It Could Be So Much More - XY, The Young Gay Men's Magazine
Written: Nov 23 '03 (Updated Nov 23 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: The Only Magazine Geared Towards Gay Youth, Some Great Resources
Cons: I just wish that it could be so much more...
The Bottom Line: XY will open your eyes to gay youth culture and is a good resource to find other gay youth so you can be part of that community
|
|
|
| jps246's Full Review: XY Magazine |
XY is one of the few gay magazines that I am fairly ambivalent on when it comes to whether I like it or not
Perhaps it is because XY aspires to be many things, but rarely reaches those heights. Maybe it is because it bothers me to see a magazine geared towards young gays that focuses on and seems to exploit the very material that seems to reinforce the fact that you need to be young, lean and attractive to be gay, or at least to be part of the gay community.
It could also be that I started reading XY after I had been out, after I had spent years in college fighting for gay rights on campus, and after I had already made it through my own identity crisis. I knew who I was and I knew I was gay. There were no two ways around it and I was proud to be who I was.
The Basics of XY
XY is supposed to be published 10 times a year. However, my boyfriend has had a subscription now for over 3 years and deliveries are sketchy at best. Issues are often skipped, or months may elapse between receiving different issues. Every time it happens, there’s an apology letter from the Editor, but come on, 10 issues a year should be 10 issues a year. I understand that producing a magazine is an involved process and is quite complicated, but if you cannot maintain the production schedule you have made, then reduce the number of issues per year so you can stick that that.
A 12-issue subscription will run you $55. A 6-issue subscription will run you $29. Should you pick up a copy on the newsstand, it is $7.95 an issue.
allow me to digress for a moment…
Any magazine that is focused on a youthful market should not be charging $7.95 an issue or $55 for a subscription. That is astronomical. The Advocate, which is published every other week, only costs $39 for a subscription. It is outright thievery to be charging this much. However, I’m willing to bet the publishers figure it is okay because they have the gay youth market cornered – there are no other magazines like XY. Thus they can charge whatever they want for it. Get rid of the oversize glossy nature of the magazine, do something to bring the cost down. I cannot believe that gay kids out there have to fork this kind of money over to get this magazine.
and now back to the review…
Each issue runs for about 100 pages, some a little more and some a little less. The magazine is slightly larger than most magazines (in horizontal dimensions) and is slightly larger than an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper. The entire magazine is printed on heavy glossy paper (one reason I believe for the high cost) and contains an almost equal measure of photography and articles.
XY does have a website, www.xy.com. On the website you can renew or get a new subscription to the magazine, order back issues, and order XY merchandise. Magazine articles are available online. In addition, the website provides personals, a guide to clubs and resources for gay youth, a gay youth survival guide, a section devoted to sexual questions and a method for submitting your own articles to XY.
What Do I get in XY?
Each issue is dedicated to a theme, such as love, sex, jocks or any other topic that one could think of. The articles, stories and columns then follow that theme. Regular features of each issue include:
XYPOST: your typical letters to the editor section.
Editor’s Column: Peter Ian Cummings, the Editor of XY provides an introductory column in each issue. These columns are often filled with what I would almost consider whining. He b*tches about companies that wouldn’t do business with XY, or any other innumerable “wrongs” that he perceives in society. It’s sometimes an entertaining read and sometimes on the mark, but on the whole, I’d say it’s really not all that professional and it detracts from the magazine. However, others might say that Cummings is right on the mark, pointing out hypocrisy in the gay community and the rest of society.
Generation XY: This section starts with quick biographies and photos of gay youth from across the country.
Gaydar: A sardonic look at popular culture. To me, this is one of the more inane sections of XY. Current events and news are satirized and in general, they are trying to be funny, but more often than not, it just seems stupid to me.
Music: A quick review of various new artists and albums that may be of interest.
The XY Guide: One of the most useful sections of XY for gay youth. The XY Guide is a guide to 18 year old + clubs, cafes and groups throughout North America. This is the one thing I wish I had growing up gay. It’s an amazing resource that allows gay youth to realize that they are not alone and gives them the ability to get involved.
The rest of the magazine you may ask? It is filled with various cover story articles, short columns and photo shoots. The articles and columns are generally written by XY staff, but include quite a few submissions from readers. The writing is generally well done and thoughtful. If you can get through the rest of XY, you will be pleasantly surprised with these articles and columns.
Now I realize that any lifestyle magazine, including one for gay youth, is going to have plenty of fashion shoots and other photo spreads in each issue. The problem I have with XY is that sometimes these photo shoots pass the line between tasteful and soft-core porn. There’s nothing wrong with a picture of a guy without his shirt on, there’s nothing even wrong with a picture of him in his underwear. But having him pull that underwear down so much that his business (yes, I did say business) is almost hanging out, that’s starting to cross the line.
Yes, I’m sure that young readers want to see representations of hot guys in their magazine, hell even I enjoy it sometimes. But there’s a difference between myself at 26 and a 15 year old who picks up this magazine and sees what is being glorified by XY. I do not think that it is healthy or beneficial for young gay people to start learning that the only way to be attractive is to be completely buff, blond, a jock or fratboy, wearing A&F clothes (even though the Editor rails against A&F’s advertising policy towards XY), or better yet, not wearing anything at all. I know sex sells, but there’s a limit to it and XY does not seem to recognize it. If you were targeting gays older than 20, then yeah, XY is fine, but to also be marketing to a very early teen market, some of what they publish, I would question.
So…you like it and you hate it?
XY could be so many things for gay youth and sometimes in the articles, stories and interview, it is. However, there are so many other facets that bring down this magazine, that it is hard to say that XY is the “gay youth” magazine. The potential is there, gay youth (I’ll say under 25) need to have a voice and need to have resources available to them. XY by default fills this need because it is the only magazine targeted at the young gay male market. However, it does not always do a stellar job at filling that void.
It’s frustrating with XY. I see so much potential and at the same time, after all these years of publication, I still see a lot of what I don’t like. I realize that XY today is popular among gay youth (and probably the older gay community too) because of what it is – a resource for gay youth and an escape from an otherwise “straight” community that they are likely surrounded by.
I just wish XY could step up to the plate and raise its standards, both with editorial content and with the images that they are presenting, so that the gay youth of today who are reading it, get a healthier look at the greater gay community. It’s just that we’re not all jocks or frat boys – there are normal gay youth out there (those of us who don’t go to the gym everyday or spend hours dressing up) that need to see people like themselves in order to realize that they are not alone and that there are plenty of other gay people just like them in the world.
XY to me fulfills the fantasy of gay youth, I just wish it would focus more on the reality at times.
My Final Thoughts
XY is the only magazine targeting gay youth out there. As such, I would be remiss in not recommending it to any young gay person out there who is struggling with their identity or feeling lost in the greater “straight” world. XY will open your eyes (literally) to gay youth culture throughout the country and will be a good resource for you to find other gay youth in your area so you can start being part of that community.
Just realize that you don’t need to be a jock in order to be gay and that while sex is part of being gay, it’s not everything. If you do that, you will be well on your way to becoming part of the queer community.
And hence, you see why I've given XY "better than average"...
_________________________________
Other Gay & Lesbian Themed Reviews
Magazines, Newspapers and Books
Instinct Magazine
Genre Magazine
Out In The Mountains
The Advocate
Love Makes a Family
Music & Movies
Work OUT (Dance Music)
Lie Down With Dogs (movie)
Writings
Finding Your Pride
Massachusetts Leads the Country In the Right Direction
Gay Marriage in Massachusetts - an Update
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc.