''Mandate'' was a monthly

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 ...

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of Human sexual activity, sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

. It was published in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and distributed internationally since April, 1975. Together with the other magazines of the Mavety Group, such as ''

Black Inches ''Black Inches'' () was a US-based gay pornographic magazine featuring African-American men. Published by Mavety Media alongside magazines such as ''Mandate'', it was established in 1993 and folded in 2009. Features The photos appearing in the m ...

'', it folded in 2009.See Kit Christopher & Joe Thompson, "Mavety Media: The Rise and Fall of Socially Redeeming Content," ''Unzipped'' (October, 2009), 10–11.

History

Modernismo Publications, Ltd. (MP) were publishers of ''Mandate'', ''Honcho'', and ''Playguy'', popular gay men's magazines. MP was founded in 1974 by George Mavety with the publication of ''Dilettante'', which folded in March 1975. The following month, its successor, ''Mandate'', appeared on the newsstands under the editorship of John Devere. ''Mandate'' was conceived as a magazine of erotica, news and entertainment for gay men. Each monthly issue, in addition to exhibiting artistic displays of male nudes and erotic fiction, contained reviews of books, motion pictures and sound recordings of interest to the gay community and reported on social, political and cultural events related to the movement for gay liberation. Joseph Arsenault succeeded Devere as editor. By the time Sam Staggs succeeded to its editorship, following Arsenault, ''Mandate'' claimed a circulation of over 100,000 and enjoyed a reputation as the most important gay men's magazine in America. Staggs' dream was to make it the gay equivalent of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' or ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

''. Following the death of editor and novelist

Stan Leventhal Stan Leventhal (May 24, 1951 – January 15, 1995) was an American writer and magazine editor. Primarily known as the editor in chief of Heat Publications, a publisher of gay erotic magazines including ''Mandate'', ''Torso'' and ''Inches'', Lawr ...

, the neglected ''Mandate'' was revitalized by Doug McClemont. McClemont was appointed Editor-in-Chief during the crucial period of the mid-1990s when gay sexuality was arguably at its most transitional point. The AIDS crisis had altered the way porn and same-sex relations were perceived by the general public.

References

{{Reflist

External links

ModernHomo: The Origin of Mandate Magazine
Pornographic magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Gay male pornography in the United States Gay male pornographic magazines Magazines established in 1975 Magazines disestablished in 2009

History

See also

References

External links