Aahana Swrup
‘Circus of Books’ is a historical documentary that dives into a niche but significant aspect of Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ culture from the 1980s: the eponymous bookstore that sold gay pornography. Circus of Books became an early safe space for the local queer community as it flourished in business during its peak. In documenting the store’s history, filmmaker Rachel Mason simultaneously shares her family’s story, specifically her parents, Karen and Barry Mason—who owned the bookstore. Despite running the biggest distributor of queer porn in the country during the 80s, the young Jewish couple drew a line between their professional and personal lives, raising their kids in a religious household.
As a result, certain complications arose in the Mason family dynamics, particularly regarding the sexuality of one of their sons, Josh. Since the documentary highlights the tumultuous but ultimately rewarding journey of the filmmaker’s brother finding unconditional acceptance from his mother, viewers are bound to foster interest in Josh Mason and his life.
Josh Mason is a Design Technology Specialist in London
While Joshua “Josh” Mason’s family primarily continued residing in Los Angeles, he moved to England a long time ago while pursuing his education in the mid-2000s. With a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia Engineering and a Master of Art from London’s Architectural Association, he swiftly entered the architectural industry. After working for a few companies, he landed in Foster + Partners, an international architectural firm where he worked for nine years. There, Josh worked his way up to the Associate Partner, succeeding in the position for seven years before leaving the company in 2021.
Afterward, Josh took on a few freelance opportunities, working for companies like Produktif and Xylotek. Currently, he continues providing his expertise within the industry in terms of architectural and computational design, strategic BIM support, and more within a freelancing capacity. Therefore, with a flexible working schedule, Josh enjoys traveling the globe these days. He maintains an eye for exceptional architecture throughout his travels, sharing casual travel-blog-esque updates with his followers on social media.
Josh Mason is an Architecture Enthusiast
Even outside of his profession as an architect, Josh Mason retains a genuine love and fascination with all things architecture. As a result, he can be found sharing various posts about the same on his Instagram, where he regularly updates his followers on his trips. Recently, he seems to have taken a trip to Paris, where he found residential structures to be polarizing, consisting of evident winners and some “spectacular losses.” Furthermore, he also visited Musée D’orse, where he particularly enjoyed the Vincent van Gogh presentation.
Some of his other recent trips include South Africa, where he visited places like the Wilderness Nature Reserve Waterfall, De Hoop Collection Nature Reserve, and Capetown’s Lion’s Head Mountain. While in the country, he also visited the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art. Similarly, he remains a fan of art and architecture from every place, from London’s post-modern The Cosmic House to the fascinating jumble of styles in Brooklyn, New York. As such, Josh’s Instagram account presents his riveting documentation of some of the impressive architecture from around the world—from Japan’s Himeji Castle to Genova’s picturesque sea fronts.
Josh Mason is Likely in a Long-term Relationship
Despite maintaining a public social media presence, Josh Mason remains private about other aspects of his life, including matters of the heart. However, from what we can tell, he seemingly has a special someone in his life, at least since 2020. Although the Design Technology Specialist has not openly expressed or shared it in the public sphere, a particular individual regularly features alongside him in the snaps he shares on Instagram. Interestingly, Josh has also taken several trips with the same person, including one to his Grandma’s place.
In fact, Josh referred to the two as “2 of my favorite people,” implying how close they are to him. Since then, the pair has undertaken many vacations together, including a trip to Genova in Italy, where—alongside the breathtaking architecture—Josh also enjoyed the local culture and food with his companion. Likewise, he was also joined by the same individual on his most recent trip to South Africa, venturing aboard the popular wine tram to tour the Franschhoek Valley. Despite no official confirmation about his relationship status, we believe he is loved by all those who matter to him
Josh Mason Shares a Close Bond with His Family
While, Josh Mason prefers his privacy, he made an exception for his sister, Rachel Mason, when he participated in her project, ‘Circus of Books,’ where he shared the incredibly personal experience of coming out to his parents. For the same reason, he lingered in the public eye for a while, promoting and advocating for his sister’s work. In 2020, he sat down for a conversation with Cine Chat and spoke briefly about his experience. “In my first conversations [with Rachel], I was pretty reticent,” Josh said. “I do love the topic and I think it’s always been really fascinating—full of really interesting people that’s worth capturing.”
He further added, “If I had to acknowledge it in this film, I would have to talk about coming out and acknowledge it as a bigger part of my future. It was a bit scary, but the end product, I’m so happy with it. It was worth doing, and I think my parents, especially my mother’s, transition is really important for people to see.” Currently, Josh maintains close relationships with his family — parents, Karen and Barry, brother Micah, and sister, Rachel. Aside from traveling across the globe and spending time with his family and friends, Josh often shares his political opinions and even advocated for voting recently.
Read More: Karen and Barry Mason: Where Are the Former Circus of Books Owners Now?
