Established in 1969 by Steven Toushin

Steven Toushin

Steven Toushin is an American producer and distributor of gay pornographic and BDSM films who has operated adult theaters and sex clubs since 1970...

, Bijou Video is a company specializing in the production of gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 pornographic films

Pornographic movie

Pornographic films are motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer, often featuring depictions of sexual activity. They are sold and rented out on DVD, shown through Internet and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in adult...

, based in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

Bijou Video founder Steven Toushin

Steven Toushin

Steven Toushin is an American producer and distributor of gay pornographic and BDSM films who has operated adult theaters and sex clubs since 1970...

, originally of Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and currently the company’s president

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

, was passing through Chicago in the summer of 1968 and planned to stay for six months. There, he obtained employment at the Aardvark Theater, an experimental avant-garde

Avant-garde

Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....

 theater in Piper’s Alley. He enjoyed the city so much he stayed beyond his initially planned six month period. Ten months after taking the managing position, Toushin then had his first obscenity arrest. Later, in 1969, Toushin became a partner in the Festival Theater Corporation in Chicago, the parent company of Aardvark, the Festival Theater in Chicago, and the Festival Theater in Indianapolis (located at 5505 East Washington Street), which showed art and documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 type films. In 1970 graphic hardcore pornographic films

Pornographic movie

Pornographic films are motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer, often featuring depictions of sexual activity. They are sold and rented out on DVD, shown through Internet and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in adult...

 started to be exhibited to the general public in a few of the major cities. Toushin's theaters were the first theaters to exhibit these films in the Midwest.

Based on their success, Toushin opened the Bijou Theater and sex club in 1970 at 1349 Wells Street in Chicago's Old Town

Old Town, Chicago

Old Town is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, bounded by the Ogden Ave. right-of-way on the northwest, Larrabee Street on the west, Clybourn Avenue on the southwest and Division Street on the south and Clark Street on the east and northeast. It spans across eastern parts of the community areas...

 district featuring gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 pornographic films

Pornographic movie

Pornographic films are motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer, often featuring depictions of sexual activity. They are sold and rented out on DVD, shown through Internet and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in adult...

 and a place for gay men to meet and have sexual encounters. Bijou theater is still in operation to this day. Shortly thereafter, Festival Theater Corporation grew to eight theaters, two adult bookstores and movie production. In 1975 Steven formed other companies which included a variety of massage parlor

Massage parlor

A massage parlor is a business where customers can receive a massage. Sometimes the term is synonymous with brothel as the term "massage" may be used as a euphemism for paid sexual favours....

s and Gay bathhouse

Gay bathhouse

Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...

s in Chicagoand a movie theater and sex club known as "Savages" in San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

.

Starting in 1970, Festival Theater Corporation produced, distributed and exhibited gay and straight films. Bijou Video was formed in 1978 and has been a leading producer and distributor of gay pornographic films based in Chicago. In 1985, Images of the World (current parent company of Bijou Video) was formed to manage Bijou Video, while Festival Theater Corporation operates the Bijou Theater and sex club. Bijou Video produces and sells video

Video

Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

s and DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

s showing explicit sexual activity between men

Men who have sex with men

Men who have sex with men are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex, regardless of how they identify themselves; many men choose not to accept sexual identities of homosexual or bisexual...

.

Books that Steven Toushin had written, The Puppy Papers, The Destruction of the Moral Fabric of America, Puppy's Tales, The Cock Coloring Book

In 1989 at the Adult Video Awards show in Las Vegas Steven Toushin received (while he was in prison) the Reuben Sturman Award “For Legal Battles on Behalf of the Adult Industry. In 2007 at the GayVN award show in San Francisco.Toushin was awarded the “Life Time Achievement Award” from the Gay Adult Industry. He is the third person to ever receive this honor. In the June 2008 AVN (Adult Video News) magazine’s 25th anniversary edition Toushin was acknowledged as one of the 25 pioneers who developed the Gay/bi Adult Film Industry. In January 2009 at the AVN award show in Las Vegas Mr. Toushin was inducted into the prestigious Founders Branch. This award recognized Mr. Toushin’s (starting in 1969) contribution as being a major player in developing the modern Adult Industry.

Acquisitions

Bijou Video also has acquired and is restoring a collection of vintage gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 pornographic films

Pornographic movie

Pornographic films are motion pictures with the purpose of promoting sexual arousal in the viewer, often featuring depictions of sexual activity. They are sold and rented out on DVD, shown through Internet and special channels and pay-per-view on cable and satellite, and in adult...

, magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

s, photos

Photograph

A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...

, and poster

Poster

A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...

s. Bijou Video has acquired films from the following studios:

• BIC Productions
• Black Forest Productions
• Eagle Studios
• Hand in Hand Films (Jack Deveau)
• Films Vitruvian (J. Brian)
• Brentwood Studios (Matt Sterling, Jack Travis)
• Old Reliable (David Hurles)
• Surge Studios (Al Parker
  Al Parker
  Al Parker was a gay American pornographic actor , producer, and director. He died from complications of AIDS at the age of 40....
  
  )
• The films of Steve Scott

Filmography

• Find This Man (1992)
• Hey Tony! What's the Story? (1993)
• Twins (1993)
• Classmates (1986)
• Below the Belt (1985)
• The Bigger The Better (1984)
• Screenplay
  Screenplay (pornographic film)
  Screenplay, is a 1984 gay pornographic film directed by Steve Scott, starring Lee Ryder. Lee Ryder plays a drifter who wanders into the shooting of a porn film, shot on location at the Lost World Resort in Palm Springs.-Critical review:...
  
