In the 1950s, by using the language of human and civil rights, homosexuals in Europe and North America began to coordinate their activities through the organization of transnational homophile networks. Homophiles spoke the language of respectability and tried to avoid the sexualization of their identities. However, reading the letter exchange between a few Italian and Swiss homophiles involved in transnational projects, it is possible to come across documents concerning not only the purchase and exchange of pornographic pictures and drawings, but also photo shoots with young Italian hustlers, and the organization of male-only erotic weekends on Lake Garda. By focusing on the correspondence between the Italian Bernardino del Boca and the French editor of Der Kreis, Charles Welti, this paper sexualizes the “homophile international.” It problematizes our understanding of “homophile respectability,” shows the complicated attitude of a few homophiles towards intergenerational sex, and exposes the personal struggles homophiles experienced balancing homoerotic desires, sexual urges, and the necessity of maintaining an upright image.
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