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© 1999, San Francisco Chronicle, June 13, 1999
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A Voice for Gay Teens: XY magazine succeeds with mix of features, advice
Aidin Vaziri
In the Castro Street offices of XY magazine, this is the question visitors are asked most often: "Have you heard the Adam story?'' The anecdote is something the staff likes to share because it illustrates the publication's basic relationship with its young gay readers.
Adam Colton is a 17-year-old editorial assistant at XY. Today is his graduation day, but the Novato resident will not be donning his cap and gown at San Marin High School. Last September, Colton came out to his former high school classmates by organizing a campus group called the Gay-Straight Alliance. A week later he was assaulted by three students outside a nearby supermarket. Then, in February, there was another attack in the school's parking lot. Again he was beaten by a group of unidentified assailants who left him dazed, with the word "fag'' inked onto his arm. Colton left the school, enrolled in an independent study program and turned to XY.
"I had just started reading it before I came out, but I wish I read it more,'' he says. "I think if the 'Closet' issue we just put out would've been there, it would have definitely helped.'' XY is not just another glossy niche-marketed publication hawking sneakers and cigarettes to kids.
To its faithful readers, it serves as an indispensable outlet for ideas, a network of advocates and a general entertainment guide, all written in a voice adolescents coming to terms with their sexuality can relate to and trust. The San Francisco-based magazine was founded three years ago and now boasts a national circulation of 80,000, with 20,000 subscribers.
According to XY founder and publisher Peter Ian Cummings, the magazine's appeal is simple. "XY starts with the premise that young gay people are happy and everything is fine and treats anything that's a problem as the exception,'' he says. The magazine's news and features editor Benoit Denizet-Lewis, 24, says, "I don't think there's a magazine in the country that means more to its readers. I say that because we're dealing
specifically with a demographic of gay teenagers who are not living in L.A. or New York, or someplace where being gay is accepted. There's really no other forum for them to read about that experience.'' Denizet-Lewis, who grew up in San Francisco, did not come out until he was 19. "A magazine like this would have made all the difference for me,'' he says. With each issue the staff determines a theme � like "Sports,'' "Cyber,'' "Out'' and the next issue, which focuses on "Girls'' � and delves into it from all angles, devoting everything from extensively researched features to simple
essays and photos submitted by readers. In its May-June "Closet'' issue, for
example, XY offered a variety of perspectives on the subject of coming out
� when and how to do it, including a step-by-step article called "Nuke Your Closet
in 69 Easy Steps'' and another called "Shhhhbop'' that examines the boy-band closet. A recurring feature is "24 Coming Out Tips,'' an amusing and informative list that offers readers such tips as "Be sober'' and "Breathe (seriously).'' Much of the monthly magazine's success has derived from its ability to let its audience determine content.
"I meet with advertisers all the time who say our articles aren't that well written and our photos are not as high-fashion as other magazines,'' Cummings says. He says they're missing the point.
"They don't understand we represent the real gay life,'' he says. "The Advocate and Out are just like all the other magazines. They present an inspirational, upscale version of life. It isn't real. We're an honest magazine, and we're showing real people.'' While major corporate advertisers are not only showing up more and more in the pages of gay magazines, many are also featuring gay themes (Dolce & Gabbana, Bud Lite) in their ads in general-interest magazines. Cummings says XY is the ultimate litmus test of gay acceptance.
The magazine does not accept money from alcohol or tobacco companies but would be more than willing to bring in trendy clothing companies like Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch. Cummings thinks the advertising industry is not ready to accept the gay teenager despite the fact that a recent XY survey revealed that its readers buy brand names more frequently than readers of other magazines. Among the magazine's regular features are fashion spreads, CD and new-media reviews, and technology articles, all of which give ink to products and companies that do not advertise in XY.
"The industry has it in the back of their minds that this is a little bit unethical,'' Cummings says. "We address the concept that gay people under 18 exist and have lives, but that's a little too on-edge for advertisers. To me, what that says is they want our readers' money but they won't support our readers' values.''
XY began with a $30,000 investment. Cummings had saved the money while
working at a variety of publishing houses around the Bay Area and in England.
"I have a long history in gay magazines of various quality,'' he says. But "there had never been a magazine for (gay teenagers) before. Nobody knew how it would do. Nobody knew if it would sell or if there was even an audience for it.'' He launched XY in March 1996 with an issue provocatively themed "Underage.'' Like now, there was barely any advertising, but the major bookstore chains � Borders, Barnes & Noble and B. Dalton � all agreed to carry the magazine even before it was printed.
"I think it was a major social event for a magazine which is partially aimed at gay teenage boys who are under 18,'' Cummings says. Three years later, XY sells more copies in the national chains than any other gay magazine. Despite the apparent financial obstacles, the staff expects the circulation numbers to grow as the magazine widens its reach. "We're gay kids being gay kids and living life positively,'' says managing editor Mike Glatze. "It's about being yourself and being alive.''
Cummings agrees. "The truth is a real powerful thing. When you tell the truth, everything else just fades away.''
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