"Gay or not?!": Gay men, straight masculinities, and the construction of the Details audience

This article examines representations of gayness in Details since the magazine's transformation from a gay-associated style publication to a men's lifestyle magazine targeting straight men. Whereas queer communication scholars have shown gayness is often used to demarcate differences between gay and straight masculinities to make domestic consumption a omasculineo practice for straight men, I argue Details also utilized gayness to construct differences between *straight* masculinities. These differences allowed Details to distinguish itself from competitors, using gayness to construct new male audiences around masculinities previously ignored in the men's magazine market and legitimize them as oauthentico straight identities. This case is significant for the study of consumer masculinities and male-targeted media, asserting the relationship between gay men and straight consumption must be theorized as a dynamic and discursive pattern of gender relations.