A Suitcase Full of Vaseline, or Travels in the 1970s Gay World

Abstract

A p h o t o o f A s o f t s i d e d s u i t c A s e , unzipped to reveal that it has been packed with nothing but small tubes of Vaseline, illustrated a summer 1969 feature article on travel tips for gay men in a new lifestyle magazine (fig. 1). The image appeared without a caption, suggesting the self-evidence of the visual joke that sex rather than sightseeing would be the activity on holiday. The writer advised: “It’s a wise gay guy who takes a supply of antibiotics along for sudden viruses and other ‘diseases of the throat.’” Also on the list of things to pack: “douche, needle and thread, scissors, Vaseline, K-Y, Vaseline, K-Y, Vaseline, etc.” Written prior to but published contemporaneously with the pivotal Stonewall riots, this article suggests a gay male readership hip to the innuendo of the image and the implications of the repetition on the packing checklist. but as an advice feature, it also suggested that there was still much for readers to learn about the gay lifestyle and about navigating the world of same-sex action. This travel article appeared in Queen’s Quarterly (soon to be renamed QQ), a glossy gay men’s magazine that debuted in the spring of 1969 and continued publication for a decade. QQ explored the concept of a gay lifestyle, scripting a way of life for gay men that might be seen as both homogenizing and reflecting the range of interests and issues that such a lifestyle might entail. With the cover slogan, “For Gay Guys Who Have No Hangups,” the magazine’s articles spanned sex advice, health, hygiene and grooming, food, fashion, travel, and fiction. What was largely missing from its coverage were explicit claims toward political activism or news in