In the 2010s, some large media companies like HuffPost, BuzzFeed News, and NBC News had created media verticals targeted at LGBTQ audiences.Grindr launchedInto in 2017, andThem was announced soon after.[6]Them began whenPhillip Picardi, then the director ofTeen Vogue, proposed toAnna Wintour, Condé Nast's artistic director, that the company create an online, LGBTQ-focused media platform.[7] It was Condé Nast's first new platform since 2007, and came at a time that the company was revamping many of its digital media offerings.[8]
Upon the website's launch, there was some controversy over its naming, which some considered to be "othering".[12] The name is derived from thesingularthem pronoun,[13] emphasizing agender neutral approach including in its fashion coverage.[14][15] On the day ofThem's launch,Seventeen announced their own LGBTQ-focused programming under theHere brand, hoping to create a similar media brand targeted at a teenage audience.[16] Gender-neutral magazines likeThem were cited in 2019 as challengers to the traditional media's model of gendered magazines, which had become less successful over time.[17]
Them andInto signaled themselves as younger, more diverse, and cooler than legacy gay media outlets likeThe Advocate andOut.[6] Talusan shared that they joined the team because it was "truly intersectional" and this would help them feel supported at work, but also allow the magazine to cover issues that mattered to more queer readers.[18] Another queer magazine editor later criticizedThem's lack of other forms of diversity, saying its staff were "all gorgeous and 20" and it predominantly featured conventionally attractive people.[19]
Picardi leftThem andCondé Nast in the fall of 2018 to begin working as editor-in-chief ofOut magazine.[20][21] By 2019, all of the founding editors had left as well.[6] Whembley Sewell was named the new executive editor in 2019.[21][22] That year, Condé Nast shared that "from both an audience and a business standpoint, we've seen consistent growth since launch" inThem.[6] In October 2021, Sarah Burke became the new editor-in-chief ofThem.[22][23] In 2022,Them updated their logo and website, adding new portals for LGBTQ+ guides and queer thought leaders.[24]
Them helped release the 2018 documentary seriesTrans in America, produced by theACLU and Little By Little Films.[25]Trans in America: Texas Strong won an Emmy for Outstanding Short Documentary in 2019. It centers on the story of a transgender girl and her conservative Christian mother who have to navigate their Houston community after the daughter comes out.[26]
In 2020,Them hosted two virtualPride Month events, Themfest and Out Now Live.[27][28] Themfest streamed daily events like cooking shows, live comedy, drag performances, and musical shows.[29] Out Now Live, its June 2020 virtual gay pride event, included speeches,LGBTQ history and musical performances.[4][30] It was produced in collaboration withPitchfork.[28][30]
