PROFILE: Media Watch - Camping it up quietly with Singapore's discreet Manazine

One publisher in the city has finally come out of the closet to publish Manazine, Singapore's most openly gay print magazine.

Manazine, published by ad agency Xung Asia, is a 100-page bimonthly that is given out free at selected art galleries, cafes, clubs and hair salons.

It claims a circulation of 10,000.

Said editor and publisher Arjan Nijen Twilhaar: "Eighty per cent of readers of men's magazines are gay and we do not hide that fact. Our writers are openly gay and we are targeting metrosexual and gay readers."

That said, the magazine is careful not to push the boundaries too much in conservative Singapore. There are no obvious clues, at least to the straight eye that this magazine is aimed at the gay community.

Said Twilhaar: "If you look at it with a gay eye, you'll see who our audience is. We keep it neutral when we talk about sex, we don't mention gender and we will not feature any female models."

Topics explored in the first issue include stories on tattooing, cross-cultural dating and sexual racism.

Twilhaar rejects the label of 'gay magazine' however.

"Although we have a gay readership, I don't believe we are a 'gay magazine', because gay people are no different from anybody else."

Advertisers in the magazine range from well-known brands such as Versace, Levi's, Rayban, Biotherm and Armani to small local companies that sell clothing, cosmetics and accessories to the target market.

According to Twilhaar, "There is no more loyal buyer than a gay buyer. And they have a lot of disposable income and tend to be better educated."

While there are other magazines in the city which cater to gay readers, these have so far tended to focus on fashion, lifestyle and fitness, while steering clear of gay issues.

Manazine, however, is unique in that it is tentatively starting to explore these issues.

Starcom media planner Stella Antakusuma described the content of Manazine as "interesting and accessible, enough even to those who are not gay.

I think this is great, because it brings forward the fact that gays are not people from a different planet; they like tattoos, travelling and so on, like any heterosexuals.

"The biggest challenge for the editorial team is to be consistently at the forefront of fashion and trends. (Their target readers) can easily get their news from foreign publications or the internet if Manazine fails in this aspect."