Drum (American magazine)

The magazine's title was inspired by a quote from Walden by Henry David Thoreau that appeared in every edition: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears the beat of a different drummer."Streitmatter, p. 60

Drum was published most months between October 1964 and November 1966, but after issue number 21 the magazine was published sporadically for another 10 issues until January 1969.Stein, p. 283LCCN 68006149 The magazine's exclusive coverage of gay men's issues was controversial within the Janus Society because the group focused on all LGB issues.Stein, pp. 232-234

The magazine was the most popular homophile magazine in the country, with a circulation of 10,000 by 1966, far surpassing similar homophile magazines ONE and The Ladder.Loughery, p.283 Drum's success came from its bold portrayal of gay sex and culture in erotica, fiction, and humor. The magazine maintained a clipping service to identify news coverage of gay issues from across the country which were often reprinted in Drum.Streitmatter, p. 66 Polak wanted to "put the 'sex' back in homosexuality", and the magazine was the first in the country to publish full frontal male nudity in 1965. However, copies of the magazine sold at newsstands never featured nudity and only subscribers received copies with a centerfold-style insert of additional pages.Stein, p. 240 A Life magazine exposé titled "Homosexuality in America" in 1964 inspired a parody article in Drum, "Heterosexuality in America", written by "P. Arody" that jokingly treated heterosexuality as a deviation that exists in all walks of life across the country.Streitmatter, p. 71

Drum began the first gay comic strip, Harry Chess: The Man from A.U.N.T.I.E, by A. Jay (Al Shapiro), which featured Harry Chess and his sidekick Mickey Muscle as top secret agents working for Agents Undercover Network to Investigate Evil, a spoof on comic strips from the time and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Stein, p. 234 The comic was discontinued in 1966 but reappeared in gay magazines Queen’s Quarterly and Drummer.Murphy, pp.22-24

In March 1967, Polak was arrested when his home was raided by the police and over 75,000 gay books, photos, and magazines were seized. Polak was indicted by a grand jury; however, a judge threw out the case because one of the warrants was filled out incorrectly. In February 1969, Polak was arrested for a second time for distributing obscene materials and operating a peep show at one of his adult bookstores. In April 1969, Polak was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison, which was reduced to two months. Polak sent a letter to Drum’s subscribers in May explaining that the previous January issue was the magazine's last.Stein, pp. 283-284

After two additional arrests, Polak was found guilty by two federal grand juries in 1969 and 1970. Polak moved to Los Angeles in 1970 and in 1972 pleaded no contest to the charges of mailing obscene publications and was sentenced to five years probation contingent on giving up his pornography businesses in Philadelphia. The Janus Society succeeded Drum with another magazine, PACE!, named from the same Thoreau quote. Edited and published by Richard L. Schlegel, PACE! covered lesbian and gay issues but only ran for two issues.Stein, pp. 300-301

• List of gay pornographic magazines
• List of LGBT periodicals
• Beefcake magazine

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Gross |first1=Larry P. |title=Up from Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men, and the Media in America |date=2001 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-231-11952-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/upfrominvisibili0000gros}}
• {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/othersideofsile000loug|title=The Other Side of Silence: Men's Lives And Gay Identities - A Twentieth-Century History|last=Loughery|first=John|isbn=0805038965|edition=First|location=New York|page=283 |oclc=38096858|date=1998-06-15}}
• {{cite book |last1=Kranz |first1=Rachel |last2=Cusick |first2=Tim |title=Gay Rights |date=2005 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-5810-5 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnrzLgEACAAJ}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Michael J |title=The Lives and Times of Harry Chess|journal=The Gay & Lesbian Review |date=March–April 2014 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=22–24 |url=https://glreview.org/article/the-lives-and-times-of-harry-chess/ |issn=1532-1118}}
• {{cite book |last1=Stein |first1=Marc |title=City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves : Lesbian and Gay Philadelphia, 1945-1972 |date=2000 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-77179-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/cityofsisterlybr0000stei/page/n5/mode/2up}}
• {{cite book |last1=Streitmatter |first1=Rodger |title=Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America|chapter=Defining Gay Male Culture |date=1995 |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=Boston |isbn=978-0-571-19873-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/unspeakableriseo00stre/mode/2up |oclc=32745788}}
• {{cite web |title=Drum: Sex In Perspective |url=https://lccn.loc.gov/68006149 |website=Library of Congress |publisher=Janus Society|lccn=68006149 |date=1964}}

• {{cite book |last1=Baim |first1=Tracy |author1-link=Tracy Baim |title=Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America |date=2012 |publisher=Prairie Avenue Productions and Windy City Media Group |location=Chicago |isbn=978-1-4800-8052-2 |edition=1st. |url=https://archive.org/details/gaypressgaypower0000unse/mode/2up}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Pettis |first1=Ruth M. |title=Homophile Movement, U. S. |encyclopedia=glbtq Encyclopedia Project |date=2015 |pages=1–6 |url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/homophile_movement_S.pdf}}

• [https://www.houstonlgbthistory.org/assorted3.html 30 issues of Drum, Oct 64-Jan 69] at Houston LGBT History
• [https://www.pineshistory.org/the-archives/drum-magazine-and-the-fire-island-issue-1965 Drum magazine and the Fire Island issue 1965] at Fire Island Pines Historical Society

{{Portal bar|Journalism|LGBTQ|Human sexuality|Pennsylvania|Society}}

{{Early U.S. gay rights movement}}

{{LGBT culture in Philadelphia}}

Category:Erotica magazines published in the United States

Category:Magazines established in 1964

Category:Magazines disestablished in 1967

Category:Defunct magazines published in Philadelphia

Category:Defunct LGBTQ-related magazines published in the United States

Category:LGBTQ culture in Philadelphia

Category:1964 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:1967 disestablishments in Pennsylvania

Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in literature

Category:LGBTQ history in Pennsylvania