Armed with the latest U.S. Census data and other research, as well as fiction and poetry, Secaucus-based Sensations literary magazine delves into the nebulous world of sexual identity in its current issue.
Released last month, the new issue of the quarterly reveals for possibly for the first time in print the statistics on how Americans view their sexual preferences. The issue goes into many other aspects, including rights denied various groups of people.
"We even looked at the rights that straight couples might be denied," said David Messineo, editor and publisher of the magazine. "This sort of turns everything on its head."
But it also deals with the significant denial of rights to gays and other groups not considered part of the mainstream.
The magazine is divided into seven sections that cover a full range of experiences, from the age of discovery, straight to gay life, bisexuality, and transsexual life. Each section is introduced with a famous quote that somehow enhances the section’s theme. Poems and stories help to shape each section’s emotional content, although Messineo was quick to point out that writers in each section may or may not be of the sexual persuasion they are writing about. He pointed Scott Singer’s story "Lasting Impressions," which looks at being gay through the eyes of a straight narrator.
Many of the poets, Messineo said, were new to the magazine with this issue. Each section also has a researched essay, detailing statistics about each group, and issues they face in modern society.
This issue even touches upon the World Trade Center disaster, covering issues such as gays being rejected as potential blood donors, and their status in the military.
"Actually, since this magazine came out, there has been a change of policy," Messineo said. "The military has adopted a stop-loss policy. This allows people who were put out of the military for being gay a chance to return for the duration of the conflict in Afghanistan. But the military reserves the right to throw them out again once the conflict is over."
Messineo said President George Bush – with the current bipartisan support of Congress – could well issue an executive order that would allow gays to participate in the military without fear of expulsion.
Little known in the mainstream press, Messineo said, was the fact that one of the three airline passengers who fought back the terrorists was gay. For this reason, Sensations named Mark Bingham – a member of the gay rugby and basketball league in San Francisco – as one of the magazine’s heroes for the 21st century.
"Our list of 12 heroes focuses on individuals who took positive and concrete action to make America aware that we are all really created equal," Messineo said. "Many of the individuals included in our list have received death threats for their actions, including a 15-year-old boy from California, founder of Scouting for All."
The issue features of cover photo by an international award-winning photographer, Simen Johan, a provocative digital manipulation that both evokes the spirit of summer while at the same time seems to create a disturbing nightmarish effect.
Johan’s work will also be featured in a future issue on science fiction.
Messineo admitted that the issue’s sexual theme can seem provocative, but said it was necessary as part of a series of themes ongoing since the early 1990s.
In 1994, the magazine explored issues of hated and gender bias in its "Hope against hate" issue. In 1998, Sensations explored American witch-hunts that included the persecution of gay men and lesbians in the military and in civilian life.
"This issue continues those themes," he said.
The magazine can explore these issues in depth because it is not funded by any grant, and therefore does not have to comply with rules set up by anyone other than the editorial staff, Messineo said.
The primary focus of the magazine has always been its researched, in-depth articles interspersed with poetry and fiction. But in order to survive it has maintained a policy that for a person to submit material to the magazine, a writer must buy a copy. It’s one of the ways the magazine funds itself. Those requesting a copy are sent writers’ guidelines.
"If we like the work we’ll publish it even if the writer doesn’t buy another copy," Messineo said. "But we don’t send complimentary copies to those we publish. They have to buy it.”
The system, however, allows the magazine to do something that most small literary magazines cannot do: it survives.
The staff has managed to cover the cost of production, postage, research, telephone calls, marketing and planning for events. All the editors volunteer their services. The system also allows the magazine to explore subjects many other literary magazines do not.
The current issue has 100 pages and costs $20. It is available by mail or by visiting the magazine’s website at http://www.sensationsmag.com.
Upcoming issues include a science fiction issue due out in late fall, a mystery issue due out this winter, and a people issue for next spring. Messineo said the magazine is taking submissions for its Fall, 2003 issue. The guidelines can be accessed through the website.