For many of his many fans, Benoit has taken the classic homoerotic undertones of J.C. Leyendecker's vintage work and opened the closet door for all to take a voyeur's look inside at the sexual desires and pleasures these men enjoy.
Included in this exciting world of sex was the notorious culture of Harlem drag balls in New York. Between roughly 1919 and 1935, an artistic movement that would come to be known as the "Harlem Renaissance" transformed the culture of uptown Manhattan not only as a result of its establishing new trends in black literature, music and politics but also for its scandalous night life and party culture. The lavish Harlem drag balls drew white men to come drinking and enjoy the carnivalesque parties where racial taboos were broken through sexual and gender nonconformity.
La Fontaine de Jouvence(The Fountain of Youth)
