Billy’s World, or Toying with Desire in the Gay 1990s Brian Eugenio Herrera

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021 In early 1997, the Billy doll came out at the New York International Gift Fair. A 13-inch plastic “fashion doll,” the Billy doll was blond, blue-eyed, and built, with bulges of various kinds pressing at nearly every seam of each of his several carefully detailed outfits. The doll’s creator, John McKitterick, a British fashion designer, hoped Billy would be the “the first truly gay product” to be “successfully market[ed]” for “the mainstream resulting in further gay visibility.” But even with McKitterick’s bold ambitions and the doll’s $50.00 price tag, Billy’s most sizable attribute, heralded by the prominent “21 and over” sticker on the doll’s package, gave observers the greatest cause for pause. The Billy doll was, in dis- tributor Totem International’s careful phrasing, “anatomically complete,” making him not only the biggest boy on the boy-doll block but one with a mission statement to match: to “celebrate individuality, diversity, and at the same time getting a little bit of gay visibility onto the high street and into the media.”1 As McKitterick hoped, the novelty of an “explicitly” gay doll with a social message hooked media interest immediately. Under the headline “When G.I. Joe Just Won’t Do,” Newsweek ran a photo of Billy (captioned “Sorry, Barbie”) and opined, “There’ve been rumors about Ken for years, but Billy is being billed as the first openly gay doll” Newsweek( 1997). Eddie Dominguez, writing for the Associated Press, took a similar tack, writing “Move over, Ken, there’s a new man on the block. But he’s not going after Barbie” (Dominguez 1997:6). The Knight-Ridder news service article drew a different doll comparison: “Billy is almost giving Tickle Me Elmo a run for the money” (Cedar Rapids Gazette 1997:2A). Still, within weeks of the influential trade show, Billy’s distributor, Totem International, sold the entire initial production run of 5,000 dolls, establishing Billy as not only “The World’s First Out and Proud Gay Doll” but also as the breakout star of the 1997 fair. Totem quickly manufactured another 20,000 Billys for broad dis- tribution. By year’s end, Billy’s sustained sales success stirred another round of hype. “Christmas sales of this sick new doll are already through the roof,” ranted Ed Anger in the reliably sensa- tional tabloid Weekly World News. “Just what America’s children need right now,” Anger raged, “A gay boy doll with an erection” (1997:17). Throughout 1997, John McKitterick promoted Billy both as “a crossover product” and also as “a political tool” that “can say a lot of things that people can’t” (in Barker 1997:59). Over the next four years, between 1997 and 2001, Billy dolls and accessories were available for purchase by or through independent retailers across the United States, and the presence of Billy — along with his “Out and Proud Boyfriend” Carlos (introduced in 1998) and his “Out and Proud Best Friend” Tyson (1999) — appeared on the shelves of gay bookstores, on the pages of gay cata- logs, and even on the covers of academic monographs.2 Presented variously as a gag gift, queer

1. Thislanguage is taken from Totem International’s original BillyWorld.com website (www.billyworld.com/billysez /mystory), the contents of which are now mostly irretrievable. All unattributed quotations draw from a near com- plete printout produced in April 1998 that remains in the author’s possession. 2. Billy exemplifies “the products that have stood out over the years” in Matt Skallerud’s Gay Market Guide 2005 (2006:92). Two notable academic monographs that feature Billy on their covers are Martin P. Levine, Gay Macho:

Figure 1. (facing page) Billy Doll product insert, 1997. (Courtesy of Brian Eugenio Herrera)

Brian Eugenio Herrera’s work, both academic and creative, examines the history of gender, sexuality and race within and through U.S. popular performance. His first book Latin Numbers: Playing Latino in Twentieth Century U.S. Popular Performance (University of Michigan) will be published in 2015.

His next book project excavates a scholarly history of casting in American entertainment. Also, Brian’s Billy’s World autobiographical storywork performances have been seen in more than a dozen states since 2010 (as well as Beirut and Abu Dhabi). Brian is Assistant Professor of Theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. [email protected]

TDR: The Drama Review 58:4 (T224) Winter 2014. ©2014 Brian Eugenio Herrara 33

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34 Brian Eugenio Herrera

and hispartnerJuan Antonio Andres securedcopyrightforthe doll’sdesign, January of1997, astheypreparedforBilly’sNew York debutthefollowingmonth, McKitterick a Europeancompanycapableofbothfabricatingandhand-finishing thedollwasidentified. In and gay-identifieddoll(Details1995). In1996, afternostatesidemanufacturer could befound, searching foraUStoycompanyableandwillingtomass-produce ananatomicallycomplete might “provide apositiveexampleofanoutandproudgayman,” FriendsofBillyspent1995 for hundredsofdollarsapiece(Moir1994). Hopingthat amass-producedversionofthedoll run of12moreBillydolls, eachinitsownhand-made ensemble, allofwhichalsoquicklysold year, agroupofinvestors(knownas “Friends ofBilly”)formedandcommissionedalimited Billy prototypewasauctionedfortheequivalentofseveralhundreddollars. Earlythatnext figure, whichhedonatedtoaLondon AIDSbenefitevent. InNovemberof1994, thatfirst Sometime in1993, McKittericksculptedaone-of-a-kind3Dversionofhisillustratedfashion illustration templateuponwhichJohnMcKitterickwouldsketchvariousmensweardesigns. originally “by chance” in1992, Billy’sbulgingbrawnwasinitiallysimplyatwo-dimensional In spiteofthesplashmadebyhis1997comingout, Billywasnoovernightsuccess. Conceived The World That MadeBilly desire withinmainstreamUSpopularperformanceduringthe1990s. Carlos, and Tyson alsoscorethecartoonishlyabrupthistoricalturnsinlegibilityofgaymale tion fromhighlyvisibleobjectsofgaydesiretoforgottendetritustherecentpast, Billy, finally beinginterredasdebriswithinthearchiveofpopularculture. Intheirquicktransforma- sical resistanceandwentmainstreamascommoditiesofconspicuousconsumptionbefore appearing attheturnofthiscentury. These queerlittledollsstartedoutassymbolsofwhim- in threeverydifferenttexts(apornographicvideo, anoveltybook, andananimatedshortfilm) a singledecade. shifts inthemainstreamlegibilityoferoticizedgaymalebody ibility ontothehighstreetandintomedia” also, howeverinadvertently, markedtectonic tural) expressionsofdesire. McKitterick’sdesiretousethesedollsget “a littlebitofgayvis- divide betweenthehotandhilariousthatsotypicallyconfiguresgaymalecultural(andsubcul- half ago, butalsobecausethesedolls, intheirbow-leggedway, straddletheoftenintransigent not onlybecauseIstillpossesstheBilly, Carlos, and Tyson dollsthatIacquiredadecade anda stimulate bothlustandlaughter. Indeed, myowndesiretolookagainatthesedollsisstimulated Instead, Billy, Carlos, and Tyson weremateriallyarticulatederoticcartoons, objectsdesignedto the necessaryaperturesorattachmentstoallowforgenitalpenetration” (Ferguson2010:9). stimulate actualsexualpleasure. Norweretheysexdolls, or “fornicatory doll[sequipped]with gay past. dolls asartifactsdocumentingafrivolous(andalmostalreadyforgotten)episodeintherecent intended toinject “a littlebitofhumourintothegaydebate” (inBarker1997), Ilooktothese years ofthe20thcentury. Taking atfacevalueMcKitterick’spromotionalrefrainthatBillywas be), Billybecameoneofthemostvisiblecommercialemblemsgaymaledesireinlast collectible, oran “adult” novelty(butneverquitethe “crossover” producthewasintendedto national GiftFair(Barker1997). of “an unsuspectingbutpositivelyreceptive American public” atthe1997New York Inter company called Totem International, andmadefinalpreparationsforBilly tocomeoutinfront 3.

