Beginning the Conversation to Bring Change

Daniel Reynolds

In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the LGBTQ media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood. 

Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out Magazine and an award-winning journalist - 2021 GLAAD Media Award, 2020 Planned Parenthood Federation’s Media Excellence Award - who focuses on entertainment, culture, health, and politics. Reynolds joined The Advocate in 2012 and since then rose through the ranks to become the editor-in-chief of its sister magazine in 2021.

What are you best known for? 

From 2012 to 2021, I worked at The Advocate on various rungs of the editorial ladder. During that period, my articles struck the cultural lightning rod several times. First, I was one of the writers in The Advocate’s “t word” article with transgender RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE alumni Carmen Carrera and Monica Beverly-Hillz. The interviews were among the first to cast a light on the show’s transphobia, both implicit and explicit, through terminology and exclusion. It was actually really emotional for me to see the new season of ALL STARS, which features several out transgender and nonbinary contestants. This is a change that we helped make a conversation that we helped begin. Even a small victory, like changing “May the best woman win” to “May the best drag queen win,” for example, makes drag and the greater television landscape a more-inclusive space.

I was also one of the main driving forces behind The Advocate’s GLAAD-winning series, 31 DAYS of PREP. In 2014, we devoted each day of an entire month to debunking myths about pre-exposure prophylaxis, a daily treatment shown to be 99 percent effective in HIV prevention. There was so much stigma and misinformation around this game-changing treatment at the time, and I’m confident that our reporting saved lives and helped normalize conversations around LGBTQ+ sexual health. It also sparked my own interest in health reporting. The following year, I helmed another award-winning series, #6in10Men, which drew attention to the disproportionate impact of HIV among Black gay and bisexual men. In both instances, I’m proud of how queer media led the conversation.

Before I was a reporter, however, I was a student activist as president of Quest, Lafayette College’s LGBTQ+ organization. In 2006, I brought a campaign, Gay? Fine by Me, to the school in order to counter the perceived homophobia on campus. It was the school’s first major LGBTQ+ rally, bringing out hundreds of students and faculty as allies and garnering local media attention. The experience taught me the importance of visibility and pushed me to where I am today.

What is the first thing you ever wrote?

My first-ever paid gig as a writer was at GUEST OF A GUEST, a blog that covers society in New York City, as well as several other major urban areas. I was a graduate student at NYC's Fordham University at the time. For my first piece, I wrote a roundup of the top Spring charity events, and it went semi-viral (for the standards of that community). Its visibility opened a lot of gilded doors; I lived off of champagne and hors d’oeuvres for a few months as a reporter focusing on philanthropy and the arts. It also provided a quick learning curve about publicists, many of whom were upset their event wasn’t included in the list. (Maybe next year, darling!) Fun side note about that job, too: the cofounder was Cameron Winklevoss, and I vividly recall overhearing conversations between him and his twin brother about investing in something called Bitcoin. Did I miss the boat on that one?

What are you working on that no one knows about yet?

My French conversation skills. Since the pandemic put us all in lockdown, I’ve been dreaming a lot about Europe. Can’t wait to see Paris again.

Editorially, I have a finished book of poetry that I would love to publish. And I don’t have a literary agent! So, call me.