Playguy (February 1991), Part Two

As Brent Hartinger explains in “The Gay Youth Movement,” the lives of gay teenagers are exceedingly difficult, with limited role models, lack of support from family and friends, perpetual bullying, and minimal dating prospects. As the writer states, depression and suicide are major factors with these struggling young adults and, despite efforts by gay youth organizations like San Francisco’s Project Ten, many fail to receive the acceptance they deserve. Published in the February 1991 issue of Playguy (which has been broken into two parts), Hartinger’s message still resonates over thirty years later, as a 2020 survey for the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found gay teens are four times more likely to commit suicide than their straight peers. The article, in turn, stands in stark contrast to the remainder of the issue, which showcases spreads titled “A Day in the Life,” “Up on the Roof,” and “The Student Body” and the short story “N.A.T.O. Nights” (about a navy solider whose desires for the Italian men at his station in Naples leads to an encounter with a young football player) in the second half (see the first half here).