The kids over at Out get in touch with their trans side this month.
Guest editor T Cooper what seems to be a pretty well-rounded, informative and poppy issue. This display – adorned by David Armstrong shot Tilda Swinton cover – ain’t a sing-song calls for activism, but a closer look at the trans subculture’s ins, outs and in-betweens. (See a larger version of the cover at the end of this post.)
Cooper did well with the magazine’s trans-limited, admittedly “clumsy” staffers. For example, they’ve of ten “essential” trans titles, while Candis Cayne talks about trans life in the spotlight and Cooper himself takes a look at NYC’s trans fags, including a boy whose biological origins got him booted from popular hook-up site, Adam4Adam.
Read the cold rejection letter:
The reason is because your profile says ‘I was born a girl’ and ‘with all my original girly parts,’ and your photos show depicts [sic] female private parts, so based on that our profile approval team concluded that you’re not a man…
Ouch.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The Ruins actor Jonathan Tucker looks all sorts of trans man in his Yu Tsai shoot. In fact, we thought he was a trans man, but then realized he is, in fact, a biological and self-identified male. Meanwhile, homo-journo Mark Simpson again stretches vernacular boundaries with another new term, “transexy,” which transgresses gender, unlike androgyny, which mixes gendered characteristics. Or something. We can’t keep this shit straight!
Sure, some people will have problems with Out‘s offering – “Tilda’s not a trans!!” – but it’s pretty astounding that a relatively mainstream, relatively male-centric magazine would dedicate itself to trans happenings. As Cooper says in his guest editor’s letter:
By no means is [this issue] all-inclusive of the wonderful things that are happening in the transgendered community… This issue is meant to be a celebration of trans lives and culture – not an argument for inclusion or importance… but rather one small step toward raising awareness around gender in the larger, dare I say, mainstream gay community.
And those of you who don’t like it can just enjoy the underwear ads!
Brad
That has to be the most poorly written post I’ve read on this website.
Is no one paying attention?
David
Um, I thought it was a good post
schnaussmaus
I love that they used Tilda on the cover. Not only is she beautifully androgynous but she was amazing in “Orlando” which explores the trans theme in a very creative way.
abelincoln
She looks like “The Thin White Duke” version of Bowie in that picture.
PalePhoenix
‘Orlando’ was provocative cinema (so was ‘Impromptu’ with Judy Davis, to a lesser extent), but I don’t understand what people are thinking when they consider the inclusion of a trans-resembling Swinton so odd for that mag. It’s called OUT, not “For Some of You Who Are Out, Mostly Men, and Please Don’t Get All Uppity about the Inclusion of a Person Who Doesn’t Have a Bona Fide Penis.”
I’ve long thought she was a brilliant actor, but if we’re going to speculate about her personal life, then it’s worth noting that she has TWO ‘domestic partners,’ both male, and one 18 years her junior.
If there’s a single queer ’round here who doesn’t envy her a bit for marching to her own tune, then maybe it’s just the cover copy that offends or misleads.
As for some of the other “transsexual” folks addressed by the original story, I have only two (just like Tilda!) things to say: A trans or intersexed person shouldn’t be booted from a site if the site contains people he or she looking for; and Candis Cayne impresses me yearly with how far she’s come, but I’m not sure I’d solicit her advice for the sake of 99% of the other transsexuals on the planet. Sure, it’s no different than asking Paris Hilton (and by this analogy, I’m NOT calling Ms. Cayne a vacuous whore) what she thinks of macroeconomic theory, but removal of one body part does not automatically add knowledge to another.
Still, I re-read that and think, “Well, who else is there to ask?” A modicum of truth is almost always better than no truth at all. We all have to cherry-pick our role models. I’ll end by saying that a half-true transsexual (referring to Tilda, not Candis) puts a popular, talented face where there might not have been one before.
Gregg
You can certainly tell that OUT lost its direction. So sad. No wonder they are losing 6 million a year. Hopefully the new owners will know how to target their real audience.
CandyK
Pathetic! Their writers are highschool interns they recruited from local papers to speak to an important issue. Shame on them…
DrTrans
The article was poorly written and a true reflection of the poor journalism integrity of the LPI brands. In the field of sexual orientation law, the European Convention on Human Rights1 has provided greater legal protection to individuals than most domestic legal traditions, including US law. For example, in the area of gay and lesbian rights, the right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention has been interpreted repeatedly by the European Court of Human Rights to extend to an adult’s right to participate in private, consensual homosexual activity. See Dudgeon v. United Kingdom, 45 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1981) (protection extended to mutual masturbation, oral-genital contact, and anal intercourse between adult men); Norris v. Ireland, 142 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1988) (protection extended to anal intercourse between adult men); Modinos v. Cyprus, 259 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) (1993) (protection extended to carnal knowledge “against the order of nature”).
There are great articles that are available on this subject and I’d recommend that readers visit: http://www.gendertalk.com/
slacker chic
i am sorry she freaks me out! She is just SO white! She’s like “Powder” or the sun. I know, it’s mean, but a little self tanner would not hurt. just a teeny weeny little bit.
http://slackerchic.blogspot.com/
sooobusted
She has nothing to do with Gay Life. Does putting a female freak on the cover really speak to our community? This magazine sucks.