Charlie Preston's hot Tetu shoot: Throwback Thursday: The hint of pubes is so hot! I used to run to the French bookstore to try and grab copies of this gorgeous magazine... so here's a breakdown;
Têtu: The Stubborn Survival of France’s Landmark Magazine
Têtu, whose name means “stubborn” in French, has lived up to its title. Founded in 1995 by Didier Lestrade and Pascal Loubet with financial backing from Pierre Bergé, the magazine emerged at the height of the AIDS crisis as a bold, stylish voice for France’s gay and lesbian communities. For two decades it mixed activism, culture, fashion and politics, becoming an essential reference point.
Têtu, whose name means “stubborn” in French, has lived up to its title. Founded in 1995 by Didier Lestrade and Pascal Loubet with financial backing from Pierre Bergé, the magazine emerged at the height of the AIDS crisis as a bold, stylish voice for France’s gay and lesbian communities. For two decades it mixed activism, culture, fashion and politics, becoming an essential reference point.
By 2015 the title was in deep financial trouble. Mounting losses, falling circulation and a difficult advertising market led to judicial liquidation that July.
A brief online revival followed, then a short-lived return to print in 2017, only for the project to collapse again into liquidation in early 2018. Later that year entrepreneur Albin Serviant led a fresh relaunch. Têtu reappeared as a high-end quarterly magazine backed by a strengthened digital presence. The new incarnation broadened its scope beyond a purely gay male gaze toward a wider queer and inclusive perspective while retaining its activist edge.
Financial pressures returned.
In 2023 the parent group I/O Media entered receivership. In April 2024 the commercial court approved the sale of Têtu to a partnership of Groupe SOS (51 per cent) and the Fondation Le Refuge (49 per cent), two organisations rooted in social solidarity and the fight against LGBTphobia. The new owners pledged to protect the magazine’s editorial independence. The arrangement appears to have stabilised the title.
In 2025 Têtu marked its 30th anniversary with special issues, online archives of every edition since 1995, and continued quarterly publication. Issues remain available in newsstands and by subscription into 2026, covering politics, culture, identity and international LGBTQ+ struggles.
Through repeated near-deaths, Têtu has refused to disappear. Once a glossy monthly, now a resilient quarterly and digital platform, it still insists on visibility, debate and pride. Magazines come and go - that's the nature of the business, facing constant commercial headwinds, its survival remains a quiet act of defiance. Vive la France. Vive Têtu!
