Bill Munro
Sydney: Butch Enterprises, [1972].

The second (of only two published) of one of Australia’s first gay porn magazines. It has been well documented that Munro’s publishing ventures were more for his own joy of sex than any great publishing profit aspirations, nonetheless, this final double-issue presents as a fine example of 1970s Australian erotica with its mix of male homoeroticism, cartoons, advertisements, and articles, as well as venue, book, and film reviews. Uncommon in the medium, Munro published his name prominently on the front cover, and the interior contains portraits of himself and staff, at a time when homosexuality was still criminalised throughout Australia. He later said he wanted Butch to have a “strong come out attitude [and show] that somebody wasn’t afraid to come out of the closet” (Munro: Let It All Hang Out, 2008). After Butch, Munro published a shortlived tabloid in 1973 titled Little Butch, before selling up to heterosexual smut publisher of Ribald, Bill Horne, who continued the publication as Gay. Printed by Sydney printers Rotaspeed Press, known for printing numerous Australian erotica works by Howard Products, Potz Press, and Lay Press, as well as student newspapers such as University of Queensland Union’s Semper Floreat.