In a great essay in this week's Village Voice, "Persecuting Pee-wee
A Child-Porn Case That Threatens Us All," Richard Goldstein manages to sort out a lot of scary stuff, and he warns us that Paul Reubens is the canary in the mine.
Most of Reubens's collection would be considered softcore by current standards, but nestled among the many portraits of naked bronco busters and javelin throwers in posing strapstypical of the types that graced the pages of physique magazineswere a few dozen photos that could be contraband today, though they were quite legal when they first appeared.
I'm glad that the Voice pointed this situation out. Many of the 'classic' magazines and periodicals from the '50s and '60s which Pee-Wee were caught with are readily available on eBay and through local dealers. I personally sold a trove of 'Butch' magazines in the last year via eBay. I didn't give it a second thought, nor did I search for secondary sex characteristics on these guys, all of whom I'm sure are older than me in 2003.
I shocked to think that I could be held as a kiddie porn dealer for selling a magazine which was completely legal when it was produced. This is absolutely an attack on Queers considering, as the Voice points out, Emmy-nominee Rob Lowe actually MADE a hard-core porn film of his escapade with an underage girl and no one blinked an eye. More people talk about his horrific 1988 Academy Award performance then his legally-defined rape of a minor.
I wait for Goldstein to consider Pete Townsend's case. If he hadn't came out as Bi would the press have jumped on this story as vigilantly? Will they ever run the letter Townsend posted on his website A YEAR AGO announcing his intent to work on a anti-kiddie exploitation book and his personal experiences as an abused child? These are relevant facts that don't make it on Entertainment Tonight.