photographer JASON HETHERINGTON at Serlin Associates @jasonhetheringtonstudio
photographer’s assistants ALFIE BUNGAY & ADHAM ELNASHAI @alfiie_bungay
digi tech ANDY MAYFIELD @andy__may_
stylist MICHAEL MILLER at Stella Creative Artists @millermode
stylist’s assistants LACIE GITTINS @laciegittins & ALANA NEWTON @alananewton_
matt bomer groomer CIONA JOHNSON-KING using Armani and Kevin Murphy @ciona.johnson.king
jonathan bailey groomer LARA PRENTICE using Emma Hardie & Oribe
jelani alladin & noah ricketts groomer MAARIT NIEMELA using Amika and Augustinus Bader @maaritniemela_hair_
maarit niemala’s assistant LACHLAN WIGNALL @lachlan_hair
videographer OMARI BRYAN
THERE ARE GENERATIONS OF HEROES WHO ARE DOING THE REAL GRASSROOTS BEHIND-THE-SCENES WORK WHO DON’T WANT ACCOLADES, WHO DON’T WANT AWARDS, WHO ARE DOING THE REAL WORK THAT’S CHANGING ALL OF OUR LIVES. AND I THINK I VALUE THAT TODAY MORE THAN I EVER HAVE BEFORE.
— MATT BOMER
Starting in 1950, hundreds to thousands of gay men and lesbians were fired from government jobs for allegations of homosexuality under the intrusive eyes of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his chief counsel, Roy Cohn. They were labeled deviants and morally weak. McCarthy and Cohn said that gay people couldn’t be trusted with your children, let alone to run your country. It’s shockingly similar to what’s happening today.
By 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450, which barred homosexuals from working in the federal government. Five thousand people were not just fired but were outed to their families and communities, effectively and in some cases literally ending their lives. More followed. It wasn’t until the 1970s that this policy barring gay people from federal jobs started to