DNA is read around the world but is made in Australia. Very shortly after we started exporting the print version of the magazine to the US, way back in 2004, we realised that part of the appeal of DNA was the Aussie factor; the Australianness of it.
And I’m happy to say, it doesn’t feel like we’ve outstayed our welcome.
Thanks to sexy exports like Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman and Troye Sivan, the word “Aussie” has become a kind of shorthand in the gay world suggesting a buff, beach-going hunk. It’s true that we love the beach and if you go to the right beaches you will see that kind of Aussie masculinity. But we don’t all fit that mould, me included!
Still, being Australian has its advantages when travelling in other countries, and playing the Aussie card can open doors. For example, once at a bar in New York, all I had to do was say, “G’day,” and the man I was talking to became incredibly attentive. Similarly, in Montréal, a young man realised I was Australian and asked me to say, “Get in the car,” a line spoken by Adam Garcia in the film Coyote Ugly in a particularly broad Australian accent. It was like Viagra to him, and I had his full attention for the rest of the night. While in Paris, locals became visibly more relaxed as I mumbled, “Je suis Australian,” while apologising for butchering their language.
We also have a reputation for being socially progressive, enjoying our multiculturalism, and punching above our weight in sport, the arts and entertainment, and innovation.
This month in DNA, we celebrate some outstanding gay Aussies who are taking the attitude and accent to the world – and shamelessly, we’ve chosen sexy ones! Contemporary dancer Zac Clark is on the cover. He’s come a long way from regional New South Wales to the bright lights of NYC. I asked photographer Christian Scott to shoot Zac like it was a bright summer day in Sydney. He has, and I now feel this issue should come with a complementary sachet of SPF30+.
Fans content creator Gabe Woods is in the issue, and you’ll discover that he’s not just a sexed-up Aussie hunk, he’s a wild overachiever with heaps of sex-positive messages for us all. Multi-taskers Troye Sivan and Keiynan Lonsdale are also in the issue. Both actor/singers have made it big in the US and Europe but still call Australia home. We are desperate for a collab between the two! Aussies who make us smile and dance are DJs Kitty Glitter and Dan Slater.
On the fashion front we have Gali Swimwear: a swimwear brand, featuring Indigenous designs and launched by a gay, Indigenous man who is also a volunteer lifesaver at Bondi Beach. What could possibly be more Australian? And male model Mitch Walker reveals what finally persuaded him to take modelling seriously (or not so seriously, as it turns out).
We catch up with Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, better known as Electric Fields, who will represent Australia at Eurovision 2024, and Eurovision devotee Cain Cooper explains why Australia should be and is at Eurovision, and why US gays should be watching! Brooding, bootylicious musical theatre performer Stefan Lagoulis gets The Last Word.
Meet Anthony Venn Brown, the former Pentecostal preacher who underwent conversion therapy and even exorcism to “pray the gay away” in the latest of our Conversations With The Elders. Today, Anthony is out and proud and helping survivors of conversion therapy. As jurisdictions around the world increasingly choose to ban this dangerous and fraudulent practice, Anthony’s story is an important one to share.
In A Bi Dad’s Coming Out Advice, columnist Lewis Oakley discusses biphobia and why gay men need to own up to the myth that bisexuality is just a phase on the way to gay. I hope you enjoy everything DNA #292 has to offer and, as always, I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Andrew Creagh, Founding Editor
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