That’s not to say BUTT was perfect-it whitewashed gay culture for all it was worth-but it was a place where insightful interviews met amateur aesthetics (à la porn 2.0), a place of rebellion and autonomy, a resolute “F*** YOU!” to convention. Boasting Wolfgang Tillmans and AA Bronson among its protagonists, BUTT quickly solidified its status as beacon of gay culture. A cult magazine brimming with creative connoisseurs, BUTT was famed for its candid features and boundary-pushing portrayals of men-both dressed and undressed. Nudie zine meets lifestyle mag, BUTT ’s representation of masculinity was intimate and interesting. Tattoos, chest hair, pot bellies and beards in abundance overthrew the sexed-up baby oiled images of Ken-like perfection that had defined gay iconography in the ’90s, and sparked a surging demand for downright dirt.īut BUTT was much more than the nudes it’s now notorious for.
The Dutch publication-founded by Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom and edited from an Amsterdam basement-set out to subvert the pervasive pretty-boy aesthetic that dominated gay representation in the ‘90s, and replace it with a new brand of raw, unpolished sex-appeal. “INTERNATIONAL FAGGOT MAGAZINE FOR INTERESTING HOMOSEXUALS AND THE MEN WHO LOVE THEM.” So reads the unabashed branding on the cover of issue 5 of ‘00s gay zine, BUTT.