The Male Mystique: Men's Magazine Ads of the 1960s and '70s [Hardcover]

Jacques Boyreau (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

What does it mean to be a man? Is it the size of your quadraphonic hi-fi equipment or the fit of your flares? The Male Mystique presents a swinging vision of the ideal male-dominated lifestyle—at least, as seen through the looking-glass of men's magazine ads of the 1960s and '70s. This is Total Male Living as it was meant to be: a world of musk, whiskey, polyester slacks, "male comfort spray," and, of course, babes. With 150 swaggering print advertisements presenting an astonishing array of swarthy delights, crass copy, and surprise celebrity sightings, The Male Mystique is tribute to the time when testosterone was in vogue and Stay-Prest stayed pants at the ready. Ladies, please don't crush the velour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Boyreau’s collection of 1960s and 1970s magazine ads center on iconic and outdated images of maleness-the swingers, playboys, and cowboys of the post-war era scene. These days, ads featuring macho bachelors in tight polyester "slacks" are far too silly to offend, even though the copy might say something like "Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere." (That’s from an ad for Tipalet tipped cigarettes reads). An ad for Roberts stereo tape recorders contains "A warning to bachelors!": "A Roberts means that you are a man of quality ... who can afford to buy the very best! And ... that’s the kind of man a girl likes to marry!" Meanwhile, an ad for A-1 Action Man Slacks depicts "Lance Bradbarry, 28, ... renowned Notary Public" at a pool table surrounded by women. The visual centerpiece is, of course, his pants, and Lance himself, the ad assures, is an "action man": "Ask Judy, Courtney, and Inger, they know he’s an action man because they’re part of his action." But there’s more than just kitsch at work here. Taken together, the ads form a narrative of maleness in popular culture over two decades in which cigarettes, slacks, liquor, stereos, "Score" hair cream and even male "comfort spray" were sold via a language of hyper-masculinity, uber-independence and unabashed sexual conquest. In his sporadic (and occasionally abstract) commentary, Boyreau conveys a tongue-in-cheek sense of nostalgia, as if to imply that this antiquated gender identity is almost appealing in its simplicity and clear imperative. "The Male Mystique elevates us to a force majeure of guyness," he writes. "Collectively upheld, detached from any one man, perhaps it is something to believe in." Or just laugh at.
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About the Author

Jacques Boyreau co-founded the half-bar, half-underground cinema known as the Werepad. His archive, Cosmic Hex, contains hundreds of cult, horror, and sci-fi films, as well as thousands of movie posters. He lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811841286
• ISBN-13: 978-0811841283
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,601,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Macho Man Revisted, November 23, 2005

By 

C. Morse (Idyllwild, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Male Mystique: Men's Magazine Ads of the 1960s and '70s (Hardcover)

The Male Mystique offers an illuminating study of the "real man" archetype on which so many of us guys were raised: a hostile, arrogant, emotionally crippled ninny, slowly destroying himself with booze and cigarettes while being fawned over by non-threatening, sexually compliant child-women who somehow manage to be even dumber than he is. Not a pretty picture. However, the most disturbing element of the book lies in the author's attitude: Boyreau seems to regard Madison Avenue's monstrosity as admirable and romantic, an ideal to be cherished. His pretentious text is mercifully brief.