How Photographer Bob Mizer Changed the Concept of Male Body Aesthetics

Photographer and director Bob Mizer became one of the pioneers of male erotica in the United States. In the mid-20th century, homophobia reigned in the States and what he did was condemned by both the law and society. Displaying a naked male body was not only indecent, but also criminally punishable. Despite the misunderstanding of others and persecution by the authorities, Mizer managed to build a real empire, which included several popular magazines and the film studio Athletic Model Guild.

Robert Henry Mizer was born on March 27, 1922. Almost nothing is known about his childhood, and Bob probably spent it like millions of other American boys. Mizer first announced himself as a photographer in 1942. He took studio photos of naked men, among whom were both ordinary models and famous athletes and artists.

What the photographer was doing was not encouraged in the United States. Therefore, Meiser did not even think about exhibitions and worked on request. For several years, no one interfered with the guy's creative development and earning money. But in 1947, the police raided his studio. The photographer was arrested on charges of distributing obscene male photographs by mail.

There was no denying it - Bob was found with the photos ready to be mailed and the postal receipts. He had in fact mailed several clients sets of photos of athletic men wearing only thin leather straps. The court found Meiser guilty and sentenced him to nine months in prison. He served his sentence at a work camp in Saugus, California.

Despite the pressure from all sides, Bob Mizer did not abandon his business. He not only continued to photograph the male body, but also opened a film studio, the Athletic Model Guild (AMG). In the 50s, it operated semi-legally, although it was located in the very center of Los Angeles. Mizer's magazine, Physique Pictorial, dedicated to the beauty of the male body, became the first publication of its kind in the United States.

Bob Mizer worked for almost half a century. He left behind more than two million photographs and about 3 thousand films. The photographer and director died in 1992. For some, Mizer was a brilliant aesthete, and for others, a man who shot pornography. The debate about this is still ongoing. But many art critics believe that his contribution to erotic art cannot be overestimated.

Today, Bob Mizer, along with Touko Valio Laaksonen (Tom of Finland), is considered the founder of modern gay aesthetics. And in 1998, the documentary drama "The Model of Male Beauty" about the life and work of Mizer was released.