Men's Health Magazine

[Guest HonkingGoose]

I really enjoy Men's Health magazine. Lots of good information and advice. But, it is seemingly written entirely for straight guys. You wouldn't know there were any gay or bi men from any of its content. Do other gay and bi men read Men's Health, or am I the lone ranger?

[Rick Munroe]

I've always assumed that magazines like Men's Health were created for closeted guys who wouldn't be caught dead buying gay porn.

[+ deej]

I always thought Men's Health was for guys that didn't have the balls to buy Playgirl at the same news stand. :+

[Rick Munroe]

>I always thought Men's Health was for guys that didn't have

>the balls to buy Playgirl at the same news stand. :+

 

Isn't that pretty much what I just said?

[foxy]

That's silly! We all know Playgirl is for women, not gay men.

 

Speaking of exercise magazines, last week at the Gaiety, I told Trevor they should put him and Jeffrey together on the cover of "Exercise For Men Only". He said "that would be too homoerotic". I laughed and then went off with Jeffrey to his hotel room.

[+ deej]

>That's silly! We all know Playgirl is for women, not gay

>men.

 

LOL!

 

Honey, they even dropped "Entertainment for women" from the cover a few years back.

[Laurent]

No, you're not the only gay reader of that magazine. I buy it at the supermarket and enjoy it in spite of their failure to acknowledge gay men.

[foxy]

You're right, Playgirl really should acknowlege gay men. Oh wait, you probably meant Men's Health. Sorry.

 

A while back I was at a local Barnes & Noble at the magazine rack. I was surprised they had copies of Playgirl. They were sealed in plastic but someone had opened a copy. Without thinking, I picked it up and it flipped open to this spread of a guy with a gigantic erection. When did they start showing that??? Then I noticed 3 people looking at the magazine I had open. A 20 something year old mother with an infant in her arms, a grandmotherly looking lady and some high school jock type. I was the only one who looked embarresed. How times have changed.

[Boink]

I wouldn't know whether or not they acknowledge gay men - that would require redaing the articles. The pictures are plenty enough acknowledgement for me!:9

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

Which Way To The Mens Room

 

Several years ago, one of the giveaway magazines, I forget which one, did a survey of gay friendly attitudes amongst the men's fitness and health publications. The interviewed the editors and publishers of most of the publications and each that participated acknowledged that they had a significant gay male audience. However, one of senior editors at Men's Health stated that the majority of their audience was heterosexual men and when they attempted stories (in the mid 1990s) on gay sexuality or AIDS, they got a number of complaints.

 

The magazines such as Excercise For Men Only and Men's Workout freely acknowledge that their primary audience is gay men, who primarily want to view the photographs. This is why one can frequently see some adult film actors in the layouts and on the cover.

[VaHawk]

>No, you're not the only gay reader of that magazine.

 

Not to change the topic, but this is exactly what I told Sports Illustrated.

 

I love sports as do many gay men, and many gay men have and do play professional sports and many gay pro athletes have been featured in the magazine, including on the cover.

 

I sent an email to SI over a month ago, pointing out all this and asking if, as a 25 year subscriber, I could have the SI for Women swimsuit issue rather than the the SI swimsuit issue with the female models, which I toss in the trash unopened. As of yet, I have not received a response, and since it is time to renew, I have decided not to do so, as I really don't think my request was out of line for a loyal long time customer.

[nate_sf]

RE: Which Way To The Mens Room

 

Speaking of "giveaway" magazines, I've been receiving Men's Health... oh no, it's Men's Fitness... I can't tell the two apart, except they are both simultaneously homoerotic and homophobic. Yet I never ordered the subscription, it just started coming in the mail along with all my other gay-mail. I know there is a database out there somewhere that has pegged me as queer, so along with subscription offers for home decor magazines, gay cruises and Subarus comes the occassional unsolicited magazine like Men's Fitness. (OUT was another of these... just kept coming and coming...) So unless somebody gave me a subscription as a joke, there is somebody out there in marketing land who knows exactly who the magazine appeals to.

 

This may be part of their marketing philosophy too. I always though part of the appeal of Playgirl was that it was supposed to be straight guys for straight gals, which could feed lots of straight guy/trade fantasies. At least until recently, where as others have noted "Entertainment for Women" has been dropped, and let's face it, those guys are looking gayer all the time. With that, has some of the fantasy been lost?

[Guest Love Bubble Butt]

I had a subscription but didn't renew it when it expired. I really like the Jimmy advice column. And this magazine IMO is definitely tripping over itself in making it clear they're trying to cater strictly to straight men. But "Exercise for (Gay) Men Only" I think intentionally targets gay men. Just look at the ads they have in their for muscle videos talking about how sexy the models are.