Guest fountainhall Posted January 7, 2011 Posted January 7, 2011 It was only a few years ago that you could wander down Suriwong from Rama 4 on the way to Soi Twilight and there on your left side by the Bangkok Bank branch would be a lady selling all manner of magazines, including several glossy full colour Thai gay magazines. Door, Max, Z Men and Heat were some I fondly remember. All had glossy photos of handsome nude guys, many with explicit hard-core content. Most, if not all, disappeared during Thaksin's social order campaigns, with Door being the last to close its doors But a few months back I remember reading there was a stall in the evenings on Rama 4 between Silom and Suriwong where you could purchase back copies. Does anyone know if that stall is still there? Quote
pong Posted January 9, 2011 Posted January 9, 2011 hello again, dear khun FH. Sorry-dont know about that area-have not been there in evenings since nearly 2 yrs now. There used to be also many of those stalls along Pradiphat road-Sapan kwai. Of course many have turned to selling VDO and now DVD. Eves, after 20.30/21.00. On the Chatuchak weekend market, the 2nd jand bookstalls are open daily, in the small square south of it, along Kampaeng Phet road/near the flyover. Any farang who walks there will be aproached by ''poh'' offerings. There is also a stall, with a few boxes of old Thai gay mags, and also DVDs (poh, @ 3/100 bt or 40/piece) and sexy male underwear at the daily evening market along Klong Lot, moved from Sanam Luang due to renovations, opposite Royal Hotel, close to the Saran Rom boys for rent park. In general many former 2nd hand bookshops have closed down, or dwindled and downsized or merged, as have many former stalls on markets changed to other selling items. Quote
Guest JamesBarnes Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 How sad that official guidelines on what is and what is not acceptable are so hard to find. OUT iT wants to be as explicit as possible but the only advice so far is that bare buttocks and pubic hair are not allowed so don't even think about full frontal nudity. It seems that the powers that be also frown on nudity even if there is no genital exposure! It has also been suggested that what is permissable has much to do with how well the publisher is connected but of course, I couldn't possibly comment on that. A flicker of light at the end of this gloomy tunnel may be the burgeoning gay rights movement in the Kingdom which OUT iT will fully support. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 OUT iT wants to be as explicit as possible but the only advice so far is that bare buttocks and pubic hair are not allowed so don't even think about full frontal nudity. It seems that the powers that be also frown on nudity even if there is no genital exposure! I am sure you are aware of the case of the tour company (Utopia Tours?) based in the Tarntawan Hotel and which had its licence revoked, allegedly, for a number of reasons - one being that it was stocking copies of one of the older gay information magazines. There was actually more to it than that, but the magazine was highlighted in a lot of the publicity. And this was despite the fact that there was no nudity in the magazine whatsoever! Your magazine is nothing like the specialist nude publications of yore. If I were you, I'd make absolutely sure I stick to the right side of the law - and then some. Sure, I'd love to see more photos of cute guys revealing more of their assets, but not if it means the magazine suddenly disappears from view. Quote
Guest JamesBarnes Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Quite right, dear fountainhall, OUT iT will, of course, adorn its pages with a bountiful bevy of moist maleness, but nothing that will jepoardise the publication. As an aside, there is some great news: negotiations were completed yesterday that will see the magazine distributed in Singapore from February and discussions are underway which should also see it appear in Hong Kong. It is hoped that this extra readership will be tempted to visit Thailand- still the number one global gay destination. Quote
Guest JamesBarnes Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 This is eloquently typical of the reviews our first copy has generated: Dear James We have taken a long hard look at your first edition of OUT and it compels us to congratulate you on a stunning success. You have raised the bar for gay publications in terms of content, design, publication focus in Thailand. You have also raised the calibre of gay discourse here along with the image of gay Thailand. From your publication we have a clear idea of the reader you are targeting - educated, intelligent, cosmopolitan and proud to be gay - and your advertisers will follow in increasing numbers and quality. It is a publication for a new market. Clearly OUT is a publication for the gay 21st Century. Everything about the edition is a success, including - but not restricted to - over all design, balance of white space to print and pics, dramatic use of images, how you have played with type sizes, the engaging range of articles, a feel of community without being folksy, the venues is so fresh and bright and easy to read, excellent maps like the way you have done the number thing, Special Feature section excellent content and design. It is a publication one would want to put quality time aside for settling down and reading. It has international cache and thank you for quitting the sleazy gay compulsion of SPICE. In truth the only reservation we have and we both arrived at it independently is that some of the pics are technically or graphically weak contrasted with the greater number which are totally first class. Of course personal taste comes into this but just as a couple of examples, oddly while the image for BKK on page 46 is spot on the view over Chiang Mai on page 54 seems weak against the beauty of the city and the one of the boy on pp 55 is not so arresting. The massage image on pp 64 struck me as strange - what is he doing to that man and the boy - while the boy on pp 72 is a strange yellow/green but I like the photo. Still this seems minor and petty compared to the demonstrably superior achievement of everything in the your triumphant inaugural publication. Well done. Kind regards Name withheld Quote
