Magazines for gay—and to a lesser degree LGBTQ—people have been successfully reaching their audiences since the 1960s. Several of these magazines were accessible prior to the development of regional LGBTQ newspapers, a medium that boomed after the 1969 Stonewall Riots and in the wake of the civil rights movement. Because magazines are able to serve niche audiences and rely on mail distribution, financially, community-driven magazines performed better than newspapers in several cases.

This entry provides a brief history of LGBTQ magazines in the United States, from the earliest efforts to the landmark 1958 One, Inc. v. Olesen decision, and the period of growth and increasing diversity that has followed up to the present day. Beginning in the 1920s, LGBTQ magazines were sponsored by civic organizations. A ...