Billy, Carlos, and Tyson werenotintendedassextoys, ordevicesdesignedanddeployedto credited as “collaborator.” Copyright and the Ethics of Queer Life The Life and Death of the Homosexual Clone (1998) and Michael Warner’s was registered initially in the UK, with John McKitterick credited as “designer” and Juan Andres Introducedandcirculatedinthelater1990s, thesedollswerealsoplayedwith (1999). The Trouble with Normal: Sex, Politics,

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as anobjectofdesire 3 formedanew

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in Billy’s World 35 - - - ­ performer’s David Drake’s auto

adopted a more con

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Not quite a decade later, Not quite a decade later, 4 —

AIDS era. Miller’s notoriety as AIDS era. men” (1983:369). men” (1998). (1998). by “challeng[ing] the audience to take that passion and do “challeng[ing] the audience to take that by turn anger into action”

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The Clone Homosexual the of Death and Life The The five years separating McKitterick’s first sketch and Billy’s New York debut might seem a York debut might seem and Billy’s New first sketch years separating McKitterick’s The five McKitterick’s creation of the original “one of a kind” Billy doll for the 1994 London AIDS Billy doll for the 1994 London “one of a kind” McKitterick’s creation of the original visible gay male bodies could be seen not The creative restlessness of these emphatically

4. negligible span of time. Still, the cultural distance between 1992 and 1997 should not be under 1997 should not be between 1992 and the cultural distance Still, span of time. negligible estimated, especially with regard to the mainstream visibility of gay male desire. In the very In the very desire. visibility of gay male to the mainstream especially with regard estimated, in activists performed, of gay male a new generation the UK, in both the US and early 1990s, Often steeped masculinity. new mode of gay an emphatically actions and their outfits, both their and includ- Unleash Power), AIDS Coalition to UP (the ACT of action techniques in the direct AIDS the first decade of the to sexual and political consciousness during ing many who came sexual politics on their bodies in not always) younger gay men wore their these (often but era, “look” an emphatically gay masculine The cultivation of style. an idiosyncratic yet identifiable by gay men of a prior gen- the 1990s evoked the masculine self-styling by young gay men in mous- denim, flannel, (leather, appropriation of certain masculine styles in their eration who, activist John Preston (writing in Author and style. “clone” the notorious configured taches), to both gay act that communicated, as an expressive “clone style” mocked 1981) hailed the often signals that gay men exist[ed] in great visible “the first widespread, society, people and a hostile in which of everyday politics, was a potent performance “gay clone” the For Preston, numbers.” “gay man’s attrac- signaling a ,” “an announcemen[t] of gayness was “uniform” wearing the clone and desire for other gay with, identification tion to, Macho: Gay Levine’s P. Martin remains identity and practice, style, as “clone” 1970s the of assessment fullest one of the four artists defunded by the NEA in 1990 brought a peculiarly heightened scru- one of the four artists defunded by the NEA soon emerged as one and Miller’s My Queer Body tiny to his nakedly political performance, male solo performance would look like in the early of the most visible exemplars of what gay Another comparably visible work of gay male solo performance 1990s. (1992) Kissed Me biographical one-man play The Night Larry Kramer Broadway pro- producer of the original Off As Sean Strub, (vii). something productive with it” “Producers of gay-themed plays seeking commercial success had duction of it later recalled, [W]e took a dif- typically downplayed the gay aspect when marketing to mainstream audiences. the same way to mainstream audiences as we did to marketing [Drake’s play] ferent approach, in 1990, journalist Michelangelo Signorile explicated the connections between what he called journalist Michelangelo Signorile explicated the connections between what in 1990, “poli- For Signorile, predecessors. “Old Clone” 1970s of the 1990s and their “New Clones” the “fash- for both, and, the New Clone sex is political” tics to the Old Clone was sexual [while] for Signorile drew a genealogy and sex and politics are fashionable.” ion is both sexual and political, of gay generations cleaved by the devastating chasm between the strategic erotic identifications restless, whole new, “the archetype for a was “New Clone” as he also affirmed that the AIDS, of (1990:45). creative generation of gay men” “New Clone” doll within this restless creativity of the benefit situates both McKitterick and the outfit in 1994 benefit “one of kind” Billy’s Indeed, as characterized by Signorile. generation, armless flan- with cut-off jean shorts and an look, “New Clone” is itself an exemplar of the around the whole look adorned by a string of freedom rings nel shirt worn over a white tee, Billy’s original ensemble outfits the doll AIDS ribbon pinned to his chest. Billy’s neck and a red at play in tacitly cuing the sexual politics outness, in the accoutrements of early 1990s activist McKitterick’s inceptive design of the doll. Two years prior to Billy’s bene- but also on the stage. AIDS benefits, only in the streets or at exposed the writer- Miller’s 1992 My Queer Body Tim performance artist fit debut, and identity in the body as the corporeal stuff of gay politics “coming of age story ventionally theatrical tack in its presentation of what Signorile saw as a UP’s most provoca- ACT “masterfully articulate[d] one which (1990:x), for a new generation” tive mantra Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01October 2021

