Gay glossy Genre finds itself immersed in scandal once again.
The New York-based monthly recently released an issue examining long-term relations. The cover, as you can see, shows two hunky men who are presented as a couple. An astute reader, however, informs us that one of the models, Julian Fantechi, once appeared in Playgirl and, in fact, likes ladies. Writes the reader:
Inside the magazine, they are stripped down, appear to be into each other, and are allegedly, discussing their physical relationship, emotional, sexual and spiritual relationship. This is not reality, here!!!!! The guy on the left is Playgirl‘s Man of the Year. The link is to his website and his Inside Hollywood interviews. He even puts Genre on his resume.
Fantechi also appeared on a recent episode of Ugly Betty.
We asked EIC Neal Boulton and publisher William Kapfer to explain their gay selves….
Kapfer used his wordage to defend the magazine’s honor and so-called prestige,
How about we take this to the next level?
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Playgirl is a very successful publication.- in business for over 30 years The book’s demographic composition overlap’s with ours on many levels – and having an opportunity to share a celebrity cover model, speaks to the caliber of product Genre is producing for its readers.
Boulton, meanwhile, offered a more detailed – and potentially damning – explanation:
When I first saw Julian in a copy of Playgirl I had originally wanted to put him on the cover of Men’s Fitness–but my being into him would have been too obvious for my more conservative (people I sensed as homophobic) superiors. Before I had become it’s EIC, I was way out at work, but upon being granted with the title, I decided to keep it a bit more quiet. The people who knew me, and many who didn’t, knew my deal.
But hetero’ing up Men’s Fitness from it’s very gay Weider roots seemed very VERY important to the folks I worked for. If something were too gay, I’d hear about it. Around that time though, I kept thinking about launching a new gay magazine out of sheer frustration that I had to keep my private life so fucking under wraps as the Editor In Chief of “a (formerly gay) major American men’s magazine” within the corporate culture in which I worked EVEN THOUGH MY MAGAZINE STILL HAD A HUGE GAY FOLLOWING.
When I finally arrived at Genre, I just had to use cute Julian on one of my covers. Look, he’s a model, and he looks like an everyday guy next to another everyday guy. Sort of hot to me (yeah, he’s straight, but straight guys are so fun to…let me stop). The idea was to use these hot boys to sell a bigger idea that I feel is very possible–longevity in relationships… The cover article I use these boys to sell tips for guys who may want to experience the same.
We’re sorry, but Fantechi is not an “everyday guy”. He’s a model, but ever…
In related news, our sources tell us that Genre‘s sales team walked out. This MediaBistro posting confirms.
alan brickman
bizarre….
hells kitchen guy
It’s one thing to use him as a cover model. If he’s being quoted inside, it’s at best shoddy journalism, at worst out-and-out lying to readers, fabricating a story, like Stephen Glass or that Times writer. Also, Boulton’s reasoning about his last job is beyond weird: the notoriously homophobic Weiders had gayed up their magazine,so then a flamoyantly homosexual editor is hired to straighten it up? .
DoneDeal
What a sham, and I’m not just talking about the cover. Neal had booked porn star Michael Lucas for the Dec cover but was forced to find a last minute substitute when his bosses (the “business guys”) got wind of the planned Lucas cover — actually, for once, a good move on Boulton’s bosses part. However, now one of those bosses goes on record aligning GENRE with Playgirl. I’m sure that will go a long way with all his “luxury” 2008 AD buys.
Edensasp
Just another form Neo Con influenced economic exploitation of homosexuals. Just think, its okay to “lie and deceive” gays cause it’s just business! I think if I was a major “Underwear Manufacturer” I would discover an alternate magazine, such as “Outlands”. I have definitely choose not to renew my subscription to “Genre” and admonish any agency who would use such a deceptive approach in order to broaden its subscription base.
Dawster
it’s not really “bizarre”… per se.
this is what happens when you look at the gay community as a demographic, rather than a collection of HUMAN BEINGS. yes, we need questions answered, information shared, entertainment news, blah blah blah blah. But there should be SOME integrity to the community rather than just sales.
when the “new” Genre came out, i said (here) from the beginning… it looks like a typical mass-market magazine cover. bright colors, a naked man with abs, large letters, a quote, a “sticker” graphic, and one number predominately displayed – just like every other pandering periodical.
they are living up to their cover… they are trying to make money, not make a difference in the community.
Dan
OMG! A magazine trying to using demographic in an attempt to make money? Or at least lose less money? Oh, the humanity!
Still – sure makes this Boulton guy look like a incompetent jackass. Any shred of credibility this magazine once had is gone and his only response is “but the guy’s soooooo friggin hot!”
Moron.
JakeSnake
Re; DoneDeal sounds like a disgruntled employee. Who thinks about ad buys when looking at a couple hot guys? Get a life.
DoneDeal
Why are they so stupid? GENRE actually won a journalism award from the NLGJA (www.nlgja.org) for HIV/AIDS coverage this year. Of course, that win only reflects the work of the guys who were making the magazine before this most recent and vapid version. Too bad someone who has no connection to the gay community is the editor and someone who has no sales experience is the publisher.
BrooklynG
Queerty – I went back to look at my “free” issue of Genre to see if the couple story ever mentioned that these guys were not models and were being portrayed as a real couple. It did not.
What is the big deal? At least there is a gay rag that is celebrating couples, monogamy and the fact that we in relations are OK – even if we do not sleep around.
afrolito
It’s amazing how much I enjoy this magazine, knowing it’s a free subscription.
