On the surface of a red-figure Attica vase, some thousands years ago, an inscription reading “ο Παῖς Καλός” had been engraved. Translating as The Boy Is Beautiful this intricate detail transforms a common vessel into a declaration of homoerotic affection; echoing the sexual liberation of a bygone era.⁠ ⁠ The Boy Is Beautiful is a biannual magazine but also an invitation to unravel the thread of queer Greek chronicles, from myth and history, to contemporary life. It’s a quest to figure out what happened between the time of Zeus and Ganymede, Apollo and Hyacinth, Achilles and Patroclus, the Band of Thebes and the Lesbian Sappho, Harmodius and Aristogeiton and my fascist, sexist, homophobic school mates, Thursdays’ straightwashed history lessons and Symposium-less Plato.⁠ ⁠ The new issue of The Boy is Beautiful just arrived in our store and online shop - and we couldn't be more excited!⁠ Buy

On the surface of a red-figure Attica vase, some thousands years ago, an inscription reading “ο Παῖς Καλός” had been engraved. Translating as The Boy Is Beautiful this intricate detail transforms a common vessel into a declaration of homoerotic affection; echoing the sexual liberation of a bygone era.⁠ ⁠ The Boy Is Beautiful took this as an inspiration to investigate into queer Greek chronicles, from myth and history, to contemporary life. A quest with the question what happened between the time of Zeus and Ganymede, Apollo and Hyacinth, Achilles and Patroclus, the Band of Thebes and the Lesbian Sappho, Harmodius and Aristogeiton and the contemporary society full of sexism, homophobie and straightwashed history.⁠ Buy

The idea for Paradise Camp came to Yuki Kihara, an interdisciplinary artist of Japanese and Samoan descent, as she sat in front of three Gauguin paintings at the Met in New York. With a bit of luck, she was let into the museum before the official opening time, along with the security guards and cleaners. As she sat almost alone on an ottoman in front of these paintings in the museum, Kihara thought of Ngahuia Te Awekotuku's 1992 essay on Gauguin, in which Te Awekotuku asks whether Gauguin's famous paintings are "stories of mahu trickery" - mahu being the third gender in Tahiti.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Paul Gauguin's paintings of Tahitian women have often been criticised for their over-sexualised depictions. But Yuki Kihara, a fa'afafine - the third gender of Samoa - also saw a Western vision of exoticism and gender norms imposed on Pacific Islanders that was never her own. And so she decided to reclaim paradise.⁠⁠ Yuki Kihara is known for exploring the complexities of postcolonial history in the Pacific and challenging Western misinterpretations from the Fa'afafine perspective. Paradise Camp uses striking visual language to explore small island ecologies, queer rights, intersectionality and decolonisation, drawing attention to often untold, marginalised histories and issues facing Kihara's community.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Paradise Camp is on show in the New Zealand Pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale.⁠⁠ Buy

In recent years, a young and dynamic scene has emerged dedicated to so-called queer tattooing. This particular community has emerged out of a desire to break with hierarchies and patriarchal structures. In their work, many tattoo artists liberate themselves from heteronormative and capitalist ideals of beauty to experiment outside the mainstream and develop their own individual styles and techniques. Their designs are a testament to a uniquely creative sense of queer iconography. ⁠ ⁠ This book is the first comprehensive introduction to this vibrant and diverse queer tattoo community. It introduces 50 international tattoo artists through in-depth portraits, texts and photo spreads.⁠ Buy

Founded in 2001, BUTT was as sassy as its name suggests. The quarterly magazine informed gay lifestyle trends, interviewed dozens of queer artists and published editorials that were both non-sexual and deliriously horny. BUTT’s aesthetic was hairy, authentic, intimate and shameless. Through fan-submitted photos, stories and articles, BUTT offered real insights into the contemporary gay lifestyle and built a strong community. Until it was discontinued in 2011.⁠ ⁠ And now it’s back after more than ten years!⁠ ⁠ The reborn BUTT picks up where it left off with issue 30, which features conversations with AA Bronson and male trans porn star Billy Vega, DJ Babynymph, art by Ajamu X and Sunil Gupta, poetry, diaries and a cover story by Clifford Prince King. Buy