36 Brian Eugenio Herrera in the Age ofthePlague” (inSpencer1996:10), MakingPorn reflectedonthepeculiar “straight- he enterstheworldofgaypornin1980s. Offering “a quasi-historyofthegayadultindustry 15-month run. when Angeles, PalmSprings, Sacramento, Atlanta, Miami, andChicagoagainbeforethefallof1996 the principalrole)followedthatsummer, withproductions(withoutO’Hara)openinginLos duction inChicagothespringof1994. A SanFrancisco production(featuringO’Harain celebrities andtourists” (269)untilitclosedontheeveof24thanniversaryStonewall activism” (266), gatheredaudiencescomprisedof “ACT UPboys, UpperEastSidesocialites, KramerNight Larry KissedMe, anaffirmationofwhatStrubcalled “therestorativepowerof vival ofgaymale ant, boyish, andshirtlessDrakewearingaleatherjacketthussignaledthevisiblysexualsur the LGBTcommunity” (2014:269). The play’siconicmarketingimagefeaturedanexuber or examples of O’Hara’s lucid autoethnographic theorizations as to whether and how his sexwork and porn of Photofest) 1992. (Courtesy Figure 2. David Drake in 5.

Larsen’s “Making Porn: The Hangover” (9–12) in the same volume. Selected Essays of Scott O’Hara. His account of his working relationship with Ronnie Larsen can be found in “Performed Consent” (123–27) in his posthumously published essay collection, practice might (and might not) be considered see especially “Do performance, It (1999:97–102) and Yourself” F Making Porn finallyarrivedtoNew York topresentmorethan500 performancesoverits Making Porn toldthestoryofayoung, straight, maleperformer’sexperiences when ­ community The Kramer Kissed Night Larry Me, , identity, anddesireinaworldtransformedby AIDS. Drake’sThe phone, openedinitsfirstpro- narrated toLarsenoverthe scenes ofO’Hara’sactualcareer comic play, freelyadaptedfrom Spencer 1996:12). The mostly play aboutthepornindustry” (in try [...and]Igotthisideatodoa conception ofthepornindus- later recalled, “[I] sawmymis- I metScottO’Hara,” Larsen erotic culture, in1993). influential journalofgaymen’s lisher (cofoundingSteam, the editor, andindependentpub- becoming establishedasawriter, per andpornactor, andwas decade-long careerasastrip- ist” O’Harahadleftbehindhis activ- self-described “pleasure gay hit, MakingPorn. By1994, Off Broadway’snextsurprise that wouldprovidethebasisof Ronnie Larsenonthescript pendent director/playwright began collaboratingwithinde- porn performerScottO’Hara Love! Valour!Compassion! (1994), success of Terence McNally’s Drake’s playandtheBroadway inspired inpartbythesuccessof after opening. Within theyear, riots in1993, nearly13months Rarely Pure and Never Simple: 5 “When - - Billy’s World 37 where

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, featuring Rex Chandler, 1996. 1996. Chandler, Rex featuring , Porn Making according to the Billyworld website. (In Alaska, Hawaii, Hawaii, Alaska, (In according to the Billyworld website. (Courtesy of Brian Eugenio Herrera) (CourtesyEugenio Brian of Figure 3. Playbill for Playbill 3. Figure the District of Columbia, and eastern Canada the District of Columbia, in 35 states,

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’s New York ’s York New Making Porn

) became some of gay porn’s ) became some of gay ’s publicity-friendly mode Indeed, what was whimsically subversive and subcultural about Billy’s “one of a kind” 1994 “one of a kind” and subcultural about Billy’s what was whimsically subversive Indeed, But gay time can move Billy would be on display by 1997’s end, national mail-order Utah or any of the other 12 states without an official Billy merchandiser, benefit outfit (the cut-off shirt and shorts with freedom rings and AIDS ribbon) had become benefit outfit (the cut-off shirt and shorts with freedom rings and “San Francisco repackaged for mass distribution as and was readily nearly conventional by 1997, For the Billyworld one of the doll’s inaugural outfits (available for purchase separately). Billy,” out- a naked Billy described each of his available-for-purchase feature, “In the Closet” website’s first-person with unattributed “What shall we wear today” the question “answered” fits as he and “Cowboy Billy” and his “outfit to play in” ensemble was an “Master Billy” His descriptions. It’s very “all about fantasy and [making] me feel free and wanting fun. outfits were “Sailor Billy” This neoliberal impulse to align liberation with the acquisition of carefully queered liberating.” 170 bou- accessories also squared neatly with the commercial imperatives of the more than tiques and bookshops production opened amidst the 1996 gay pride celebrations the June before Billy’s official debut at the 1997 International Gift Fair the following February. the During those same months, AIDS realities of gay life in the era were transformed by the AIDS so the immediate prognosis of With therapies. introduction of newly effective HIV drug and O’Hara deployed in performances Drake, the erotic vibrancy that Miller, abruptly changed, was displaced by more visible displays of pornographic and resistance celebration, of defiance, Amidst a proliferation of consumption. virility marketed toward new circuits of conspicuous 1994 also the activism guiding McKitterick’s initial creation of Billy in gay consumer outlets, his entrance into the mass market in 1997. adapted to the commercial logics guiding “top” earners. Throughout its Throughout earners. “top” Making Porn many productions, (first continued the practice in the San rehearsed by O’Hara of hiring Francisco production) in the porn performers to appear the play (in various productions porn cast included such 1990s Blue Blake, stars as Chris Steele, produc- York and for the New Making Rex Chandler). tion, Porn of stunt-casting also worked to lend a measure of authentic- ity to its depiction of the gay porn industry. quickly. ening” of the gay macho ideal the gay macho ideal of ening” Since AIDS era. during the porn “Gay for pay” the 1980s, like Jeff Stryker and superstars appeared Idol (who briefly Ryan of Making in a later production Porn Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01October 2021

