My parents' secret gay porn empire
Rachel and Josh Mason grew up believing their straight-laced parents ran a small bookstore in LA. They had no idea it was one of the biggest distributors of gay porn in the USA.
Growing up in California, Rachel Mason and her brother Josh didn't know exactly what was sold in their unassuming and straight-laced parents' bookstore. They had no idea the bookshop was actually one of the biggest distributors of adult material, specifically gay porn, in the US. The bookshop became a haven for the queer community as Karen and Barry supported gay employees throughout the HIV and Aids crisis in the 1980s, all the while hiding the business from family and friends. Rachel, Josh and Karen spoke to Outlook’s Emily Webb. Rachel has made a documentary about their story called Circus of Books.
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Picture: Barry and Karen at Circus of Books
Credit: Rachel Mason
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- Wed 20 Nov 201912:06GMTBBC World Service
- Wed 20 Nov 201916:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Wed 20 Nov 201918:06GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, South Asia & West and Central Africa
- Wed 20 Nov 201921:06GMTBBC World Service South Asia
- Wed 20 Nov 201923:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 21 Nov 201903:06GMTBBC World Service UK DAB/Freeview & Online only
- Thu 21 Nov 201904:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
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