12 sunny, inspiring pics of queer guys and allies living their best lives in San Francisco
"We’ve not conquered all the barriers put before us - but we can witness, especially in San Francisco, how strong and unerasable our community is," says Elska editor Liam Campbell. (Pictures are mostly SFW.)
Elska Magazine, a publication dedicated to sharing the bodies and voices of LGBTQ communities around the world, has put the spotlight on San Francisco for its latest issue.
And it’s been a long time coming!
The issue focused on the gay capital of America follows issues dedicated to unexpected, far-flung locations, including countries with unfavourable LGBTQ laws.
“Strong and erasable” – Elska editor Liam Campbell on San Francisco’s LGBTQ community
“Early on Elska had become known for featuring less ‘obvious’ cities,” explains Elska editor and chief photographer Liam Campbell. “For example, we chose to spotlight places like Yokohama, Japan, and not Tokyo. Or Haifa, Israel instead of Tel Aviv. And our first US city was actually Providence, Rhode Island.
“San Francisco is a much more obvious choice, but to me the point of Elska’s choice of locations is to show that LGBTQ life is everywhere — in the less known cities Elska reveals that we exist there as well and find ways to thrive. In the more known cities Elska shows that we all have the same wants, hopes, and needs.
“In a sense we can prove with this edition how ‘normal’ or ‘normalised’ we can be,” continued Liam. “For a place with such a huge gay history like San Francisco I find it especially empowering to see just how free we are able to be. Of course, we’ve not conquered all the barriers put before us. But we can witness especially in San Francisco how strong and unerasable our community is.”
Inside ‘Elska San Francisco’ 11 local guys who are part of the city’s LGBTQ community today are introduced, allowing readers to get to know some of the people who live in this renowned beacon of gay life.
Each was photographed in their own neighbourhoods and in their own homes, revealing some of their city and their intimate environment. They’re also wearing their own clothes, revealing their style, or sometimes not dressed at all, revealing their bodies, and facing all vulnerabilities.
The photography provides an honest way to get to know a slice of real SF queer life, which is then taken further by the inclusion of personal stories penned by each of the participants.
For more information, visit elskamagazine.com.
