45 Years of Stirring the Pot

Ever since the first issue of The Advocate clandestinely rolled off the presses in 1967, the content of the magazine has engendered debate, adulation, and occasionally venom.

BY Neal Broverman and Michelle Garcia

August 21 2012 4:00 AM ET

August 2011: In “Monogamish,” contributing editor Ari Karpel wrote of the (mostly) gay male couples making their own rules of commitment and fidelity in the 2010s. Many subjects admitted they opened up their relationships to other sex partners, which sparked some heated responses. “I am not a big fan of the new ‘men cannot be monogamous’ thing going on in the gay community,” one reader wrote on Facebook. “I do not buy it.”

August 2012: For the first time in decades The Advocate’s editors made an official political endorsement, backing the reelection of President Barack Obama. Many readers were on board with the endorsement, but it was the cover image of Obama’s head superimposed on the famous statue of Honest Abe at the Lincoln Memorial that ruffled feathers — or so it appeared from online comments. Some said the comparison between Lincoln and Obama gave #44 too much credit, and more than one reader wrote, “I truly hope this cover gets pulled.”