Elska the gay photographic bookzine took off to the Philippines for their 25th Edition to check out the men of Manila. Despite the fact that this is a very traditional Catholic country, Elska discovered the local gay men that they encountered and who wanted to volunteer to be included in this issue were particularly open and unabashed by sex or sexuality, and were being uninhibited in their pictorials and explicit in their tales.
Elska shoots all the men in their natural habitat and allows them to choose to be photographed either clothed or not. It is however their accompanying stories (you’ll need to buy the magazine for them) that are most revealing
There is Paolo D’s piece about his struggle to find his own light in spite of the demons of mental illness; Bryill B’s tale of a mutual encounter on a very crowded rush-hour commuter train; Rej T’s story of going to a provincial family wedding and trying to escape the gaggle of bridesmaids hunting for a single man; Anton L’s text that admits how he is annoyed about hookup apps yet how he keeps using them anyway; and Jeff M’s story about trying unsuccessfully to stop loving a man who clearly doesn’t return his love.‘
Elska Manila’ is 192 pages. It is available in a collectable print ‘bookazine’ or in a downloadable e-version. A companion zine called ‘Elska Ekstra Manila’ containing ougakes, behind the scenes tales,and other bonus content is also available. A list of stockists and details of how to order online can be found on the Elska website: https://www.elskamagazine.com/
Elska the gay photographic bookzine took off to the Philippines for their 25th Edition to check out the men of Manila. Despite the fact that this is a very traditional Catholic country, Elska discovered the local gay men that they encountered and who wanted to volunteer to be included in this issue were particularly open and unabashed by sex or sexuality, and were being uninhibited in their pictorials and explicit in their tales.
There is Paolo D’s piece about his struggle to find his own light in spite of the demons of mental illness; Bryill B’s tale of a mutual encounter on a very crowded rush-hour commuter train; Rej T’s story of going to a provincial family wedding and trying to escape the gaggle of bridesmaids hunting for a single man; Anton L’s text that admits how he is annoyed about hookup apps yet how he keeps using them anyway; and Jeff M’s story about trying unsuccessfully to stop loving a man who clearly doesn’t return his love.‘