Issue: Online Commercialism: PlanetOut Blocks XY Magazine Article

By Katie Szymanski

Published Thursday, July 27, 2000, in the San Francisco Bay Area Reporter

It's no secret that gay media mergers often mean community opinions are combined into one stream of thought, and anything divergent might not make it to mainstream content. But last week's censorship of an XY magazine story by PlanetOut.com sent chills through a queer publication that has long considered itself an independent voice of various ideas.

XY.com used to enjoy its four-year-old licensing agreement with PlanetOut.com, which calls for each site to have a link to the other, and for PlanetOut to host the XY site for a fee. XY, in targeting young gay men, is a cutting-edge social and fashion commentary, and PlanetOut, in recently acquiring both the Advocate and Out magazines, is now an international gay news giant.

"It was great exposure for our magazine," said Peter Ian Cummings, publisher of XY, of his deal with PlanetOut.

But in June, XY carried a six-page story by Cummings entitled "Scary Love," which detailed how companies like Calvin Klein, the Gap, and Abercrombie and Fitch blatantly refused to advertise in XY because of its truthful portrayal of gay teens who – shockingly – are affectionate with one another. The article included quotes from an Abercrombie representative – that's right, the Abercrombie of homoerotic imagery – that advertising in XY would be "too much" for the "conservative" company. The article also noted that Abercrombie, the Gap, and other well-known fashion companies have no qualms about being included in straight-identified magazines that contain youthful eroticism.

As with any other XY story, "Scary Love" was posted to the magazine's Web site. Then, on July 19, the PlanetOut landlord let itself into tenant XY's home and removed the story from XY.com, due to "potentially libelous" content, according to Cummings, an explanation that offended his own journalism and XY's integrity.

"I would never publish a story in our own magazine unless I was sure of the facts," said Cummings. "And in my 20 years of journalism I've never been sued for libel. It's insulting to me and the magazine."

To Cummings, the fact that the Advocate and Out both have relationships with Abercrombie and the Gap is no small coincidence, and on the surface, the censorship does seem to smell of the typical gay-gone-mainstream media worried about offending its own advertisers.

But according to PlanetOut CEO and Executive Vice President Susan Schulman [OPG Ed.: Schuman], the reason "Scary Love" was censored is because it asked for donations from readers, a direct breach of PlanetOut policy.

"We own the XY.com Web site and we have the editorial right to do that," Schulman [OPG Ed.: Schuman] told the Bay Area Reporter. "The article actually solicited for money at the end which is something we don't do. We felt that keeping it up would violate the trust we have with our members."

"Bullshit," countered Cummings. "Why not just take out that one paragraph?" Cummings reiterated that he was told the article was libelous, and that XY, while not in financial trouble, from time to time asks readers to pick up the slack where advertisers refuse to tread.

Schulman [OPG Ed.: Schuman] acknowledged that PlanetOut sent the article to its lawyers to check for potential libel concerns, but Schulman said that practice was standard and not targeted only toward the XY piece. Cummings disagreed.

"It's obvious they were worried that the people mentioned in the article would be offended," said Cummings, who severed his licensing agreement with PlanetOut this week.

"It's sad because I never would have left PlanetOut were it not for what they did," said Cummings. "I always thought the purpose of the gay press was to tell gay people things they need to know. Do we want the largest source of gay news in country to be funded in ways that shape its agenda? It's something to think about."

Schulman [OPG Ed.: Schuman] contends it was Cummings – not PlanetOut – that had another agenda. "We're pretty good about criticizing, and keeping critical content, on the site," she said.

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