Aahana Swrup
In the 2019 documentary ‘Circus of Books,’ Rachel Mason chronicles the story of her parents, Karen and Barry Mason, who started the eponymous bookstore in Los Angeles in the 1980s. The shop — which sold adult films, magazines, and such — catered to the primarily underground local queer community. At its height, the Circus of Books became the biggest distributor of gay pornography in the country and solidified itself as a cornerstone in queer history. Even so, despite their significant involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, the Jewish couple — parents of three kids — kept their professional lives a secret from their friends and family.
Consequently, as the Masons delve into the history of their family business — which oversaw the tragic AIDS crisis and became a target for an FBI sting operation — they unearth and bring light to an instrumental part of LA’s historical queer culture. For the same reason, Karen and Barry Mason remain points of interest, attracting intrigue about their current lives.
Karen and Barry Mason’s Circus of Books Saw a Metamorphosis in 2020
Before Karen and Barry Mason took over the shop on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, it was called Book Circus and was known for supplying gay erotica. At first, the couple was only supplying Larry Flynt publications to the store among other customers. However, after the owner went bankrupt, the Masons decided to take over the establishment by 1982, revamping it into a brand-new but similar store — Circus of Books. Under their management, the store flourished and became a hotspot and a safe space for the local LGBTQ+ community.
Naturally, as active allies within the community, Karen and Barry saw the brutality of the AIDS crisis affecting their co-workers and industry acquaintances. Likewise, they were also affected by Ronald Reagan’s crusade against pornography when they found themselves under FBI investigation in the 1990s. Yet, despite the hardships, the couple kept their store open and in business. Furthermore, over the course of their run, they expanded to different branches in other neighborhoods. Still, with the rise of the internet, the demand for the service that Circus of Books provided dwindled, compelling the business to close its various locations.
Eventually, in February 2019, the Masons closed down their West Hollywood store — marking the end of the family business after over 35 years. Nevertheless, a few years later, in 2020, Circus of Books saw a resurrection to a new life after its takeover by Channel 1 Releasing (C1R). Thus, the store, now reimagined, functions as a high-end boutique, continuing to hold significance within local queer culture. Even though Karen and Barry are no longer involved in the store’s business, their historical legacy continues to live on.
Karen and Barry Mason Continue to be Involved in PFLAG
Despite owning a store that specialized in gay porn and working with LGBTQ+ people in her professional life, Karen Mason had a hard time accepting her own son’s queer identity. As a conservative Jewish woman who regularly visits the synagogue and holds religious beliefs, Karen held certain prejudices that led her to react negatively when her son, Josh Mason, came out to her and Barry sometime in the 2000s. Alternatively, Barry—who has never been religiously inclined like his wife — easily accepted the news.
“Really [at first] she [Karen Mason] just felt like God had cursed her,” Karen’s daughter, filmmaker Rachel, explained in a conversation with LA Weekly. “You have this classic image of the lightning bolt from the heavens coming down and striking you and giving you a gay child. So you see a person saying those words and then recognizing that’s wrong, I’m going to go back and read that Bible again because I know I can see with my own two eyes that Josh is the most wonderful person.”
Thus, following the same thought process, Karen worked on herself to overcome her biases. As such, she became a member of PFLAG Los Angeles. Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is an organization that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and supports queer people and their parents, family, and friends. Years later, she became a trained facilitator for the organization, helping others who were in the same shoes she previously was in. Today, she’s the treasurer for PFLAG LA and occupies the position of a board member alongside Barry. Therefore, the couple continues to be LGBTQ+ allies, accepting and supporting their son, Josh, as well as their daughter, Rachel, and their loved ones.
Karen and Barry Mason Now Prefer To Keep Their Lives Private
In the aftermath of the release of ‘Circus of Books,’ Karen and Barry entered the limelight for a brief moment in time. The couple participated in numerous interviews, screenings, and Q&A sessions during the film’s promotion as the audience grew to love and appreciate Rachel Mason’s work. Although Karen held her qualms about the film — mostly in relation to the focus it brought on her and her life — she understood the gravity and importance of her daughter’s work.
In an interview with PinkNews in 2020, Rachel Mason discussed the same and shared, “My mum [Karen Mason], as always, is the last to express appreciation for almost anything, but she’s finally had to come around—and I think she’s impressed.” The filmmaker added, “She (Karen) said, ‘I never understood why you had to make this movie until I read what people are saying about it.’ All over the world, we get messages from people saying that they see themselves reflected in the film, so it’s been very poignant.”
However, now that the dust has settled in the aftermath of the documentary’s initial hype, Karen and Barry have returned to their private lives in Los Angeles, California. Therefore, since the couple has no public social media presence of their own, updates on their lives remain scant. Occasionally, the pair makes it to their kids’ social media accounts when Josh and Rachel celebrate their birthdays or other important days. For instance, in 2023, Rachel shared a picture of Karen for Mother’s Day. Yet, outside of such sporadic updates, Karen and Barry retain their privacy, happy to spend their time with their loved ones and their local community.
