Butt Book

by Jop van Bennekom (Editor), Gert Jonkers (Editor), Wolfgang Tillmans

The best of the first 5 years of BUTT: Adventures in 21st century gay subculture Since its first legendary issue in 2001, international quarterly magazine BUTT has been bringing together groups of young alternative gay guys all around the world, connecting fashion, sex, and art with a good sense of irony.

Genres: LGBT, Art, Nonfiction, Photography, Sexuality, Queer

558 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Together with Gert Jonkers, Art Director and Editor Jop van Bennekom is the creator of Fantastic Man, a formal and intelligent men's fashion magazine that positions itself above the commercial fray with a singular tone and elegant design. In 2010 they launched the female counterpart of Fantastic Man called The Gentlewoman, a modern ladies style journal.

Reviews

[Natalie]

always a head-turner on the subway! loved reading the interviews with John Waters, Gus Van Sant & that one guy who's a "brand consultant" for The Rolling Stones, in particular. this is my kind of journalism: talk about your work, talk about your top/bottom preference.

[Seth]

This book is a collection of the first sixteen or so issues of Butt Magazine, a self-described magazine 'by and about homosexuals' based in the Netherlands. It contains photographs and interviews with gay thinkers, writers, photographers, artists, musicians, and everyday people. It can be cheeky and sometimes explicit, and it's simultaneously serious-minded and ridiculous, discomfiting and hilarious, raunchy and, well, raunchy . The discussions are frank, ranging in topic from philosophies to sex to breakfast cereal to sex again. What I like most about it is the variety of perspectives that it brings to the reader. It presents the homosexual population as a physically and philosophically diverse group, which it celebrates. It revels in the beauty of the human body in all of its forms, whether traditionally accepted as so or not.

[Will Bellais]

Eclectic -- is that the word? Some of it is true fun -- some of it is very confusing. Shall I say it is somewhat simple minded? Oh, well, I will. Yet I find it a "charming" read -- a book you dip into instead of sit down and read from cover to cover.

[Danyell Aston]

Gay gay Yay yay! This is certainly a fantastic magazine for homosexuals. There is something for everybody. If you enjoy art, music, film, pornography, gay sub-cultures, blah blah. Love it all. A handbook for the artsy-fartsy queer population.

[Kevin]

a seminal work, masterpiece

[Lukas]

I need this book. Seriously. I saw it in a friend's bathroom and I knew right then and there that it needs to live in my bathroom. Now. P.s. my birthday is next monday...

[Brent]

Yeah, I think I just like the pictures in this one, too.

[David]

Delightful compilation from the infamous and FABULOUS BUTT Magazine!

[Jerry]

Collection of Butt magazine's best writing. A great book to have if interested in odd, creative and impressive people and writing.

[Jodumb Gearhart]

Gud advice for me - it takes one to now one as oy like to say!!!

[Periwinkle]

Love love love

[Keith]

A charming collection of interviews, and photo essays from BUTT magazine. Certainly not for everyone but I enjoyed it.

[João]

The book delivers what it promisses: a compilation of all issues from #1 up to #18.

Being a collector (and missing only 3 of the earlier magazines), the book didn't bring much novelty, except for the interviews to the creators, Jop and Gert. I really enjoyed knowing a bit more about them and their perspective on the magazine and life.

The issues are not complete. The magazines include some additional content, but the main work is all here. There are a few bonus pictures but they are not particularly noteworthy.

In any case, for a collector it is very much worth having the interviews to Jop and Gert.

[Charlotte Brown]

This book is a collection of frank interviews and pictoral articles that will keep you turning pages until you've finished each and every one of the too-few-at-550+ pages. The more you read, the more you want. Each story is a voyeuristic acid trip into some aspect of the gay world that you probably hadn't even imagined existed.
Have you ever seen someone interesting walking down the street, and wondered what their story was? Well, what if someone went and asked them simple but insightful questions and then actually got answers? You would have this book. Some of the people being interviewed are somebodies...some are anybodies, and some are nobodies...but they are all equally interesting when asked the right questions.
Trust me, if you have a curious mind, you will love this book. If you already have all the answers, you probably just want to keep right on walkin'.

[Dylan]

I'm testing the limits of what and for how long I'm reading on the subway.