Honcho Magazine

Honcho Magazine 1970s – 1980s

A walk down memory lane with Honcho, the vintage gay magazine. George Mavety’s Honcho magazine was a gay magazine that he created in the 1970s, and it stayed at the forefront of gay culture until its end in 2004. As an LGBT ally, Mavety wanted to create something different–an adult content magazine with pictures and words that could reach the cultural level of Playboy. He succeeded in creating exactly what he had intended: a powerhouse publication about male eroticism and gay culture. Even now, after his death 15 years ago, his vision for Honcho has served as an inspiration for the representation of the LGBT community and their culture in media. His mark on history is one to be remembered and admired in the great awakening of LGBT culture during the 70s and 80s.

Honcho Magazine – September 1984. Published prior to the Los Angeles Olympic Games, which was opened by President Ronald Reagan. He was turning a blind eye to the growing number of cases of “gay cancer” that were appearing.

Each monthly issue, in addition to exhibiting artistic displays of male nudes and erotic fiction, contained reviews of books, motion pictures and sound recordings of interest to the gay community and reported on social, political and cultural events related to the movement for gay liberation. Feel the sizzle and take a look at these covers from the vintage gay magazine.