Gay Youth Magazine XY to Relaunch Later This Year

Like most of the LGBT community Eric Bogs was horrified after learning about Tyler Clementi and the other young gay men that committed suicide last fall.

"It was absolutely gut wrenching," he said.

It was during that tragic time he thought that perhaps there was something he could do to prevent another suicide - relaunch the now defunct gay youth magazine, XY.

Bogs, 33, once worked for XY, which was the only magazine geared toward gay youth. He quit in 2005 and the publication went out of business a couple of years later.

"I felt a huge sense of guilt for giving up on XY," he said. While his Art Director Greg Frederick, 28, added: "I really wish we could have started this a year or two ago. We could have helped so many kids. It still seems so taboo to talk about young gay people, but it's okay to talk about them when they're dead, and it pisses me off."

After the string of gay teen suicides Bogs realized there was still a need for XY. Just three months ago he posted this on his blog:

"We had prominent reminders in the office, stating that 'every 7 minutes a gay teen in the US attempts suicide'. Every day we focused on improving that statistic...Each day I would open up our mail to wade through a never ending river of tearful letters from 14yos in Nebraska, 15yos in Texas, 16yos in Tennessee, who were dealing with intolerant parents, uncaring teachers, relentless bullies. We did our best to help."

Bogs, Frederick and another friend have decided to restart the magazine and are working hard to get the publication back on the stands.

"XY has changed lives. Sometimes it's difficult to really understand how you fit in to society and this magazine shows you it's okay to be young and gay," Bogs said. "Even these days you don't see a lot of gay guys hugging and kissing."

Bogs still remembers looking for XY in the mailbox, eagerly awaiting the next issue. He worked for the publication on and off until 2005.

"When I was 17 I religiously subscribed and read every issue," he said. "I would read the issue once, maybe twice. It really helped me to just hear the stories of other boys hopelessly in love with the cute jock and knowing that I wasn't alone."

The publication doesn't have a restart date as of yet, but they're hoping to start publishing sometime later this year. The new XY will be targeted toward gay males ages 16 to 26. The website, www.xymag.com is already back online.

Bogs said he wants to stay as true to the original XY as possible, but realizes the internet has changed things.

"Our mission is to educate, empower, and entertain gay youth," he said. "We want there to be a vehicle for gay youth to tell their own stories. Even with the internet it's still tough for young people to connect with other young people."