Mariah Carey to star on cover of Turkey’s first gay magazine
Turkey’s first ever gay magazine will be launched in print tomorrow, and will feature US singer and gay icon Mariah Carey as its cover star.
GayMag will be aimed at Turkey’s growing gay community, and will feature a range of news, culture, fashion and lifestyle articles. Editor-in-Chief Emir Akgün told Hurriyet Daily News: “We want to break all of the taboos, but step by step.”
Cover star Mariah Carey reportedly gave a very warm response when asked to feature on the cover. Male celebrities were more reluctant, but Akgün believes this will change.
“There haven’t been any negative reactions, but some celebrities are naturally a little bit reserved. But we can overcome it with time. Women celebrities, for their part, are much more moderate and excited,” he said.
The magazine will be distributed for free for the first twelve months, due to sponsorship from a dating app. This strategy has been adopted “to see how quickly the numbers spread”, as there are no similar magazines in Turkey to act as a point of comparison.
Akgün commented: “It’s like everybody was waiting for it for a long time. It is completely normal that there are people against it, though there will certainly be people who like it. We are not reinventing the wheel, the publication of GayMag is itself a big step to break taboos in the first place.”
He explained that a priority of the magazine will be to help closeted Turkish LGBTs to come out, saying: “We are aiming to help all those young people anywhere in Turkey who know they are gay, but hide it and seek a way out.”
