Boyz (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Boyz is a free, London
-based magazine, targeted at gay men
and distributed mainly through gay bar
s, club
s and sauna
s in the United Kingdom
. Published weekly, it tends to focus on news about the gay scene and celebrities (generally pop
artists) popular with young scene-going gay men.
Boyz is relatively light on "serious" content, being quite tabloid in its outlook. A typical issue will include interview
s with pop bands, actors or writers, a regular health page, an agony uncle page, music reviews and a rundown of recent and upcoming events on the gay scene, including a night-by-night list of events. In a break with the past, in October 2007, the magazine abandoned its more explicit content, however adverts for male escort
s, contact ads and erotic phonelines continue. General advertising for club and pubnights etc now provides the revenue for the production and distribution of the magazine, and may go some way to explain the often subjective nature of its coverage of the gay scene.
On 18 October 2007, Boyz was relaunched in a very similar form, with more focus on an edgier design, and with extra club photos. It seems that a new team has taken over the running of the magazine and a lot of the explicit content has been taken out. Instead, the magazine now has dedicated news page and additional sections on grooming, more health, partnership, hobbies and a larger gay scene coverage.
The news page, In The Know, has received particular attention since the relaunch having been the first to break a story of three young gay porn stars being infected with HIV on a British porn shoot. Boyz' news editor Karl Riley later appeared on the BBC's Newsnight to discuss the story.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based magazine, targeted at gay men
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and distributed mainly through gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s, club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s and sauna
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
s in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Published weekly, it tends to focus on news about the gay scene and celebrities (generally pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
artists) popular with young scene-going gay men.
Boyz is relatively light on "serious" content, being quite tabloid in its outlook. A typical issue will include interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
s with pop bands, actors or writers, a regular health page, an agony uncle page, music reviews and a rundown of recent and upcoming events on the gay scene, including a night-by-night list of events. In a break with the past, in October 2007, the magazine abandoned its more explicit content, however adverts for male escort
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
s, contact ads and erotic phonelines continue. General advertising for club and pubnights etc now provides the revenue for the production and distribution of the magazine, and may go some way to explain the often subjective nature of its coverage of the gay scene.
On 18 October 2007, Boyz was relaunched in a very similar form, with more focus on an edgier design, and with extra club photos. It seems that a new team has taken over the running of the magazine and a lot of the explicit content has been taken out. Instead, the magazine now has dedicated news page and additional sections on grooming, more health, partnership, hobbies and a larger gay scene coverage.
The news page, In The Know, has received particular attention since the relaunch having been the first to break a story of three young gay porn stars being infected with HIV on a British porn shoot. Boyz' news editor Karl Riley later appeared on the BBC's Newsnight to discuss the story.
See also
- Attitude (magazine)Attitude (magazine)Attitude is a British gay lifestyle magazine owned by Vitality Publishing. It is sold worldwide as a physical magazine and a digital download for the iPad and iPhone via the App Store. The first issue appeared in May 1994....
- Gay TimesGay TimesGay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
- axmAXMAXM is a British lifestyle digital magazine aimed at young gay and bisexual men.The magazine ceased publication of printed magazines after December 2008 due to financial downturn, and so it claims, to show videos online, thus the magazine is now in an online-only format.Its content is heavily based...
- Diva (magazine)Diva (magazine)Diva is a leading lesbian magazine in the United Kingdom. It was launched in 1994 by Millivres Prowler Group Ltd., who also produce the Gay Times. The current editor is Jane Czyzselska, who was promoted to the position in 2004. It includes many articles dedicated to lesbian and bisexual social...
- QX (British magazine)QX (British magazine)QX Magazine also known as QX International is a free gay weekly magazine distributed at most gay bars, gay clubs and other gay venues across London and the UK. As a free magazine, it has a high proportion of advertising space for revenue...