Impact
Despite its brief existence, OutWeek left a significant legacy in many areas.
The magazine's constant presence in the general media, and its sparking of repeated controversies, helped bring gay and AIDS issues into the mainstream.
Within the gay press, OutWeek caused a major shakeup. The Advocate, the nation's oldest gay publication, saw its circulation decline relative to OutWeek. The result was a major revamp of the magazine. In 1990, The Advocate became a "gay and lesbian" publication for the first time, instead of just a magazine for gay men, and began to focus far more on politics and AIDS activism. Many other gay and lesbian publications became far feistier, and it is sometimes said that OutWeek pioneered a "new gay journalism."
Outing has become relatively mainstream, and the journalistic rules regarding the disclosure of the sexual orientation of public figures is now largely in keeping with OutWeek’s original goals. For example, when publishing mogul Jann Wenner left his wife in the late 1990s, the Wall Street Journal reported on its front page - and without Wenner's permission - that he had moved in with his male lover. Many observers commented that such reporting would have been unthinkable before the outing controversy.
OutWeek also stirred significant controversy by its use of the term "queer" as an inclusive way to describe gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. Queer is now extremely common, even appearing in the titles of TV shows like Queer as Folk and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Remarkably for a magazine that lasted only two years, OutWeek was named one of the "ten most influential 20th century gay publications" by the popular website Gay Today in 2001.
Read more about this topic: Out Week
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