Photo: Mouthfeel

The internet is here to stay, no doubts, but what many didn’t see coming in recent years was the resurgence of the printed zine, that old holdover from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. There’s a multitude of queer zines being published all over the world at the moment, and that’s not surprising, really: with the mainstream print publications pandering to advertisers and people with obviously larger wallets, it’s left to the zine to offer alternatives like they once did. 

In other words: zines are the voice of the people (once again) – and from what’s currently on the market we can only say that what queers want now is realness... and of course food! Without further ado, here’s a roundup of the five queer zines you need to get your hands on right away!

1. Mouthfeel

Currently in its second issue, Mouthfeel is produced in LA and covers the complexities of food and the personalities involved. The 100-page zine if full of tasty food and tasty men, sometimes in the same pic, giving food porn its rightful meaning. It also comes with three city food guides and a huge double poster of the two main personalities profiled. Some of them include Gerardo Gonzalez, the chef at El Rey in New York, artist Slava Mogutin and San Francisco drag muse Juanita More!

2. Teen Witch

“I started the magazine to promote my friends that were doing cool things,” says Chicago-based Zain who started Teen Witch solo. The zine offers a collection of fan art with a cartoony, bubble gum aesthetic while praising the gay and trans* youth underground scene. In the spirit of the original teen magazines (I’m thinking of you, Nickelodeon Magazine) some issues are dedicated to teen idols like Justin Bieber and Zayn Malik, but don’t worry, the illustrations get so graphic they still provide ample wank material.

3. Cakeboy

Gender has become such a big topic even in mainstream circles, and therefore some “men” don’t subscribe to any of it at all. Cakeboy is a Brooklyn zine for those who see themselves and the world to be a bit more fluid – that is, agender. In it you can find a mix of art, fashion and culture features that tackle topics ranging from immigration to race to body hair.

4. Pound Shop

Pound Shop is an A5 illustration zine from London produced entirely by artist typ0. With four issues in, it’s becoming a familiar sight in art bookshops like the Tate Modern’s. The images are really beautiful, and the vivid colors on thick paper give a whole new dimension to the depictions of hairy and multiethnic men licking their own pits.

5. The Tenth Zine

With many gay publications and even zines being white-men centric, The Tenth Zine stands out for celebrating black gay culture in the US. The three issues published so far feature a load of beefy and femme black men of different ages and walks of life. All pages are in full color and the personalities featured are so varied and interesting (such as designer Telfar and model Shaun Ross) that any queer culture vulture will be all over it.

Sources: own photo, teenwitchfanclub (Facebook), cakeboymag (Facebook), thefurrealist (Facebook), thetenthzine (Facebook)