  (1984)
• A Few Good Men (1983)
• Rawhide (1981)
• Centurians of Rome
  Centurians of Rome
  of Rome, is a 1981 gay pornographic film directed by John Christopher, starring George Payne and Scorpio. This film was reportedly financed from a 1980 theft by a Brink's security guard of almost two million dollars...
  
  (1981)
• Schoolmates 1 (1976)
• Do Me Evil (1975)

All-Male Cast

Bondage:

• Crime Does Pay
• Great Bar Con
• The Pain Down Below
• Slice of Life

Domination:

• Crime Does Pay
• Down and Dirty
• A Winter's Tail

Fisting:

• Everthing but the Kitchen Sink
• Fishing Ballet
• Fist and Fire
• Foot Fuck
• A Winter's Tail

Flagellation:

• Beat Me, Daddy, 8 to the Bar
• Crime Does Pay
• The Pain Down Under
• Please, Sir
• Slice of Life
• The Terrible Trilogy

Genitorture:

• The Nutcracker
• The Pain Down Under
• One Step Beyond

Humiliation:

• Blood and Guts
• Scatman

Hot Wax:

• Fist and Fire
• Human Inferno

Piercing:

• Needles and Pins
• The Pain Down Below

Scat:

• Dr. Bob's Reality

Water Sports:

• Crime Does Pay
• One Step Beyond
• The Terrible Trilogy

Mixed-Gender Cast

Bondage:

• The Continuring Saga of Mistress Ann

Domination:

• SM New England
  New England
  New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
  
   Style

Fisting:

• The Agony of Victory/The Thrill of Defeat
• Donut's Gourmet Delight
• Mistress Destiny and the Pooch

Flagellation:

• The Agony of Victory/The Thrill of Defeat
• Bitch/Bitch/Bitch
• The Bizarre Debut of Mistress Ann
• The Continuing Saga of Mistress Ann
• The Final Chapter of Mistress Ann

Genitorture:

• The Bizarre Debut of Mistress Ann
• The Continuing Saga of Mistress Ann
• The Final Chapter of Mistress Ann
• Mistress Destiny and the Pooch
• The Toilet

Humiliation:

• Group Therapy
• Joy Stick
• Mistress Destiny and the Pooch
• Sir Michael and the Pooch
• The Three Parts of Mistress Ann

Hot Wax:

• The Club

Piercing:

• The Agony of Victory/The Thrill of Defeat
• The Continuing Saga of Mistress Ann
• The Final Chapter of Mistress Ann
• The Three Parts of Mistress Ann

Scat:

• The Three Parts of Mistress Ann
• The Toilet
• You Said a Mouthful

Water Sports:

• Bitch/Bitch/Bitch
• The Bizarre Debut of Mistress Ann
• The Club
• The Final Chapter of Mistress Ann
• If the Shoe Fits
• Mistress Destiny and the Pooch
• The Three Parts of Mistress Ann
• The Toilet
• You Said a Mouthful

Legal issues

Steven Toushin and Bijou Video have been the subject of 21 federal

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and local government obscenity

Obscenity

An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...

 arrests and trials. The first obscenity charge was brought against Toushin in 1969 for exhibiting the film Flaming Creatures

Flaming Creatures

Flaming Creatures is an American experimental film by filmmaker Jack Smith. Due to its surreal, graphic depiction of sexuality, the film was seized by the police at its premiere, and was officially determined to be obscene by a New York Criminal Court. The 43-minute featurette attracted media and...

, by Jack Smith, in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, shortly followed by another arrest for obscenity in 1970 for exhibiting the film I Am Curious (Yellow)

I Am Curious (Yellow)

I Am Curious is a 1967 Swedish drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman and starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's I Am Curious ; the two were initially intended to be one 3½ hour film...

 in Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 and in 1973 Deep Throat

Deep Throat (film)

Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano and produced by Louis Peraino and starring Linda Lovelace ....

 in East Chicago

East Chicago, Indiana

East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.-Geography:East Chicago is located at ....

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

.

The most notable charges were the result of The Meese Commission in 1987 in the wave of federal obscenity arrests across the country in "Operation PostPorn". U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese

Edwin Meese

Edwin "Ed" Meese, III is an attorney, law professor, and author who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan Gubernatorial Administration , the Reagan Presidential Transition Team , and the Reagan White House , eventually rising to hold the position of the 75th Attorney General of...

 spearheaded charges against Toushin and others involved in the Bijou Video organization claiming the following pornographic films that Bijou Video sold, produced and distributed were obscene:

• Erotic Hands
• Please, Sir
• You Said a Mouth Full
• The Final Chapter of Mistress Ann

The Miller Test

Miller test

The Miller test , is the United States Supreme Court's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and can be prohibited.-History and details:The Miller test was developed in the...

 requires that obscenity be measured against community standards, which requires the trials to occur at a local level. The Meese Commission brought charges against Toushin in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, Washington, and Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

. After successfully defending these films, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 government began negotiations with Toushin to settle

Settlement (law)

In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law.-Basis:...

 the charges and drop further prosecution in Utah and Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

. He received a sentence

Sentence (law)

In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...

 of five years probation

Probation

Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...

.

External links

• Steven Toushin Official Website
• Bijou's Flagship Subscription Video Site