| Editor | Karl Andersson |
|---|---|
| Categories | Gay |
| Frequency | Twice a year |
| First issue | 2006 |
| Final issue | 2010 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | English |
| Website | destroyerjournal.com |
| ISSN | 1801-8203 |
Destroyer – Journal of Apollonian Beauty and Dionysian Sexuality was a Swedish-based pederastic magazine published by Karl Andersson, with the objective "to bring back the adolescent boy as one of the ideals of gay culture".[1] The magazine contained features, essays, interviews, reviews, columns, culture articles, fiction and sexually suggestive shots of boys as young as 13.[2] The publication received intense criticism from the LGBT community.
Destroyer was subjected to massive criticism by the gay establishment in Sweden, because of its young male models. In a live radio debate, the chairman of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights accused Destroyer editor Karl Andersson of "giving gay people a bad name",[3] an accusation they stood by when questioned by international LGBT media.[4] The magazine also received criticism from child-protection activists for sexualising children.[5] Many of the images were taken in developing countries, and it was unclear in some cases whether the depicted boys were aware that they were being photographed.[2]
Destroyer's final issue (#10), published in January 2010, was limited to 1,000 copies.
Karl Andersson's Swedish book Bögarnas värsta vän - historien om tidningen Destroyer was published in October 2010 and covers the reactions to the magazine.
The book made headline in several national newspapers. Aftonbladet published a favorable review,[6] which was criticized by the culture editor of Expressen.[7] Key players in the initial scandals were interviewed[8] by Svenska Dagbladet, including Andersson himself and the former chairman of the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights.
The English translation Gay Man's Worst Friend - the Story of Destroyer Magazine[9] was published in March 2011.
The reactions to Destroyer have repeatedly been used in academic discourse as an example of what kind of expressions gay culture or sex radicalism[10] may or may not include, and how that can change over time.
One doctoral dissertation describes Destroyer's relevance thus:
"The tension along the culturally determined barrier between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sexual expressions is demonstrated in the scandal of Destroyer magazine and the outrage it sparked within gay rights debates."[11]