US gay military mag hits news stands

[Martinus]

The thing with LGBT mags (and I regularly read a few, including the Advocate, Out and Attitude) is that they often fall into two camps - either soft porn or boring, drab activist zines.

The soft porn side makes them naturally more interesting, but at the same time it's hard to take the social/political message they also include seriously. It's a bit like saying you read Playboy for the social editorials.

[Valmy]

And who buys porn mags anymore anyway?

[garbon]

And who buys porn mags anymore anyway?

Well the soft porn mags also have a bit about fashion, political issues and things to buy.

[Ideologue]

The thing with LGBT mags (and I regularly read a few, including the Advocate, Out and Attitude) is that they often fall into two camps - either soft porn or boring, drab activist zines.

The soft porn side makes them naturally more interesting, but at the same time it's hard to take the social/political message they also include seriously. It's a bit like saying you read Playboy for the social editorials.

Playboy would be pretty dull without the articles.  Wow, I can see a vulva!

[Martinus]

And who buys porn mags anymore anyway?

Soft core? Lots of guys. Most of the straight male "lifestyle" mags have soft core porn. Even Men's Health does.

[Queequeg]

Malthus, your family is awesome.

They are ... eccentric. I'll go with eccentric. 

I remember reading an interview about year of the flood where she mentioned that Atwood family get togethers got down to geeky science stuff very quickly due to the number of PhDs. Sounds like she was talkung about your dad.

[DGuller]

When he went to Russia on a scientific goodwill mission, his hosts sent a prostitute up to his room, and he had no idea what this young lady (who spoke little English) was for. He thought it was odd that they sent a tour guide up to his room at night, wearing "such odd clothes", and sent her away, telling her to come back during the day (she didn't).

See, that right there is why Russia is cooler than us

I would not recommend having sex with prostitutes in an international hotel in Russia. 

[LaCroix]

And who buys porn mags anymore anyway?

servicemen. can't exactly sneak off to a computer in the middle of the night. at least.. i assume not

@thread:

[Josquius]

With don't ask don't tell i can see hiding being gay, bi, or a lesbian, but how do you hide being trans? or do they re-issue birth certificates and id?

Hey, my dad failed to notice one of his collegues going through a sex change (true story). Said collegue started wearing makeup, then dresses, then grew breasts, thhen changed his name to a her name ... all without him noticing. 

....wow.
Just imagine your dad lived in a caravan, you could subtly move it metre by metre until suddenly he`s no longer by the mountains but at the beach, and he would just accept this is the way things have always been.
Very Dark City.

[Eddie Teach]

Soft core? Lots of guys. Most of the straight male "lifestyle" mags have soft core porn. Even Men's Health does.

Judging by a typical cover, I'd have pegged that magazine as a gay male lifestyle magazine.

Though I disagree with your terminology. Softcore porn has nudity. Those magazines tend to stick with cheesecake/beefcake pics.

[Martinus]

Soft core? Lots of guys. Most of the straight male "lifestyle" mags have soft core porn. Even Men's Health does.

Judging by a typical cover, I'd have pegged that magazine as a gay male lifestyle magazine.

Though I disagree with your terminology. Softcore porn has nudity. Those magazines tend to stick with cheesecake/beefcake pics.

Ok, I guess you could call them erotica. Pictures of men/women in suggestive poses, usually partially or completely naked, but with no genitals (and in the case of women, nipples) showing.

Also, "Men's Health" is an interesting study in social mores, since I sometimes buy both the Polish and the UK version they sell here. The Polish version still has articles like "How to please her in bed" and "Tips for your relationship with the ideal woman". The UK version has dropped that pretense and just focuses on pictures of beefcakes.

[HVC]

When he went to Russia on a scientific goodwill mission, his hosts sent a prostitute up to his room, and he had no idea what this young lady (who spoke little English) was for. He thought it was odd that they sent a tour guide up to his room at night, wearing "such odd clothes", and sent her away, telling her to come back during the day (she didn't).

See, that right there is why Russia is cooler than us

I would not recommend having sex with prostitutes in an international hotel in Russia. 

it's the option that counts