38 Brian Eugenio Herrera like myMyLittlePony” Billy been sold, andtheblond, blue-eyed, bull-necked, and(accordingtotheLondonObserver) “hung marketable, mass-producedcommodity, allinthebriskspanofonlyfourorfiveyears. of desirehadthustransformedfromthatanarchlyresistantpieceactivistarttoa retailers mightanswerthetoll-freecallsofwould-beBillybuyers.)Billy’slegibilityasanobject fact that Spanish entrepreneur Juan Antonio Andres was McKitterick’s in the design and partner primary instigated theNewYork Times torunaSundayfeatureon “doll couples” titled “Put Your Tiny Billy’s feature “ the boyfriendofBilly” (1998). Gaylifestyleand entertainment magazineGenre titleditsbrief warned, “If Barbiewantstodatethisplasticpapi, shecanforgetaboutit,” notingthat Carlos “is tool. He’sgotahotLatinoboyfriend, Carlos” (Sabourin 1998). InLatinaMagazine, ErnieGlam (1998). GaynightlifemagazineH/Xmusedthat “[Billy’s] gotthephysique. He’sgotthehuge is hisnewboyfriendCarlos, adarker, slimmer, evenbetter-selling (3to1)versionofhimself” Suggs noted, “While Barbieisbestknownforhercostume changes, Billy’sfavoriteaccessory each individualdoll” (1998:7). type linkedto(our)hisculturalheritage[...]Maybeitwouldhavebeenfunsurpriseuswith for, andaboutgayLatinos, towonderwhether “Carlos’s uncircumcisionis justanotherstereo- Los Angeles–based quarterlythatin1996becamethefirstnationallydistributedmagazineby, standing visualvocabularyofdesirethateroticizedhisdifference, causingtheeditorsofQV,a browner skintone. LiterallycastfromadifferentmoldthanBilly, Carlosalsoinvokedalong- moniker International, theCarlosdollworemarkingsofLatinodifference, bothnominally narrative asclearhiswell-definedpecs” (2000:180). Asdesignedandconstructedby Totem become whatculturalcriticJoséQuirogahasdescribedas “that Latinoguyendowedwitha over aperiodofnearlyfiveyears, Carloswentfromideatointroductioninbarelyayear to confirmBilly’scommodifiedcelebrationofinclusivity. Yet, whileBillywasbuiltandrebuilt McKitterick and Totem InternationalcraftedCarlos’soriginnarrativeasanaffirmativeaction comparably complete.comparably The rial testamenttoBilly’scommitment “diversity” intheformofCarlos, also13inchestalland Rapids Gazette1997). reporter notedearlyon, “Not thatBillyisn’tpoliticallycorrect. Heexudesdiversity” (Cedar central to Totem International’smarketingofBilly’sidealizedgayworld. As theKnight-Ridder variations intheworldofBilly(Barker1997). “really wanted” theblondandblue-eyedBillytohaveaLatinolover(NewsPlanet1998). was “The World’s FirstOutandProudBoyfriend.” What adifferenceindeed. Billywas “The World’s FirstOutandProudGayDoll” whileCarlos 6.

By theendofBilly’sfirstyearindistribution, morethan70,000Billydollshadreportedly But Carlos’sappearancealsoseemedtoconfirmthatBillyhad itall. AsculturalcriticDonald As example, see “Billy,As example, el mejor regalo de Reyes para los mitómanos juguetones” (Ragap España 2012). about Andres, mostly originating webin the Spanish-speaking who is mentioned in but a few articles, world. launch of Billyworld remained a detail assiduously elided in McKitterick’s promotional strategy. Little is known The Perhaps asaresult, Totem markedthefirstanniversaryofBilly’sdebutwithmate- McKitterick explainedthattheideaforCarloscamefrommanyBillydollfanswho slight culturalvariation. What adifference. (TzabacoCatalog1998) He takesjustasmuchcareofhisbodyBilly. And heiseverybitasendowed, withone first. Billyhasanewlover:LatinonamedCarlos[...]isnativeofPuertoRico. Stop burningupthephone, fax, andmodemlines. The wordisoutandyoureadithere arroz blanca” (Harrold1998). Carlos’scomingoutandtogether withBillyeven Hola, Gorgeous!” andwagged, “Carlos istheyingfor Billy’syang, thefrijolesnegros to “Carlos”

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and materially Tzabaco CatalogintroducedCarlosbreathlessly:

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with ahalf-dozen

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the “slight culturalvariation” ofhisforeskinand Evenso, thecelebrationofdiversityremained “out” outfits

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enjoyed seeminglyendless

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his Billy’s World 39 Latin Numbers: Numbers: Latin Figure 4. Carlos Doll product insert, product (Courtesy 1998. Doll Brian of Carlos 4. Figure Herrera) Eugenio - without (1998). (1998).

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in this case

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The use of desire as a filter for 7

painted-on chest hair and a dis- painted-on chest hair

Playing Latino in Twentieth Century U.S. Popular Performance. Century Popular U.S. Twentieth in Latino Playing I Carlos’s 13-inch plastic frame confirmed Carlos’s 13-inch plastic