KhorTose Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 It is obvious that you like this letter, but to me it sounds a bit picky. Allow me to translate. You are very close to being able to walk on water. If these minor things were different you would have achieved that goal. I think your first edition is great. In no way do I think you have to be perfect on every page. Just keep up the great stories and insights into the various cities and venues that are of interest to gays, and you will always have this reader's admiration Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Assuming negotiations also work out re Hong Kong, I hope that in the fullness of time you may have small sections (with maps, please!) for those 2 cities. Indeed, even further along the path you might from time to time consider a travel section with, say, 2 -4 pages devoted to other regional cities which are of interest to the gay traveller. I know you have only just started - and walking on water takes up considerable energy , but I also wonder if in the longer term there is another potential tie-up for you. The fridae.com website operated out of Singapore does an extremely good job at linking gays around the region. Although it initially was aimed mostly at Chinese, it also includes a great number of Thai members here in Thailand, a lot of Asian admirers, as well as others overseas. As a first thought, there seems to be some possible synergy there - but definitely in the longer term. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 I found this page on the web - a reminder of what we lost with the disappearance relatively recently of some of the Thai gay photo magazines. I know one or two posters who will appreciate the more manly models (even though many, I am told, were straight) compared to the twinks who are much more regularly featured now on gay video sites. http://74.55.90.235/CCforum/DCForumID2/1276.html?r=156 Quote
Guest Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Perhaps the twinks are what the market wants. That's certainly my preference. The internet is resulting in reduced turnover for many traditional publications, so it seems likely some of those would fail. I guess Thai gay magazines are no different. Quote
pong Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 1.they are. For the Thai market, those twinks do not appeal at all. And as these mags are written in Thai, their appeal to the farang/tourist market must be minimal. 2.HEAT (if I remember correctly) is still edited. I saw (and together we wenst through it) a very recent issue -nov or dec.'10=53 in a massageshop. 3.in a day or 2 BKk?Thailand will have the pleasure of getting a new mag aimed at gay market (some interviews reviewed that mainstream mags hitherto were sold as aiming at ladies), namend ATTITUDE. 70% translated rom UK/brit and the vrest made of of (likely trendy) Thai interests. I think I mentioend this also recently in a separate posting. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 There's a long article about the new Attitude magazine in today's edition of The Nation. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Attitude-you-need-30150285.html Quote
pong Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 and back to the original subject: Just by chance I was in the Sai Thai Busterminal (which is quite far from town-do not go there just for what I now mention) which is mainly yet another big shopping plaza with buses underneath, on the floor where they sell the tickets is a 2nd hand bookshop (more mag-shop), named Booknet. They had some shelves full of these mags, the correct name should be HEAD. Also many issues of I am GUY (I think this is no more. These were not really 2nd hand, but more like non sold copies of older issues. Plus many of those modeller mags-how to become a model (very popular in Thai-also for becoming airsteward/ess). What seems to have disappeared are the mags ''where you can see anything'' (Poh in Thai). These always cost a lot more and the reamining old used ones still sell for 2/300 THB. But DVDs with the same on it are sold openly on some markets for 4/100, both western, Japanese and Thai. There is no competition against that possible. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 the correct name should be HEAD Must be two magazines, because HEAT was definitely one of the main gay mags some years ago. http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/2005/07/25/1460.thai-world-boxing-champion-knocked-out-in-gay-porn-scandal Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Here is the cover of the new Attitude magazine. For more pics look at this link - http://74.55.90.235/CCforum/DCForumID2/3437.html?20 Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 An update on Attitude. Saw it in the supermarket this afternoon and intended to buy it. But it is 100% in Thai. Eventually it will be interesting to see which establishments advertise there, as they will definitely be catering to the Thai gay market. That may provide an indicator to 'happening' places that are not just the usual bars etc. Quote
pong Posted March 13, 2011 Posted March 13, 2011 see my answer on other of your posts-I am not repeating this all places. Re this subject; just again by chance i passed the Mochit Mai Northern Bus terminal yesterday and one of the private mag/bookstalls had 2 gay-aimed (mainstream-not frontal nudes etc.) mags for sale-the febr or march issues: I am GUY or PASSION. So clearly they still exist and are for sale at places also common in Eurpe-lots of people passing by anonimously. Quote
