Têtu is the main gay magazine published in France. It was subtitled in Frenchle magazine des gays et lesbiennes until 2007, and reaffirmed itself as a men's magazine since then. As of December, 2012, its certified circulation was of 41,961 copies monthly. The publication stopped in 2015. The magazine was reborn and issued its next issue on 28 February 2017.
History
Published since 1995, co-founded by Didier Lestrade and Pascal Loubet, and historically directed by Pierre Bergé, Têtu was started following the demise of Gai Pied magazine. Pierre Bergé sold the magazine in January 2013 and since then it has been owned by Jean-Jacques Augier. Têtu declared bankruptcy in January 2015 and went into liquidation in July 2015 having made €1.1million in losses in 2014. In November 2015 a French start-up, Idyls, bought Têtu and it started publishing again online only.
Overview
The magazine contains interviews on LGBT issues, with politicians, celebrities, writers, dancers and so forth, along with articles and reviews on LGBT-themed books, films, plays or video games. Another section is concerned with LGBT newsaround the world, country by country. There are also posters, advertisements of brand clothes for men. Additionally, some pages are dedicated to news about AIDS, prevention and treatment. Periodically a free information guide entitled Têtu+ is published about HIV and AIDS. The magazine has also touched upon international cases when coming to LGBTQs public figures of non-French cultures. In October 2012, Tetu have sent reporters to Jordan to do a story on Jordanian LGBT magazine's spokesperson, model , aka Kali of My.Kali magazine.
Controversy
In July 2011, Alexis Palisson featured in a topless pose in Têtu wearing a fake moko and holding a taiaha. This caused controversy in New Zealand, with some Maori saying that Palisson was being disrespectful to their culture and that permission should have been sought from a particular iwi as the moko usually represents iwi affiliation. Palisson was eventually forced to apologise for any offence caused and stressed that he respects tattoo traditions.