7. racial difference confirms the racial logics racial difference confirms the racial logics of Billyworld and echoes what Erica Rand - has described as Barbie’s hegemonic white “diversity comes into play only ness wherein when it does not entail significantly dis- (1995:84). blond Barbie” placing white, as Frances Negrón-Mutaner Perhaps notably, Barbie Mattell’s first Puerto Rican observes, was introduced mere months before Carlos Ann DuCille reminds came out (2012:152). - “difficulties and dangers of treat us of the ing race and gender as biological stigmata that can be fixed in plastic and mass-repro- also map upon more fleshly bodies (1996:56–57). when such fixations upon difference duced” Carlos wore his wrist and longer than his own foot, even with a penis as thick as his own So, gay Latin/o cultural variation in a way that appeared to naturalize his primary utility as Billy’s forthcomingmy in monograph, lovers Latin/o gay 1990s several among one as Carlos examine having any real identity of his own” having any real identity a goatee, introduction of Carlos in through the Thus, in Tyson American African 1998 (as well as upon longstanding Billyworld drew 1999), - gay male traditions of channeling the chal of lenges of racial difference through filters In a 1990 essay published in the pio- desire. neering lesbian and gay cultural journal Out/ Jacqueline Goldsby presciently interro- Look, “lesbian and gay male communi- gated why When ties figure race in such disparate ways.” confronting the seriousness of difference, gay men “Dykes politicize it, Goldsby argued, The 1990s stock char (1990:11). eroticize it” - acter of the gay Latin/o lover animated dis and, and disease difference, courses of desire, embod- in ways both celebratory and defiant, the ied the erotic potency of being fierce in face of fear. proportionately large uncut cock proportionately large the sculpted contours of the fantasies that the sculpted contours “[Carlos is] elaborates: Suggs molded him. goods supposed to deliver the observed, “Ever “Ever The Times observed, Hand in Mine.” Carlos, [...] was given a partner, since Billy up doll couple has kicked the early this year, spring in the Indeed, 1998). (Tribelli a stir” well have been Billy and Carlos may of 1998, male couples most prominent gay among the map. on the US popular culture Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01October 2021 40 Brian Eugenio Herrera of Brian Eugenio(Courtesy Herrera) Master Billy (Mark Mason) and Leather Carlos (Tony Acosta) the goods. peruse Figure 5. Screenshot of International’s thirdandfinaldoll, bothextendedandclosedthecircuitofracialdesire. essarily whitegayeveryman. erotic relation onlytoBilly. Within Billyworld, CarlosexistedforBilly, enrichingBilly’slandscapeof lover, confirmingBillyworld’scelebrationofdiversitywhilealsosecuringCarlosinsubservient rior to Tyson’s introduction in 1999, Billy’s most notable encounter with blackness might well be his black- like sex” (AdamGay 1998). “an amusingseriesofvignettes inwhichvariousdollscometolifeandhavedecidedlyundoll- adult eroticfeatureBilly2000:GoestoHollywood (1998)stagedwhatonereviewercalled be threeelaborationsofBillyworldindistinctgenresgaymale culturalproduction. The ing year, BillygotCarlos, evenmoreoutfits, andthestarringroleinfirstofwhatwould In hisfirstyearonthecommercialcircuit, Billygotanimpressive arrayofoutfits. Thefollow- Billy StepsOutOfHisBox products (LeMay2002). violation andimmediatelystoppedbothproductiondistribution ofall “BPS Billy”-related challenge fromUnitedParcelServices. Inearly2002, Totem conceded UPS’sallegedcopyright ages whilewearingbrownuniformswithgold “BPS” insiginia, didelicitaforcefulinfringement and Molloy1999). Tyson’s name, intandemwithhisshavedheadandgoatee, evokedtwo reporter whodressesinleatherontheweekends newspaper accountmused, “Collectors ofthedollsarewonderingwhether Tyson the first African AmericanpresenceinBillyworld, Tyson stirredimmediateuncertainties. One 8.

The 1999debutof Tyson (“The World’s FirstOutandProudBestFriend”), Totem 1998:6). face makeover of designer Nicole as part Miller’s “funked up” contribution to a 1998 LifeBeat benefit (Newsweek P and (98.Slslr Jason Nikas) looks on as Billy 2000 (1998). Salesclerk ( cultural possibility, whilealsoanchoringBilly’scentralityasanidealizationofanec- Billy 2000adoptedaconventionalpornnarrative structurewherein

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will comebetweenBillyandCarlos” tive name andimageoftheirrespec- Tyson mightinfringeuponthe whether Totem’sreviewing model confirmedthattheywere yers forboththeboxerand Perhaps asaresult, whenlaw- and model Tyson Beckford. later 1990s:boxerMike Tyson iconic blackcelebritiesofthe Tyson delivering Totem pack- which prominentlyfeatured Totem’s releaseof “BPS Billy,” name nevermaterialized, but threatened lawsuitsover Tyson’s (Rush andMolloy1999). The but withoutbeingstereotypical” was African-American-sounding, “[w]e wantedsomethingthat rity inparticular, assertingthat friend wasinspiredbyanyceleb- the namingofBilly’snewbest tation. McKitterickdeniedthat ject oflegalallegationsexploi- first ofthedollstobesub- ­ clients, Tyson becamethe

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a TV 8 (Rush As Billy’s World 41 - (2001). Jeffrey: “Hot “Hot Jeffrey: (2001). Trick Screen Hollywood Jeffrey’s you’re on top and then you’re not /

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Figure 6. Screenshot of Screenshot 6. Figure Herrera) (CourtesyEugenio Brian of hot.” I’m think never guys He really

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we plan to love each other a lot”). The 112-page picture book concludes with we plan to love each other a lot”). Billy and Carlos dolls function as talismanic objects of desire. In each sequence, sequence, In each of desire. as talismanic objects Carlos dolls function Billy and / But the moment I saw him / He blew me away”). The two return to Carlos’s away”). / But the moment I saw him / He blew me

celebrated gay male desire’s potential to conjure Billy With Billy 2000 and Big Fun cliché ­