Dawster
Dan… never did i say that it was a BAD thing… thank you for your assumption tho. the magazine has to be taken for what it is. BTW, companies can and HAVE made money by being true to it’s beliefs. it is possible.
who cares if this particular guy is hot or not? there are a million actually GAY hot guys in a relationship that could have taken the place on the cover… THAT would be hot. telling THEIR story would have been hot. taking pics of them frolicking about would have been hot.
but taking a person a skin value? that’s kinda lame.
but it’s just the mentality that the mass-market magazine appeals to, those too shallow for any real journalism. HOWEVER… the world DOES need this kind of thing (it’s like the “Highlights Magazine” for gay men).
but i never said it was a bad thing. i just thought it would be BETTER IF…
that’s all.
ProffessorHig
If exploitation of homosexuals = treating gay men as men – big deal. Who are you guys?
chgo921
I don’t know how NB became EIC of ANY publication without knowing the difference between it’s and its (or his previous use of “could care less”).
VanityFair
It took me a minute to get EIC – editor in chief? Who uses these terms but magazine people. Did chg work at Genre?
Fit4Life
My BF and I are hot enough for a Genre Cover – I dare Genre to put on a real gay couple like us. Where do I sing up?
jeff
I actually lived with the other guy in nyc. His name is Joe Alamanza and he for the record says that he is totally straight (which i know is bs)and i can also tell you guys that he is by far the biggest loser ive ever met and i actually had him arressted for stealing from me after we came back from a Puerto rico vacation.You should also know that he is sooooooooo full of himself that it becomes annoying and most people walk away laughing from him. I even had people at our hotel ask me if he was gay.
Trust me guys all that glitters is NOT always GOLD
Loveisnotagame
Don’t go out in the gay world hoping to exploit and trade on pinup looks for goods and services, basically seeking to take advantage of others. As is often the case, you will wind up being the one taken advantage of. You see, the trouble for young gay men playing love games is that the gay men who have the goods you’re after tend to be older and wiser. And they’ve usually been playing the game a lot longer than you have, which means they’re better at it than you. So you lose.
Try heading into your next relationship with a different MO. People with HIV and AIDS can and do find lovers, have relationships, get hitched, and settle down. Even models with AIDS find lovers, especially in these days of drug cocktails, undetectable viral loads, and “healthy” PWAs. Head into relationships with no material expectations. Offer what you’ve got to give; not just your body and your private parts – but your humanity and your heart as well, and see if your luck doesn’t change. Take responsibility for your past actions, your present misery, and your future happiness.
chgo921
Never worked at Genre or in the magazine industry — though I once worked at a large media company. Hmm. Media company + Chgo. Not too hard to figure out which one.
JohnnyR
Yawn. Focus on the REAL news. No one cares.
VaginalOoz
No one cares as right. Where are the juicy stories on Britney?
Gregg
I’m always amazed at how bitchy the comments get when Genre is the subject of a post here.
Rockcandy
Arguing on the Internet is like competing in the Special Olympics because even if you win you’re still retarded.
DaveyJ
Re: Gregg — I hear ya. Doesn’t anyone care about real news? How can one magazine stir so many pots. RockCandy — that was a crack up!
ToGiveToCare
RockCandy you are cruel people with disabilities. When Eunice Kennedy Shriver started the concept of Special Olympics in 1963 as a daycamp for people with intellectual disabilities to provide them with the therapeutic effects of physical fitness and sports, we did not even have the internet. In 1968 she organized the first International Special Olympics Games, in which 1,000 athletes from the U.S., Canada and France competed. That year, Special Olympics was founded as a nonprofit organization. Not even 1,000 people read Queerty.
In an historic move on July 1, 1995, New York Special Olympics was divided into two separately incorporated Chapters, Special Olympics East . Inc. and Special Olympics West, Inc. This division was a first in the history of the Special Olympics movement. The change afforded each new New York Chapter a dramatic opportunity to greatly expand outreach efforts. The new NY Chapters are bound by law to not write about the special olympics stuff like you said. You are a nasty person to bring the special olympics into conversation about guys half naked on covers and stuff. You should not use the word retarded either, you can have a case of the retard on your arm or leg – but mental illness and handicap is not cool.
CityCity
My sister has mental illness – this is cruel that Rock Candy does not care about this issue. What is everyone going to do?
DaveyJ
City – sorry bout your sister. I never talk bad about handicap stuff
len
Juulian Fantechi has an impressive resume in the modeling world., Men’s Health, Saks 5th Ave and being on Ugly Betty. Plus he works as a therapist in the NYC schools with physically challenged children. Remember him from the news controversy.?I love his work whether he is gay or straight, go Neal. Now let’s see him on the cover all by himself!
Mike
Type his name on youtube and check out the news clip from CBS. He also has a great website at http://www.julian-fantechi.com
nick
He is still HOT!!!!!!
paul
How on earth is this supposed to be a scandal?
It gives the names of the cover models near the front of the magazine. The names in the article are different.
This isn’t scandal, it’s just publishing. Sheesh…
Bill Samuels
Why is everyone assuming this Julian person is honestly “straight?”
Has no one ever heard of “closet queen.”
Then there’s the ever popular “bisexual.” Julian could be one of these guys who — whether genuinely or only technically bisexual — sleeps/gets involved with both men and women (often for the wrong reasons in the latter case).
Lots of gay/bi boys flirt with the gay professional scene for money but stay in the closet when push comes to shove because they think coming out will adversely affect their careers. It happened decades ago and, sadly, it’s still happening today.
In any case, Genre COULD have found an attractive gay couple for the cover if they had had any sense of pride.