From the archive… “G-men”

G-men was a Japanese based Gay lifestyle magazine that ran from April 1995 to February 2016. Each issue stocked their hundreds of pages with full color erotic imagery and photography, Bara and Yaoi serialized manga, ads for shopping, Gay bars, spas, cafes and restaurants, fiction literature, and classified personal ads, etc. Some issues even went over 500 pages! 

Yet, in addition to the lifestyle content, being a Japanese publication, almost all of the pornographic material in G-men was censored to varying degrees. In some images there was pubic hair, some showed anuses, even some illustrations of penises were allowed, while the next illustration over may be blacked out. Though, absolutely no photographed penises were allowed in G-men per Japan’s restrictions.

Credit for the influence and popularity of G-men is due to its cofounder, Gengoroh Tagame, who is one of the first and most famous Gay manga artists in the history of this genre. Some referred to the title of G-men as “Gengoroh’s Men”. Tagame’s illustrations and manga were often included in issues of G-men, and he created the first 63 cover images for the magazine. 

In the 1980s the dominant Gay manga style was created by women. “Yaoi” used younger, more boyish looking subjects. Tagame’s more aggressive style and sometimes complex narratives were a turning point in mainstream Gay manga. The desire for an alternative representation of Gayness in manga led to the creation of G-men. The magazine centralized “macho”, older and bear-centric subjects, created for Gay men by men.

This post used issues No. 2 (1995) No.9 (1996) No. 62 (2001) No.100 (2004) No.112 (2005) of the 16 issues currently in our collection.

-Catalina Bulgach, Archivist, ToFF 

Published: 13th February 2024

Categorised in: History