minute film, ­ Both (2001) emphasized how Billy (2001) emphasized how With the erotic picture book Big Fun In contrast perhaps, However it goes, a world in which the erotic swim of masculine muscularity promises to wash away embod- a world in which the erotic swim of masculine muscularity promises to wash away Jeffrey’s Downing’s 2001 short film, Todd and gender expression. race, ied differences of class, and more Using stop-action animation, took a distinctly different tack. , Hollywood Trick Screen Billy and Carlos in loving embrace, presumably commencing a life of happily ever after. commencing a life of happily ever after. presumably Billy and Carlos in loving embrace, is quite neat”) and joins Carlos and Billy to start an erotic male which revue (“The Masters”), permits Niccolini to stage a vari- Tyson ety of photographs of being platonically nude with his Big Fun Still, “best friends.” new Billy’s narrative resolves With with a visual montage of Billy posed in all the sex- and Carlos, ual positions two unjointed dolls might accomplish as Billy finally changes know love always to Carlos (“You “submits” loft for an afternoon romp, depicted in Niccolini’s photographs (“‘This loft for an afternoon romp, do... thing I’d like to The ‘But I bet you’d be filling.’”). / said Carlos, ‘I never bottom,’ / / I hope you are willing...’ remains smitten by Carlos and determined to find two neglect to exchange numbers but Billy (“Once “so Carlos won’t escape” Billy Doll changes everything When the two reconnect, him. and became moved in with him, / I quit my job, in love with Carlos I made a whole new plan The fireman”). a York New beau- pair then begins a buff, Even tiful life in the big city. made appears (“We’ve Tyson a new friend of the cop that A great-looking walks our beat / guy named Tyson ing the same clothing as the doll, and then we see two guys having sex” (Phillip 1998:40). Only (Phillip 1998:40). having sex” and then we see two guys as the doll, ing the same clothing customers (one white man and one five scenes does this plot vary: two in the third of the video’s transforms them into Master store and the sales clerk’s own idle fantasy man of color) enter the remember, And, fantasy. enacting an elaborate dominance-submission Billy and Leather Carlos fantasy of Billy exists either for identification or the pornographic In Billy 2000, it’s Master Billy. in service to Billy. Carlos manifesting literally (and explicitly) with objectification, Niccolini’s images contribute the Fine art photographer Dianora world. Carlos enhanced Billy’s Leddick’s rhymed verse provid- with playwright David visual structure, pictographic novella’s Leddick’s of his many ensembles, integrating Billy’s appearance in each Deftly ing its narrative. to depict Billyworld’s ideal- meld across 112 unnumbered pages text and Niccolini’s images class distinc- and cultural, muscular beauty elides racial, ized landscape in which masculine, Billy Doll takes one day, becomes Billy’s surname and, “Doll” In Leddick’s narrative, tions. met at the gym / I know meets Carlos (“We by chance, Street job and, Wall off early from his it’s a an overarching fantasy scenario links five distinct, sexually explicit scenes. Throughout the Throughout sexually explicit scenes. links five distinct, fantasy scenario an overarching 85- When the cus- white male customer. a Billy doll to a different adult bookstore sells a clerk in an customer’s deepest to life to actualize the either Billy comes his Billy doll home, tomer takes been “The plot device has as Billy. imagines himself manifesting or the customer erotic fantasy wear then we see a person see the doll, “We noted. one reviewer times before,” done a hundred Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01October 2021

42 Brian Eugenio Herrera gay romanticcomedyfilmsoftheperiod. my butt!!!”). where Carlos! Drillmeahonkeyfuckhole!!” As Carlosdoes(“Aiight, man”), bloodspraysevery- a hatecrimeorsomething?!” “No, Tori! It’slove,” Jeffreyproclaims, “It’s love!JesusChrist, above aspread-eagledJeffreyandholdingmini-Makitadrill inhishand. Tori screams, “Is this from Mattell’sBeverly Hills90210collection)arriveshometodiscoverCarlosstandingnude not toleave: “Wait! I’vegotanidea!” Next, Jeffrey’sroommate Tori (arepurposed “Donna” doll pants, butnogenitalia. Jeffreyshrieks, “Oh mygod! Where’s mydick?!” HeimportunesCarlos sculpted crotchmound, shot revealsthatJeffrey Jeffrey pleads, “What’s wrong, baby?” Carlosreplies, “Where’s yourfuckin’fuckhole?” A close As thepassionheats, CarlospullsJeffrey’shipsclosetohisownbeforestoppingabruptly. Poppers! [...]OhmygodIhopehe’suncut!”). CarlosliftsJeffreyandthrowshimtothecouch. he leapsintoCarlos’sembrace(“Ohhhh!Pleasefuckme!”). I’m justgonnacatchthesubwayhome”)whichcompelsJeffreytofinallysaywhathemeansas which isgreatbutIfeelguilty”). Carlosremainsnearlymuteuntilthepivotalmoment(“Man, (“which isgreatbecausemyparent’ssaidthey’dpayforColumbiagradschoolandeverything rebuking himself(“Hi! Too femmy!Hey!Beanasshole. Guyslikeassholes”)oroversharing ward “meet cute” momentoutside. UponmeetingCarlos, Jeffreynattersincessantly, internally him throughaseriesofbatheticnear-misses withCarlosinsidetheclubuntilapainfullyawk- neuroses (“WhoamIkidding? A scrawnyloserlikeme. HotguysneverthinkI’mhot”)compel ningly attractivego-godancernamedCarlos, voicedbyRonButler. Jeffrey’sself-deprecating by Mike Albo, capturesJeffrey’sexcitementashefirstspiesandthenclumsilypursuesastun- ventures ofa20-somethingregulargaynamedJeffrey. Jeffrey’sinternalmonologue, asvoiced Carlos doll. satirizes thismismatchedloversscenariousingarepurposedGIJoedollandanunmodified guy whoismuscular, masculine, andfaroutoftheeverygay’sleague. Downing’sanimatedshort parodies, afunnyandcute “everygay” becomesenthralledbyanexceptionallyattractivedream heralded “new queercinema” oftheearly1990s. InDowning’sfilm, asinthegayromcomshe took themorepoliticallyanderoticallychargedgenresstylesthathaddefinedwidely uitous genreformationatgayfilmfestivalsand, inbothpopularityandexposure, quicklyover romantic comedies, perhapsduetotheirappealthehomevideomarket, definedasoonubiq- (Downing 2013). cal.” “[T]his wassuchahorriblecultureinmanywaysthatyoujustwantto makeitexplode” credits riseandthesoundtrackshiftsabruptlytoahardmetal track. explosion fillsthescreen, fadingtorevealabloodykitchen strewnwithdollparts. Theclosing Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss(1998), Trick (1999) satirized thenarrativescenarioofnotonlythosefilmsmashedupinitstitle muscular, masculine, andmulticulturalidealizationofgaymaledesire. Downing’sfilmarchly offered alaceratingspoofofboththelate1990sgayromanticcomedyandalsoBillyworld’s than 50Billy, Carlos, and Tyson dollsonloanfrom Totem, Jeffrey’s Hollywood Screen Trick 10. ther such mismatching gay romantic comedies might include Lie Down with Dogs Kiss (1995), Me Guido 9.

