It all started two years ago in Berlin. Dorien Rozing and her friends were soaking up the summer sun reading L’Homo, a popular Dutch glossy that is purportedly aimed at them – the LGBT community. Yet much to her annoyance, Dorien didn’t recognise herself in any of the magazine’s content, which was filled with ripped male bodies and pricey designer gear.

Instead of simply throwing the magazine away and forgetting about the whole ordeal, she decided to take matters into her own hands and create a new magazine. L’HTBQ – a title crafted with a wink towards L’Homo and one which Dorien admittedly struggles to pronounce herself – aims to show the “real” stories of the LGBT community while in a glossy format that can appeal to the masses.

We spoke to Dorien to find out more about the magazine, its values and why the Netherlands, despite its liberal reputation, still has some way to go in terms of LGBT acceptance.

The magazine is aimed at showing the real side to the LGBT community. How are they currently portrayed in Dutch media?

Dorien Rozing: Admittedly, there are some nice stories currently being told. Transgender seems to be very “hot” right now. At the moment there is a TV programme on Dutch television that explores what it’s like to be transgender. While it aims to be a progressive show, it doesn’t go into much depth and stops at portraying transgender people as a rarity. We, on the other hand, try to ask more meaningful questions and raise awareness in a positive way.



Our head photographer, who is also transgender, made a beautiful photo series about trans men. On television they tend to focus on trans women, but he created a photo series after these men had their operations and focused on their masculinity instead of exploring what it’s like to no longer have breasts. The pictures are close-ups and show their scars, but they’re real trans men. That’s also one of our strengths as a publication – we know the community very well and have direct access to different people and stories.

What are the attitudes towards LGBT people in Holland?



Dorien Rozing: I think it can be better. Of course, Dutch people’s attitudes towards the LGBT community are pretty tolerant when you compare it to the rest of the world. But people say that Amsterdam is the gay capital of the world, which hasn’t been the case for some time now. It has become a bit rougher. While I can’t pinpoint what has caused this to happen, it is clear that this generation no longer has a need for separate gay bars and clubs. While you could argue that this is a positive development, it will also lead to gay culture disappearing. It’s sad that it seems to be dissolving.



