LPI Media (formerly Liberation Publications Inc.) was the largest

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

publisher in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company targeted

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

communities and published such magazines, books, and websites, with its magazines alone having more than 8.2 million copies distributed each year. ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' and ''

Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

'' magazines were the two largest circulation LGBT magazines in the United States, each with corresponding websites, Advocate.com and OUT.com. Additional publications included ''Out Traveler'', ''HIV Plus'', and LGBT-penned titles through

Alyson Books Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "th ...

making it the "largest publisher of gay and lesbian print publications" and thus the largest print voice of the LGBT communities, including

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

and to a lesser degree

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

people. They were also parent owners of Specialty Publications, which produces adult (

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

) publications ''

MEN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

'', formerly ''Advocate Men'', ''FreshMen'', ''Unzipped'', and '' '. Specialty Publications was one of the largest gay adult erotica web and video production companies in the world. __TOC__

History

Liberation Publications began with a

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

raid at the Black Cat bar in Los Angeles in 1966, prompting a handful of gay men to start a

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator or stencil machine) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a co ...

ed sheet newsletter for the gay community. This grew into ''The Advocate'' magazine the following year and remained the only US

magazine for nearly 25 years. In February 2000, Liberation acquired Out Publishing Inc., which publishes ''

'' and ''HIV Plus'' magazines. Then president and chief executive of Liberation, James Franklin, said the deal would "move the print properties into the electronic arena" and added that the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

was popular with gay and lesbian readers because of "the

closet A closet (especially in North American English usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. ''Fitted closets'' are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the roo ...

factor." PlanetOut attempted in March 2000 to merge with LPI, but this was called off in March 2001. ''Out Traveler'', a magazine spin-off of ''Out'', launched in 2003. In November 2005, LPI merged with

Planet Out PlanetOut, Inc. was an American online media and entertainment company that targeted the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. It was founded in 1995 by Tom Rielly as an early internet-based media company. PlanetOut began as ...

, which mainly has developed online properties to become the world's largest media company targeting LGBT communities. LPI's "solid accounts list of fashion, retail and consumer packaged goods advertisers" was cited among its strong selling points. Criticism of the merger centered on two aspects: that a consolidation of national media outlets of a minority community is unlikely to add

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

of voices; and that the publications were established and supported in an effort to secure

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

for gays and lesbians but now are instead delivering a

market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...

to corporations. In April 2008, press reports said that the magazines published by LPI as well as the porn magazines published by Specialty Publications were to be sold by PlanetOut to

Regent Releasing Regent Releasing was a U.S. theatrical distribution company based in Los Angeles, California, under the umbrella of Regent Entertainment, which was owned by producers Paul Colichman (formerly of IRS Media) and Stephen P. Jarchow. Focusing on n ...

, which owns

here! Here TV (also known as Here! or stylized as here!) is an American premium television network targeting LGBTQ audiences. Launched in 2002, Here TV is available nationwide on all major cable systems, fiber optics systems, and Internet TV providers ...

, a cable television network catering to LGBT audiences. A

SEC filing The SEC filing is a financial statement or other formal document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Public companies, certain insiders, and broker-dealers are required to make regular SEC filings. Investors and fina ...

indicates that the agreement was completed in August 2008, with Here Media Inc. the new owner of LPI, Specialty Publications, and LPI's book company,

Alyson Publications Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the ...

''The Advocate''

''Out''

''HIV Plus''

''HIV Plus'' magazine is based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and was founded by Anne-Christine d'Adesky in 1998. Instead of subscriptions, the "national magazine sdistributed at doctors' offices and organizations offering services for people with AIDS" including

AIDS service organization AIDS service organizations are community-based organizations that provide support for people affected by HIV/AIDS. This article focuses on HIV/AIDS service organizations in the United States only. However, similar organizations in other countries, s ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

community-based groups, and physicians' offices as well as other qualifying groups and organizations. It offers "the latest stories on research, economics, and treatment". ''HIV Plus'' provides "news that raises awareness of HIV-related cultural and policy developments in the United States and throughout the world", including issues of "cultural stereotypes about incarceration, drug use, and HIV." Writers and contributors include contributing fitness editor

Sam Jensen Page Samuel Page (married name Sam Francis Page; born September 19, 1974) is a celebrity fitness coach, actor and bodyguard in Los Angeles, California. Early life and education Born on September 19 in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Sam became an entrepre ...

and columnist

LeRoy Whitfield LeRoy Whitfield (September 19, 1969 – October 9, 2005) was an African-American freelance journalist who chronicled his personal experience with HIV infection and AIDS. He was hailed by many as one of the nation's leading journalists repor ...

, whose "Native Tongue" column ran in ''HIV Plus'' magazine starting in May 2004 and was "one of the magazine's most popular features."

