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

David L. Chapman (Author), Brett Josef Grubisic (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

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.

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/Diction: New Queer Fiction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Starting with the post-Civil War health craze that made names like Graham (of the cracker), Post and Kellogg (they, of cereal) household names, just the first few daguerrotypes of muscle men is worth the price of this book alone. American Hunks is encyclopedic in its accommodation of what society---and, not incidentally, the burgeoning consumer culture---considered hot.
—EDGE Publications (Boston, Chicago, etc.) (EDGE Publications 20091001)

A wonderful collection of photographs, spanning a bit more than a century from 1860 to the early 1970s.
—Speak Its Name (blog) (Speak Its Name 20091113)

Pictures of legendary physiques from original superstar hunk Eugen Sandow to Charles Atlas to Arnold Schwarzenegger appear, well produced and annotated.... What might have been a wink-wink, nudge-nudge volume is instead vital Americana.
—Booklist (Booklist 20091124)

A beautifully produced volume.... American Hunks is an important contribution to the underdeveloped social history of the visual treatment of the well-built male body as documented in drawings and photography since the middle of the 19th century.
—Wisconsin Gazette (Wisconsin Gazette 20091126)

Chapman's pithy descriptions provide fine context, and Grubisic's well-sourced preface provides intellectual heft to accompany the physical bulk.
—Richard Labonte, Book Marks (Book Marks 20091202)

A delightfully eclectic compilation of historical man pix.... The photos and drawings, as selected and captioned by David L. Chapman, beautifully capture the erotic codes and cultural trajectory of the posed and naked male though the decades.
—Xtra! (Xtra! 20091203)

Co-au­thors David L. Chap­man and Brett Josef Grubisic incisively address the use of homoerotic imagery in the service of political and military propaganda, grounding the stunning, often full-color re­productions in a historical context. And did we mention the visuals are smokin’?
—Just Out (Portland, OR) (Just Out 20091212)

American Hunks is far more than just a photo book; it explores the culture of ideal masculinity as far back as the Industrial Revolution.... [The book] is presented in a way which is frankly fascinating. The book feels like a trip to a museum in itself, and Chapman serves as the colorful tour guide. Well written and well annotated, this book is, hands-down, the best place to start for anyone who's curious about the subject matter.
—Seattle Gay News (Seattle Gay News 20100201)

The excellent American Hunks: The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture explores the “long and gradual striptease” of the chiseled, well-built American male as he evolved into a cultural icon far more ubiquitous than many people would care to admit.
—Outsmart Magazine (Houston) (Outsmart 20100118)

About the Author

David L. Chapman is the author of 11 previous books, including Comin? at Ya!: The 3-D Photographs of Denny L. Denfield (Arsenal 2007) and Adonis: The Male Physique Pin-up. He also writes for various bodybuilding magazines. He lives in Seattle. Brett Josef Grubisic is the author of the novel The Age of Cities (Arsenal, 2006) and the editor of Contra/Diction: New Queer Male Fiction (Arsenal, 1998)and co-editor (with Carellin Brooks) of Carnal Nation: Brave New Sex Fictions (Arsenal, 2000). He teaches English at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155152256X
• ISBN-13: 978-1551522562
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER CHAPMAN WINNER October 6, 2009

By SF RAGE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"American Hunks" is a bonanaza of vintage muscleman photos. With his inimitable flair and mischevious sense of fun, Mark Chapman and Brett Josef Grubisic have gathered hundreds of the best images from the world of the hunk, muscleman, he-man or gymnast/wrestler. The book presents over 100 years of male muscle images from sources as disparate as cement bags, shoe polish tins, Coke ads, cigarette packs and underwear, not to mention a wide variety of studio photos. Each image has a welcome paragraph to describe it. There are introductions by both authors, as well. Though there are some familiar photographs (due to their iconic nature), I was happy suprised to see hundreds of images for the first time. This volume is a must have for all fans of the male form and physical culture, all presented in excellent quality prints and with panache and wit. This is a keeper!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth considering for any coffee table book collector December 11, 2009

