The white hyper-sexualized gay male: a lack of diversity in gay male magazines

• Main Author: Eshref, Bener
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: queer community; gay magazines; diversity; hyper-masculine; racism; ageism
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7117

The gay male community has traditionally been a marginalized population struggling for acceptance within the larger international frame. However since the development of gay magazine publications in the 1990s images of the gay male have been more widely spread throughout mainstream society. This study explores how race, age, body image, and sexuality are stereotyped to represent one standard image of the gay male as found in Western gay magazine publications. This is a quantitative media analysis, examining images, covers and advertisements in gay male magazines over a period of four years. By engaging in relevant theoretical discourses, empirical evidence, and scholarly research, this study critically analyzes how the gay identity is mediated by both the mainstream and gay publications. Results from the analysis points to wide spread discrimination within gay publications targeted at all gay minorities, which could have detrimental effects on the gay community.