''Expreszo'' is the only magazine for
lesbian,
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual and
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
youth in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
. The magazine is published bi-monthly.
The philosophy
The name ''Expreszo'' does not refer to
espresso
Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans a ...
. It is a combination of two
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
words, ''Expres'' and ''Zo'' which would roughly be translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as ''On Purpose Like This''. The name was invented by
Peter Zwaal, who was the magazine's first editor-in-chief, though initially there was no such function as the magazine was made by an editorial collective. The name refers to the questions gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths are confronted with when they decide to be open about their
sexual identity. The ''Expreszo'' staff claim that there is no need for questions since there already are answers, saying "we're young, we're queer and there is nothing bad about that". This positive attitude from some gay and lesbian youths needed to be shared with other members of their generation who still struggled with their sexual identity.
The magazine ''Expreszo'' claims to give the readers the
role models that they lack in daily life. The editors also write about serious issues. Coming out of the closet is a continuing story — and unfortunately
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
/AIDS is too. Besides that, while legal emancipation has come to a good ending in
civil marriage
A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular.
History
Every country maintaining a pop ...
and
adoption rights for gays and lesbians in the Netherlands (2001) and Belgium (2003) and things have changed in society, intolerance from other (religious) minority groups towards gays and lesbians is still a big issue in the Netherlands.
''Expreszo'' ran a poster campaign (''Aisha is Cool'' / ''Ahmed is Cool'', 2004) with kissing
Muslim boys and girls that got a lot of media attention.
In order to get attention for the position of gay youth in highschools ''Expreszo'' (in co-operation with COC Netherlands) ran a project ''PinkQuest'', resulting in a magazine ''Put da Cool back into School'', distributed in most high schools in the country. Dutch MPs asked questions about the publication, which was co-funded by the
Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science ( nl, Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschappen; OCW) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for education, culture, science, research, gender equality and communications. The Ministry was cre ...
, since a lot of "black" and Christian schools refused to hand out the magazine to their students.
About the publisher and editors
''Expreszo'' was established in 1998.
It is claimed to be made for, and made by young people and for this reason staff turnover is frequent. Over forty staff members are involved in making the magazine, maintaining the website, and running the organization. This includes editors, desktop publishers, photographers, and other staff members. In spite of being a purely volunteer organization they claim to have reached a professional standard.
In 1991, 1995 and 2001 the lack of funds seriously threatened the magazine in its existence. In 1995 the publisher, the
Stichting Hoezo (Foundation), joined
COC Netherlands
COC Nederland, also known as COC Netherlands, is a Dutch LGBTQ+ rights group founded in 1946. COC originally stood for ''Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum'' (Center for Culture and Leisure), which was intended as a "cover" name for its real purpose ...
, the largest lesbian and gay association in the Netherlands. COC boardmembers from 1995 formed the board of Hoezo/Expreszo and COC Netherlands started funding the magazine from 1995 until 2001. A benefit/rescue party in December 2001 gave new energy to the editorial staff. COC funding stopped, but with a new format (e.g. size, full color) the board and staff managed to boost sales and advertisement. For the first time ''Expreszo'' started making a profit.
A statute ensures that the editorial staff of ''Expreszo'' is independent in their writing (independent from COC).
Production and distribution
*The magazine was started as a newsletter from the
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
gay youth group Apollo, and after a few years most readers and subscribers were outside the Rotterdam region and in 1990 it was decided to distribute the newsletter through bookshops all over the Netherlands (by Betapress). In 1999 distribution started in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
(by AMPnet).
*''Expreszo'' is published six times a year. (quarterly until 1994, 10 times a year in 1995, 6 times a year since 1996 until present)
*The makers of Expreszo are all volunteers - mostly students.
*Expreszo is for sale in over 1,000 bookshops in Belgium and the Netherlands.
References
{{Reflist
External links
https://web.archive.org/web/20151206224022/http://www.expreszo.nl/http://www.expreszo.behttp://www.coc.nl
1998 establishments in the Netherlands
Bi-monthly magazines published in the Netherlands
Dutch-language magazines
Magazines published in Flanders
LGBT-related magazines published in the Netherlands
Magazines established in 1998
Teen magazines
Quarterly magazines published in the Netherlands
Newsletters
Ten times annually magazines