Before Insta: 16 homoerotic (and not entirely SFW) prints from mid-century physique magazines

Bob Mizer (Athletic Model Guild), ca. 1950, from Physique by Vince Aletti (Image: SPBH Editions / MACK, 2025; courtesy of Bob Mizer, Athletic Model Guild, SPBH Editions, and MACK.)

Before Grindr profiles and Instagram thirst traps, there were physique magazines whose black-and-white images of men flexing their muscles spoke a covert language of longing.

Don Whitman (Western Photography Guild), ca. 1960, from Physique by Vince Aletti (Image: SPBH Editions / MACK, 2025; Courtesy of Don Whitman, Western Photography Guild, SPBH Editions, and MACK)

In his latest book, Physique, photography critic and curator Vince Aletti unlocks the vault to this lost world, sharing over 250 rare prints from the underground male physique magazines that flourished in mid-20th-century America.

Chuck Renslow (Kris), ca. 1960, from Physique by Vince Aletti (Image: SPBH

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