Provenance
Gary Wright, a member of the New York Jacks from 1980-1989, collected this material and donated it to the Archive on November 24, 1998.
Scope and Content
The bulk of this collection consists of newsletters from JO clubs (masturbation clubs) in the United States and Western Europe in the 1980s. There is some organizational material -- a logbook of the New York Jacks attendance figures and receipts, the charter and by-laws of the Cincinnati Jacks, correspondence from various clubs, etc. The collection also includes club directories, flyers and event announcements, and some articles and informational material related to masturbation and JO clubs in general.
History or Bio
While JO clubs existed prior to the 1980s and continue to operate today, the early years of the AIDS epidemic saw increased interest in these clubs as "safer sex" environments. There is considerable attention paid to rules of behavior and safe sex guidelines in the newsletters and informational material in this collection.
Gary Wright, who helped run the New York Jacks for 10 years (1980-1989), collected this material and donated it to the Archives to "...help explain gay responses to a scary time in gay history..."
Folder List
1. New York Jacks logbook of attendance figures and receipts, 1986-1990
2. By-laws, charter and informational brochure of the Cincinnati Jacks
3. Correspondence, contacts and business cards (various clubs), 1985-1988 (some undated)
4. Directories of JO clubs in the United States (compiled by various clubs)
5. Flyers, event announcements, etc. (various clubs)
6. Amsterdam Jacks newsletter (includes flyers and other information mailed with newsletter), 1986-1988 (Bulk 1988)
7. Atlanta Jacks newsletter, 1986
8. Chicago Jacks newsletter, 1984-1988
9. JOE (Cincinnati, OH) newsletter, 1983-1984 (club dissolved, reorganized as Cincinnati Jacks)
10. Cincinnati Jacks newsletter, 1984-1988
11. Everglades Rawhides (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) newsletter, undated
12. J.O.E./Houston (TX) newsletter, undated
13. K.C. Jacks (Kansas City, MO) newsletter, 1986-1988
14. The Fraternity Los Angeles (formerly: The Hand Job Frat) newsletter, 1987-1988
15. L.A. Jacks (Los Angeles, CA) newsletter, 1986-1988
16. Marseille Jacks (France) newsletter, 1988-1989
17. New York Jacks newsletter, 1982-1987 (some undated)
18. Paris Jacks newsletter, 1986-1989
19. Portland Jacks (Portland, OR) newsletter, undated
20. T.O.M. (The Organization Man) (Rochester, NY) newsletter, 1987-1988
21. S.F. Jacks (San Francisco, CA) newsletter, 1983-1989
22. Strokes, newsletter of the JO Buddies (San Francisco, CA), undated
23. J/OE (Washington, DC area) newsletter, 1983-1989
24. Publications, articles and informational material related to masturbation and JO clubs
