I’m taking a little time off to answer a random fan email that came to my attention recently, check it out:
So you guys are former xy staff.. do you realize what a whammy that magazine threw on thousands of gay teens?
The pictures in XY and this magazine, as it seems, are of tiny, SUPER THIN ultra pretty types.
Young minds think they need to look like THAT to be considered attractive… why are you guys making the same mistake and continuing the damage?
First of all thank you. I never considered myself to be a SUPER THIN ultra pretty type, I’m a lot more used to being called a “nasty ugly slob” or a “for someone who has gay tendencies you sure are messy!” I called the cops on that last one, but that’s another story.
Secondly, I’ve heard enough White House press conferences to know a loaded question when I see one! You’re not going to back me in a corner there.
On a more serious note, I’m fully aware of the criticisms levied against XY and its sometimes vacuous nature. While I think it’s unfortunate that some younger boys and girls take a still image of a model as a personal critique on their own physical appearance, I feel that the problem doesn’t lie with the images of attractive individuals, but within the person’s perception of his or herself.
I think a lot of people [myself included] appreciate ogling a physically attractive boy, but the problem in a magazine occurs when you have SUPER THIN ultra pretty types with no context and no content.
Image isn’t everything, but it’s a subject worth delving into and examining, especially as a young gay male. Along with political articles, pictures of real boys and their thoughts, musings on body image, and travelogues, we have pretty and handsome boys in our magazine that, hopefully, won’t cause gay teenagers to implode in an apocalyptic fit of angst and self-loathing.
Besides, we need to have those hot boys in our magazine so that all the questioning straight boys who pick up the magazine can come play for our team post haste!
P.S. We’ll be updating the sample issue next week with a more streamlined look and some more surprise content…because YOU DEMANDED IT!
XO
Kevin J.
