A Closer Look At New Queer Digital Platform 'them.'

them., the recently-hailed story-telling platform for queer culture and expression backed by Condé Nast is here. At its helm sits indefatigable Chief Content Officer Phillip Picardi, who somehow simultaneously manages to run Teen Vogue and Allure’s acclaimed digital presences. It caused a happy buzz when it was first announced but now the veil has been lifted, let’s see what we’ve got.

Newsletter

Like successful kin concepts such as Rookie Magazine and Lenny Letter before it, them. has an e-mail newsletter at its core. With topics such as “Queer Agenda” and “Queer Eye” and editorial highlights, this is the best way to find out “what we owe Kevin Spacey” or to get the latest online self-care tips.

Articles and columns

Pieces such as “White Gay Men Are Hindering Our Progress as a Queer Community”, “How Trump Will Threaten LGBTQ+ Rights for Decades to Come”, “Yes, Gun Control Is an LGBTQ+ Issue” and “Welcome to the Age of Trans Political Power” (the website's current focus being Transgender Awareness Week) promise a staunch and decidedly real approach to the vast range of topics that move the incredibly multiform LGBTQIA+ community. Whereas big queer publications have often been accused of not being intersectional, being blindly apolitical or just catering to one subset of queer folk (a.k.a. white, able-bodied, gay cisgender men), ‘them.’ is shaping up to wisely steer clear from that path. This can only be lauded. As a QPOC (you know we love an acronym) myself, I’m always here for the amplification of our many different voices and it makes me happy to know that young queer kids get to grow up with even more of this kind of messaging at their disposal.

Fashion editorials

A first fashion editorial explores the fact that earrings know no gender, with words by Tyler Ford and photography by Mayan Toledano. The colourful joy of it all harks back strongly to the Teen Vogue aesthetic, which after the news of its print version shuttering feels even more poignant. It would be too easy to dub this the ‘Gay Teen Vogue’, but there are obvious parallels since Picardi together with the editorial force known as Elaine Welteroth virtually single-handedly made Teen Vogue into the beacon of free, young American thought it is today. The site deals with serious topics, but its rainbow-bright design reveals a conscious slant towards the positive. This is also affirmed in the official manifesto: “We are celebration. We strive for happiness in our work and in our lives. We celebrate our community by uplifting our stories, honoring our brilliance, loving each other, and coming together to create the future we deserve.”

Submission Form

If you’ve got an essay, artwork, photography, video that you think would fit right into the them. multiverse, you can send in your work through a submission form. You’ll always get a reply, even if your entry does not get published, so that’s neat. At the moment, them. is logically very U.S.-focused, but I look forward to seeing how and where it grows.