am Curious (Blue) in 1968, in which a woman’s curiosity about lesbianism is a major theme.
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