Alyson Publications

is a publisher founded in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Sasha Alyson Sasha Alyson (born May 22, 1952) is an American writer and businessman who started Alyson Publications in 1979. He later founded the Boston gay and lesbian newspaper ''Bay Windows'' (1983), the travel company Alyson Adventures (1995) and Big Brot ...

which specializes in

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and LGBT fiction and nonfiction. Notable books and authors published by Alyson include the ''

Dykes to Watch Out For ''Dykes to Watch Out For'' (sometimes ''DTWOF'') was a weekly comic strip by Alison Bechdel. The strip, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was one of the earliest ongoing representations of lesbians in popular culture and has been called "as importa ...

'' cartoon series, by

Alison Bechdel Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her Graphic novel, graphic memoir ''Fun ...

; ''

Daddy's Roommate ''Daddy's Roommate'' is a children's book written by Michael Willhoite and published by Alyson Books in 1990. One of the first children's books to address the subject of homosexuality, the story follows a young boy whose divorced father now live ...

'' by

Michael Willhoite Michael Willhoite is an artist and writer who is best known for his children's books depicting families with gay parents. His book ''Daddy's Roommate'' (1990) was the second most challenged book in American libraries in the decade of 1990-1999, a ...

; ''Melting Point'', ''Doing it for Daddy'', ''

Macho Sluts ''Macho Sluts'' is a 1988 book of erotic short stories by Pat Califia, published by Alyson Publications. Then lesbian identified, Califia had written the stories between 1977 and 1988 during a period of fierce struggle between lesbian feminist s ...

'', and ''Doc and Fluff'' by

Patrick Califia Patrick Califia (born 1954), formerly also known as Pat Califia and by the last name Califia-Rice, is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transit ...

; ''

Young, Gay and Proud ''Young, Gay and Proud'' is a book written for adolescents who are exploring a gay identity, published by an autonomous collective of the Melbourne Gay Teachers and Students Group, a forerunner to the Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students Associa ...

''; ''

Latter Days ''Latter Days'' is a 2003 American Romance film, romantic comedy drama film about the relationship between a Coming out#Closeted, closeted Mormon missionary and his openly gay neighbor. The film was written and directed by C. Jay Cox and stars ...

'', a novelization by T. Fabris for the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

major motion picture of the same name; ''The Femme Mystique'' and ''Pillow Talk'', edited by

Lesléa Newman Lesléa Newman (born November 5, 1955, in Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the ...

; ''

Revolutionary Voices ''Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology'', edited by Amy Sonnie, is an anthology created by and for radical queer youth, committed specifically to youth of color, young women, transgender and bisexual youth, (dis)abled youth ...

: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology''; ''Love, Bourbon Street: Reflections of New Orleans'', winner of the 2006 Lambda Literary Award for Anthology; '' Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out'', edited by

Loraine Hutchins Loraine Hutchins is an American bisexual and feminist author, activist, and sex educator. Hutchins rose to prominence as co-editor (with Lani Kaʻahumanu) of '' Bi Any Other Name'', an anthology that is one of the seminal books in the bisexual ri ...

and

Lani Kaʻahumanu Lani Kaahumanu (born October 5, 1943) is a Native Hawaiian bisexual and feminist writer and activist. She is openly bisexual and writes and speaks on sexuality issues frequently. She serves on the editorial board of the '' Journal of Bisexualit ...

; and ''The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe'', winner of the 2006 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual category.

Specialty Publications

LPI Media was the parent company of Specialty Publications, a publisher of adult gay

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

and pornographic publications. Their ''

Men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

'' magazine (formerly ''Advocate Men'') has been the top-selling gay male erotic magazine for over 25 years, and tends to portray men aged 25 to 40. ''

Freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...

'' is an erotic magazine published monthly since 1991. It is geared toward gay and bisexual men. ''Freshmen'' has long been the best-seller in its

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

and features top-line male porn models from

Bel Ami ''Bel-Ami'' (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled ''Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel'' first appeared in 1903. The story chronicles journalist ...

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

, and others; it specializes in young but not twinkish men, primarily 18 to 25 but some to age 30. Other items, such as calendars and playing cards, are also published using the same label. "Freshman of the Year" contests are held, with many fledgling porn stars going on to greater success including Sebastian Bonnet, Roman Heart, Dick McKay, Zack Randall,

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

, and Billy Brandt. Specialty Publications also produced ''Unzipped'' and '' ', making it one of the largest gay adult erotica web and video production companies in the world.

References

External links

''The Advocate''''OUT''''HIVPlus''
{{LGBTQ, rights=yes LGBTQ-related mass media in the United States Magazine publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles LGBTQ book publishing companies