SGL Café

XY magazine making a comeback ... and why its a Good Thing.

Yes... XY, the equally loved and reviled gay teen magazine is staging a comeback. Why is it a good thing? There's a reason why I tagged this 'self-help'. It's a wellness issue. But with gay youth in turmoil and in need of affirming imagery, info, and sense of community to know they're not alone (or disordered) .... ... writer/photographer Alan Bennett Iligan answers that question better than I could in Once I Was A Twink Who Wanted To Be A Writer. After telling his story relating to XY he finishes with these two sentences. It is so well stated it should be shouted from rooftops..... "...Somewhere there is a boy hiding in his bedroom, searching for some small way out, some small chance to connect and believe in something better, some small bit of hope. Sometimes the one thing that stands between that boy hanging himself and waiting out one more night is a magazine that puts two boys kissing on its cover." Beautifully said ...

XY bankruptcy sparks Privacy "worries": (aka - utter panic!)

Can you guess why? It's not just the "we'll never sell your subscriber info" thing. XY Magazine -- a glossy, somewhat inane, barely-legal-twink filled mag geared toward gay youth -- was also (with hardly a stretch of our imaginations) serious wank fodder for some who's teen angst years are a very, very distant memory. So, yes, folks get nervous when they're talking about their one million plus subscriber list being an asset in the bankruptcy proceedings. How many conservative republicans, "Family Values" bigots, movie stars or other notables were receiving this magazine "deliver[ed] to its subscribers shrink wrapped in black plastic"? Hmmm.... This list could be enlightening. Some of us admit to the truism that men and women of a certain age (LEGAL!) are particularly alluring. Others, well ... panic. Living a lie must really, really suck balls. ~

speaking of WANK FODDER ... Check out the short story that launched my career. A Taste for Cherries is a raw tale of selfish lust run amok, and its only available on KINDLE (and apps for iPhone, iPod, iPad & Blackberry) for only .99cents! It's yet another salacious tale you won't soon forget. ~ tS