The unlikelypairarrivesatJeffrey’sapartment(“Think!Candles!Bjork!Lube!Rubbers! For muchofits10-minuterunningtime, Jeffrey’s Hollywood Screen Trick tracksthemisad- For filmmaker Todd Downing, thefilm’sgruesomeconclusionwas “completely logi- arch comic sensibility (Albo 2013). incisive critique guided the contributions of his collaborators, especially in the crafting of the film’s distinctively M (1997), and O ike Albo’s recollections regarding the experience of recording the film’s dialogue track confirm that Downing’s

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all overCarlos, Bloodandoozespew. Tori’s dollheadpopsoff. Jeffrey’sdollheadspins. A shattering The Broken Club (2000). Hearts 10 InDowning’sview, Billyworld’ssuperficialidealization ofgaymaledesire

adornedwithmoldeddetailssuggestingpermanentlylacqueredunder — Tori, thekitchen, thecat

a modifiedbutstillanatomically 9 Suchindependentlyproduced “crossover” gay

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while Jeffreysingstotheheavens(“Hot!In incomplete G.I. Joedoll

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J effrey (1995),

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“ has a crossover” ­

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Billy’s World 43

a position 11 ­ frozen in time, does appear to

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(2001). Jeffrey: “Carlos! “Carlos! Jeffrey: (2001). Trick Screen Hollywood Jeffrey’s through historical coincidence

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Figure 7. Screenshot of Screenshot 7. Figure Herrera) (Courtesy Eugenio fuckhole!” honkey a me Drill Brian of of McKitterick’s active employment as Head of Department of Fashion at Kingston University can can University Kingston at Departmentof Fashion of Head as employment active McKitterick’s of

be found in “Fashion Ace Robbie Swaps Centre Court for Catwalk” (Kingston University 2004). McKitterick’s McKitterick’s 2004). University (Kingston Court Catwalk” for Centre Swaps Robbie Ace “Fashion in found be 2009). repository University (Kingston research University’s Kingston at summarized is information copyright Confirmation But while the explosive ending of Downing’s film appears to have failed to disrupt either gay But while the explosive ending of Downing’s

with a few updates to the company website from 2002 until the page lapsed entirely in 2005. in 2005. with a few updates to the company website from 2002 until the page lapsed entirely returning to his John McKitterick ceased being Billy’s human spokesperson, around 2002, Also, program at London’s Kingston University, as head of the Fashion Design “day job” 11. actually mark the end of Billyworld. Downing recalls how, upon his film’s wrap, attempts to wrap, upon his film’s Downing recalls how, actually mark the end of Billyworld. return of the borrowed dolls went unanswered. reach John McKitterick to arrange for the invitations to Downing does not know McKitterick’s thoughts on his film because Likewise, International’s Totem Downing’s experience squares with screenings also went unheeded. Ambitious plans to launch Billyworld.com as apparently sudden demise in the early 2000s. and news platforms) appear to have stopped shopping, a retail lifestyle hub (featuring email, International would not release Totem in early 2000. bubble burst “dot-com” abruptly when the and Downing’s film in 2001. Big Fun with Billy, “BPS Billy,” another Billy product or tie-in after Arsenic and gay dolls entered the marketplace. “adult” competing During this same period, Totem’s to market at half the price of dolls arrived low-rent drag-queen” “amusing Apple Pie’s “action of Finland’s Tom and 1999), Dolly Billy and Cha Cha Carlos (Houston-Montgomery including detachable points of articulation as Billy, promised three times as many figures” But by the time penises in both cut and uncut varieties (see Medeiros 2003 and Lloyd 2003). Billyworld itself seemed actually hit the scene in 2003, “Rebel” of Finland’s Tom male culture’s fixation on muscular masculinity or mainstream media’s delight in mismatched male culture’s fixation on muscular masculinity Trick Screen Hollywood Jeffrey’s gay lovers, mirrored the fallacious fantasies fallacious fantasies mirrored the in and, ’90s romcom, of the gay , Trick Screen Hollywood Jeffrey’s with both the Downing toyed genre to animate dolls and the critique of both. his scathing spoofs the the film Throughout, plea- peculiarly self-abnegating from sures that gay men derive modes of fetishizing particular while de-eroticizing masculinity, the film’s pen- but it is in others, Downing ultimate sequence that promise of realizes the peculiar or the his animating premise, using choice to tell this story of desire these material objects like the Billy and Carlos dolls. Downing to do,” to do what you want you know, have a lot more liberty when it’s a doll, “You Downing’s queer play with dolls In the film, human.” “I couldn’t really do it with a explains. apertures of thereby opening critical distance, both heightens affective illusion and prompts in narrative cinema while at the same time dodging the critical consciousness difficult to achieve “When by the exposure of actual flesh to the camera. spectacular titillations so readily prompted “all of a sudden he Downing observes, or a cock,” you realize that [Jeffrey] doesn’t have a butt (Downing 2013). becomes a doll again” he would hold until (in the words of one observer) “vanish[ing] from the Internet” around the “vanish[ing] from the Internet” he would hold until (in the words of one observer) Though online retailers and resellers continued to market summer of 2004 (see Bensie 2012). Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01October 2021