AIKO is a visual and very personal diary by Berlin based photographer Florian Hetz. He turns his very own, unique gaze on the male body - its fears and obsessions, its shame and its lust. He successfully captures the breathing-sculpture quality of the portrayed men without turning them into objects of voyeuristic or even pornographic desire. The touching, intimate photographs tell a story about togetherness and loneliness.⁠⁠ Buy

Until mid January the exhibition Masculinities - Liberation through Photography is shown at the Gropius Bau in Berlin. Having previously been presented at the Barbican in London, Berlin is the second city to have the pleasure of this celebrated exhibition, that explores how masculinity is experienced, performed, and codified in photography and film from the 1960s to the present. Given the plurality of subversive masculinities that have emerged since the 1960s and the resilience of certain forms of traditional ultra-male power this is an ambitious undertaking. The accompanying comprehensive publication is no less committed. From disrupting the archetype with found photographs of Taliban fighters holding softly hands surrounded by arrangements of flowers; to fatherhood with an incredible, unsettling piece by Anna Fox. Photographs of her mothers tidy cupboards filled with pink china and rose tinted glasses are juxtaposed with violent quotes from her father like “I’m going to tear your mother to shreds with an oyster knife”, Masculinities draws wide circles to prove its point, that what makes a man a man is more complex than even Aznavour could imagine in his groundbreaking song from 1972. This exhibition and book will make you think again about the meanings of maleness in a increasingly unsettling world where we experiencing the rise of more and more alt-right groups looking for a so called "strong man" as a leader. So let us take the word "liberation" in the title literally and free ourselves from the clichés and always the same images and realise that masculinity is a social construct!⁠ Buy

It's big, it's beautiful - it can only be Carcy. As always, the new issue is filled cover to cover with stunning photographs that ask us to reconsider our received ideas of beauty, intimacy and eroticism. Not only that. Carcy makes room for up-and-coming artists and designers: those people who will be in charge of tomorrow, and all the new iterations of what is beautiful. We're looking forward to experiencing them.⁠ Buy

...as we all know this year's International Women Day is on its way. So we thought why not talk about sex, gender, and equality for a start. Luckily, the times feminism is associated with edgy, cold-blooded, joyless women who wear their hair on their teeth, as we say in German, are definitely over. On the contrary the F* word seems to be the hottest shit these days. Many are inspired and encouraged by brave folks who lead the way, telling how they experience equality (or not) at work, out on the streets, and at home. Coming along Joan Didion’s line “We tell our stories in order to life”, we take the American essayist by her word and give space to the manifold voices and their individual stories, compiling all our inspiring titles on feminism, gender, and equality. As feminism is as diverse, complicated, beautiful as women and girls are, it would be wrong to not talk about masculinity, lgbtq and gender at the same time as this cultural paradigm shift happening right now affects us all. So we are delighted that founder and creative director of Anxy Magazine, Indhira Rojas, found some time to talk with us about Anxy’s latest issue Masculinity for our second Q&A coming this week! For everybody who can’t decide what to do on this year's International Women Day why not join Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon? Together with Swathi Sriram and Kirsten Palz you will create Wikipedia entries on cis and transgender woman, non-binary individuals, feminism, and arts. Since seats are limited don’t hesitate and save your place right now. And don't forget your laptop and power cord and feel free to bring some snacks, cake or fruit for you and your fellow editors. Drinks will be served at the location. And now you go and celebrate the beauty and diversity of (wo)mankind! or, browse our collection

This is C_NDY, the world’s first cross-dressing style magazine. Playful, inspiring, and available in a very limited edition, this Spring Summer 2018 release also passes a thoughtful note on the importance of positivity to one’s own wellbeing and that of his or her entourage. Featuring stunning images of bodies and garments, the big flashy pages of C_NDY depart from the glossy standard books of fashion and style and swoop into the bosoms of the truly avid fashion-maniakos. With every other page, begins a little story of cloth, body and identity, and lightsome words on love, friendship, community, beauty, pleasure and more. Buy