It’s a year now since the first issue of the British gay men’s erotic/travel magazine Elska came out – bringing intimate portrayals of men from across the globe. GayIceland has been there from the beginning, reporting on the magazine’s escapades and so we thought it was only fitting to celebrate the one-year anniversary, by putting together a list of reasons why we simply LOVE Elska.
First of all, it diversifies the definition of hot (pictured: Heiko M, from Berlin).
It depicts men of all ages (Bruce, from Cardiff).
And of all races (Henry, from Cardiff).
It depicts various body types (Timbo, from Cardiff).
It dedicated a whole issue to the men of Tapei, the capital of Taiwan, when racism is still an issue in the world of gay men, best shown by dating apps where remarks like “No chocolate nor rice” and “No orientals” are used to exclude men of other races than white (pictured: Temela, from Tapei).
It gives us a vivid glimpse into various cultures (Sasha K., from Lviv).
It gives us a glimpse into the gay scene of countries where societal attitudes toward homosexuality isn’t … well that great; A glimpse of what it feels like to be gay, bi or pan in harsh conditions (pictured: Ekin K. and Emrullah, from Istanbul)
It brings us an intimate portrayal of men, not only in pictures but also in written word. “He took one look at me and told me I should eat more. I’d love to ask him why he assumed I would want to look different, what he thought I should look like – other than healthy and happy with my body.” – Marc Y., from Berlin.
It deals with all kinds of difficult issues, like bullying, homophobia, coming out, depression, body image, racism, religion and loss. “Now I miss Xun… I hate to say things like that he’s poorly educated, he’s from the bottom of society, he’s immature… because at the end of the day, the day he took his life, these imperfections became exclusively energetic fuels for my heart. No-one ever loved me like he did.” – Han L, from Taipei.
It did a whole issue dedicated to the men of Reykjavík (pictured: Sindri M.).
