The grandma and grandpa of gay porn: couple call it quits after decades in the erotica business
- For 37 years Karen and Barry Mason have sold gay and straight erotic magazines, hard-core pornographic films and sex toys
- Brought down by the internet, they have closed their bookstore Circus of Books in West Hollywood, California
Karen and Barry Mason swear they never planned to sell porn for long. They were just really good at it.
For 37 years, the couple – now septuagenarian grandparents – have run Circus of Books, a bookstore in West Hollywood, California, that sold gay and straight erotic magazines, hard-core pornographic films and sex toys, as well as international newspapers and classic literary titles. “I always assumed that we would end up doing something else,” Karen said. “We don’t know anything, really.”
The Santa Monica Boulevard store gained legendary status in Southern California’s LGBTQ community as a place where people could peruse gay erotica or meet other gay people, hanging out in a place free from homophobia.
Over the years, Circus of Books has survived an FBI raid, federal obscenity charges and complaints from law enforcement, who said the store attracted prostitution and other criminal elements. It remained open during the Aids crisis, when numerous employees died.
But it could not survive Amazon. Strangled by the internet – where pornography and dating apps abound – Circus of Books closed for good last Saturday.
