Though it was shaped by a staff that largely consisted of gay men and straight women, International Male was never advertised as a gay publication. With an early tagline of “Freedom for the man,” the glossy catalog ran from 1976 to around 2007-thanks to mailing lists bought from magazines like GQ and Playboy-and invited men to order (and wear) whatever they wanted. And let’s get one thing straight: You wouldn’t be seeing Harry Styles or Kid Cudi in a dress if International Male hadn't first sent images of men in billowing pirate shirts to millions of homes in America. Starting in the late 1970s, the catalog treated men as objects of desire, kicked open the doors for decidedly sensual ad campaigns from Abercrombie and Calvin Klein, and prefigured the jacked physiques that dominate everything from the big screen to your Instagram feed. Another version of that moment: the first time they opened an issue of International Male, a mail-order catalog packed with ripped male bodies and seriously bold fashion, from yellow high-waisted military pants to coral mesh tank tops. Lots of gay guys will tell you that the moment they knew they were gay was when they lingered in the underwear aisle of a department store as a kid, ogling the torsos on the packaging.
