''Original Plumbing'' also known as ''OP'' is a quarterly

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 ...

focused on "the culture and lifestyle of

transgender men A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inclu ...

." The magazine was started in September 2009 in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, by

editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Amos Mac Amos Mac (born 1981) is an American writer, photographer and a publisher from Augusta, Georgia. Mac is based in Los Angeles as a writer for television and film . Early life He grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ''Original Plumbing'' As a ...

and Rocco Kayiatos. The magazine was later published and distributed from both Brooklyn, New York, and later

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Mac and Kayiatos created ''Original Plumbing'' to bring visibility to the trans male community. At the time of the magazine's conception, trans men received little to no representation on TV, in mainstream film, or in other “LGB”-focused magazines. It is the aim of ''Original Plumbing'' to represent "true diversity in the

female-to-male A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that incl ...

(FTM) trans community; in size, age, body, surgery, hormone use and non-use." ''Original Plumbing'' is the first magazine for trans men made by trans men. ''Original Plumbing'''s first issue, with the theme “Bedroom,” sold out before it was even published in 2009 — but Mac and Kayiatos were still unsure how their magazine would fare when they started. According to Kayiatos, "When Amos and I started, we didn’t know how this would go over. In general, ''OP'' was a pretty blessed and magical experience. We set all of our intentions for the first year, things both grandiose and achievable. Everything came to fruition. It felt like we were doing what we were supposed to do." Mac and Kayiatos decided early on the magazine would have a limited run of 20 issues. The final issue of ''Original'' ''Plumbing'' was released in 2019, followed shortly after by the release of an anthologized "best of" book, published by

Feminist Press The Feminist Press (officially The Feminist Press at CUNY) is an American independent nonprofit literary publisher that promotes freedom of expression and social justice. It publishes writing by people who share an activist spirit and a belief in ...

Meaning

The magazine's name refers to the term "original plumbing" as used by transgender people in

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personal ads A personal advertisement, sometimes called a contact ad, is a form of classified advertising in which a person seeks to find another person for friendship, romance, marriage, or sexual activity. In British English, it is commonly known as an adv ...

to indicate they have not had

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

. According to Mac, "It is our belief that surgery and hormones don’t necessarily make the man… It’s more than just that. Maybe it’s an attitude, a swagger, a limp wrist, or just an awareness of ones self. Needless to say, there is not just one way to be a trans man."

Content

''Original Plumbing'' content includes advice, essays, interviews, and erotic/pornographic stories and photographs. ''OP'' was influenced by teen magazine aesthetics, vintage physique pictorials, and magazines like '' BUTT'', '' Straight To Hell,'' and ''Physique'' ''Pictorial''''.'' As founding editor and creative director of this project, Mac has photographed the majority of the content within ''Original Plumbing''. Each issue is theme based and limited edition. The magazine is 8" x 10.5" when opened, with a page count of between 52 and 96 pages.

Issues

* No. 01 ''The Bedroom Issue'' * No. 02 ''The Hair Issue'' * No. 03 ''The Health and Safer Sex Issue'' * No. 04 ''The Workin' Stiff Issue'' * No. 05 ''The Fashion Issue'' * No. 06 ''The Schooled Issure'' * No. 07 ''The Green Issue'' * No. 08 ''The Family Issue'' * No. 09 ''The Entertainment Issue'' * No. 10 ''The Jock Issue'' * No. 11 ''The Hero Issue'' * No. 12 ''The Party Issue'' * No. 13 ''The Atlanta Issue'' * No. 14 ''The Board Stiff Issue'' * No. 15 ''The Selfie Issue'' * No. 16 ''The Lit Issue'' * No. 17 ''The Tattoo Issue'' * No. 18 ''The Bathroom Issue'' * No. 19 ''The Art Issue'' * No. 20 ''The Issues Issue''

Book

The ''Original Plumbing''

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

, featuring the best of all 20 issues, was published in 2019 by

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://originalplumbing.com/ LGBT-related magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 2009 Magazines published in the San Francisco Bay Area Magazines published in Los Angeles Transgender literature Transgender in the United States 2000s LGBT literature Trans men's culture LGBT literature in the United States The Feminist Press Books 2009 establishments in California