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

It's been said women are constantly objectified in the media... but could the same be said of men? "American Hunks" takes a scholarly look at the use of the perfect physical specimen of man and how it has been used as a sex symbol over the years. For well over a century the image of musclebound hunks has been on countless items, selling not only to women, but men as well, both gay and straight. The photos within do contain nudity, but the main focus is on the evolution of the use of the hunk in media. "American Hunks" is well worth considering for any coffee table book collector.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunks from the past December 4, 2009

By Martin of Holland

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A wonderful book, with its many excellent photos, the more recent ones bringing back memories. Those were once the only pictures we had to fantasize about the ideal man/lover... It's mostly pictures with captions. with only short chapter introductions. Thoroughly enjoyable!
But one thing is missing: hardly a word about censorship or prudery, which is the first thing you think about seeing some of those fig leaves, posing pouches and even painted-by-hand blotches to obscure the offending parts in many early photos. We only read that a studio was forced to shut down, or forbidden to send by post, and it all relaxed in 1967. Still, there are many photos to prove these must have been clandestine.

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent book. September 11, 2012

By Charles Scala

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

American Hunks: the Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture is a great book for those interested in bodybuilding/physique modeling. Liberally illustrated and nicely written I recommend it to anyone interest
in this subject.

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is good camp fun January 7, 2011

By Ward J. Lamb VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

this book shows the thread of exotic body builder type images that have been with us since the dawn of photography.Here we find body builders,gymnasts,sexy movie stars that will truly inspire physique lovers.The book is presented with black and white vintage,as well as poster colored,and campy imagery too.It's sexy with a healthy sense of humor.It ironically includes an image of naked Germans getting a physical,even though they obviously don't fit in with the American theme.This is a great buy and entertaining! there is non pornographic nudity,very natural and stately.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book for Education and Therapy September 13, 2010

By K. Jespersen

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"American Hunks" is a book that (refreshingly) does not make titillation of the reader's prurient interests a priority, instead taking a generally sober attitude toward the historical and artistic documentation of male musculature and depiction in American culture. By giving the reader text in small doses, usually with short introductions and detailed captions, this book guides its audience from the hesitant first steps of pride in muscular development during the Victorian and Edwardian eras through to the full-blown muscle-building fascination of the 1980s, without spoon feeding.

This book will make an excellent reference, demonstrating the iconography of the flexed arm disembodied on many grocery products, showing the way to tell social mores and amateur from professional photography in many decades, and noting the many changes in the cultural "ideal" male body. It may also prove therapeutic for men with bodyimage difficulties, for instance demonstrating that the thick-trunked wrestler's body was considered highly desirable in the 1800s, so just because it isn't in vogue now does not mean it isn't beautiful. But this book is most useful as a social study in the development of male and female psyches over the past century or two.

Artists will find interesting concepts in this book, leading to the successful simulation of antique imagery, readoption of recently discarded techniques, and perfect comparative reference bases. Historians and geographers will also find interesting concepts in this book, as it shows phenomenae not often documented and the shifts of the center of masculine iconography across the American world.

There is one down side to this book: typos are frequent and obvious. Hopefully the publishers will fix this in future editions.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How We Gay Boomers Became Who We Are May 30, 2010

By John Michael Albert

Format:Paperback

What a wonderful book. I was born in 1951 and have strong memories of all these artifacts, all these things that, in the most subtle ways, contributed to my identity as a homosexual man. But I have never had access to a compendium that could pull it all together--primarily visually--and with wisps of text, cue me in to the the confirming narrative that was going on in my life, a narrative that, eventually, included pictorial images that go back (as does the book) to the invention of photography itself. Regrettably, there are still many people, possibly the majority of Americans, who would view such a book with an arched eyebrow, if not actual disgust, which is too bad. It is, as concisely as possible (350 pp), as good a commentary on the role "nurture" played in the creation of my personality as I could offer anyone, gay or straight. Put simply, in my childhood my father, a WW II veteran, took me to see "he man" movies--Hercules, Tarzan, Ben Hur, Tonka, even the Frankie and Annette series--and we always watched "he man" series on TV--Superman, Cheyenne, The Rifleman. At the same time, he shook his head as we drove past the gyms that created the stars of those movies. "Stay away from those places." I have a better understanding, now, of the two very different battles that were going on in our heads at that time.