44 Brian Eugenio Herrera ping website “dedicated toallthingsmanly.” 2010s, Billyworld.comwasacquiredbyanOregon-basedcompanyandrefashionedasashop- 1997 and2001, theoriginalUKcopyrightsfordollslapsedin2007. Finally, intheearly the morethan250,000totalBillydollsandaccessoriesreleasedby Totem Internationalbetween 12. Kingston University. 2009. Research Repository. “Billy Doll[copyright].” Accessed 29July2013. Kingston University. 2004. Houston-Montgomery, Beauregard. 1999. “Guys andDolls.” TheAdvocate, 9November:54. Harrold, Max. 1998. “Hola, Gorgeous!” Genre, March:32. Goldsby, Jackie. 1990. “What ItMeanstoBeColoredMe.” Out/Look: The NationalLesbianandGay Glam,Ernie.1998. “BoyToy.” Ferguson, Anthony.2010. The SexDoll: .A History Jefferson, NC:McFarland. DuCille,Skin Trade Ann.1996. . Cambridge, MA:HarvardUniversityPress. Downing, Todd. 2013. Telephone conversationwithauthor, 9September. Downing, Todd.2001. Dominguez, Eddie. 1997. “New BillyDollNot After Barbie.” The Tyrone [PA] DailyHerald, 11June:6. Details Magazine. 1995. “NancyToy,Companion?”Longtime April:n.p. Ken’s Cedar RapidsGazette. 1997. “Billy theGayDollIsOut, Proud.” CedarRapidsGazette , 15March:2A. Billyworld.com. 2013. “About Us.” Billyworld.com. (29July2013). Billyworld.com. 1998. Accessed circa April 1998. “BillySez Bensie, DennisMilam. 2012. “In SearchofGayBobandBilly.” SHORN. 12February. Accessed 29July Barker, Nicola. 1997. “Size Matters. Particularlyif You’re Only Thirteen Inches Tall.” TheObserver, Anger, Ed[RafeKlinger]. 1997. “Watch Out, Barbie!” Weekly WorldNews , 31October:17. Albo, Mike. 2013. Telephone conversationwithauthor, 3October. Adam Gay Video XXXShowcase.1998. Billy 2000:Review.” “ November:8–17. References selves bytoyingwithdesire. ously seriousandirreverent, havehistoricallycraftedtheirart, theirperformances, andtheir well asthecommentariesandperformancestheyinstigated in registersutopicordystopic the culturalresponsestoBillyandCarlos Tyson cific andidiosyncraticcircuitofgaymaledesireasitwasroutedwithintherecentpast. And tory ofgaymaledesire. Indeed, thesedollsconveycomplexandcaptivatingexamplesofaspe- liarly materialtraceofaparticularmomentingaytime. Indeed, Billy, Carlos, and Tyson US popularperformance. Yet thenot-quite-10-yearhistoryofBillydollalsoleavesapecu- carded, readilymisunderstood, andscatteredasephemerathroughoutthebroaderarchiveof

The historyoftheBilly, Carlos, and Tyson dollsremainshiddeninplainsight F http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/4700/. University Magazine, June:8. Quarterly, Summer:8–17. /mystory. 2013. http://shorn.coffeetownpress.com/?p=773. 31 August:59. or confirmation of this timeline, see billyworld.com cache at archive.org’s“Way Back Machine.” Jeffrey’s Hollywood Screen Trick. New York: BrokenHipProductions. “Fashion Ace RobbieSwaps CentreCourtforCatwalk.”Kingston Bridge: The Latina, July:20.

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also documentsomeofthewaysgaymen, 12

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whether celebratoryorcynical,

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as - - Billy’s World 45

25 February:n.p. , 26 April:4. , Times New York , December:10–15. Manshots, , 28 November:39–45. , Outweek , March/April:7. , QV Magazine .” Making Porn , October:40–44. , Skinflicks Newsplanet, Newsplanet, “Billy’s Friend Carlos a Doll.” 1998.

, 17 February:6. , Newsweek Do.” Won’t Joe Just “When a G.I. 1997. 4 May:6. , Newsweek Runway.” “Out of the Dollhouse and Onto the 1998.

25 January:3C. http://tomoffinlandfoundation.org/foundation/Dispatch/2003-Autumn/ArtInAction.htm. www.mastercollector.com/articles/dolls/dollnews093003.shtml. 30 July 2013. MD: Lanham, 137–56. Garcia, Alma M. edited by , Culture of Color in Popular Women Contested Images: AltaMira Press. The Haworth Press. Perigree Books. York: New 368–80. Thomas Steele, and Ortleb, Charles Denneny, University Press. www.ragap.es/actualidad/fashion/billy-el-mejor-regalo-de-reyes Accessed 29 July 2013. 27 December. -para-los-mitomanos-juguetones/570590. 29 November:n.p. Anchor Books. New York: . New York: Scribner. York: New . and Survival AIDS, Sex, A Memoir of Politics, Counts: Body 2014. Sean. Strub, 12–19 March:105. , TimeOut New York of the Dolls.” “Valley 1998. Donald. Suggs, San Francisco: Studio 2000. . Billy 2000: Billy Goes to Hollywood 1998. John. Travis, Tiny Hand in Mine.” “Put Your 1998. Angela. Tribelli, Winter:23. Tzabaco Catalog, “For Immediate Release.” 1998. Out Source. Your Tzabaco Catalog: , Standard Aiken Doll’ Off Shelves.” ‘Billy Brown-Uniformed “UPS Keeps 2002. Patricia M. LeMay, 2013. Accessed 30 July Autumn. of Finland Foundation, Tom Action.” in “Art 2003. Norm. Lloyd, Accessed 30 September. , Doll Digest Action Figure.” Rebel of Finland 001 “Tom 2003. John. Medeiros, 25 November:A4. , The Guardian Then?” “Who’s a Big Boy-Toy, 1994. Jan. Moir, In Out Puerto Rican Identity in the Global Market.” “Selling 2012. Frances. Negrón-Muntaner, Newsweek. Newsweek. Newsplanet. Universe Publishing. York: New . Big Fun with Billy 2001. with David Leddick. Dianora, Niccolini, . New York: of Scott O’Hara Simple: Selected Essays and Never Pure Rarely 1999. Scott. O’Hara, “Billy 2000.” 1998. Gary. Philipp, edited by Michael Reader, In The Christopher Street “Goodbye to Sally Gearhart.” 1983. John. Preston, New York New York: America. from Queer Latino Interventions of Desire: Tropics 2000. José. Quiroga, “Ohhhh...CARLOS!!!” 1998. QV Magazine. España, Ragap mitómanos juguetones.” el mejor regalo de Reyes para los “Billy, 2012. Ragap España. University Press. NC: Duke Barbie’s Durham, 1995. Queer Accessories . Erica. Rand, Daily News, York New a Real Doll.” Could Be Tyson “One 1999. Molloy. and Joanna George, Rush, 5 June:18. , H/X Magazine “Billy’s Got the Beat.” 1998. Corey. Sabourin, “Clone Wars.” 1990. Michelangelo. Signorile, viii–xi. Kissed Me by David Drake, In The Night Larry Kramer “Foreword.” 1994. Michelangelo. Signorile, Hyperion Interactive Media. York: New Guide 2005. Market Gay 2006. Matt. Skallerud, “Making 1996. William. Spencer, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00396 by guest on 01 October 2021