Ten years on from his first look at the LGBTIQ community in his book GAY, journalist Steve Dow has returned to the scene with Gay: The Tenth Anniversary Collection.

A collection of essays, reportage, and Dow’s own story, Gay: The Tenth Anniversary Collection looks back at the original book’s 14 essays, building on them and adding 33 more.

“Ten years later, we’ve got the whole same-sex marriage question, and it’s hard to believe 10 years later we’re still trying to overcome this basic inequality,” Dow said. “So, that was the idea behind it.

“I tell my story with my partner — how we met and how we stand in terms of having our relationship recognised. But there is also the third person reportage of people whose sexuality is a point of difference.”

The collection includes essays on hot topics such as Mardi Gras, same-sex marriage, drug use, body image, and equal rights and looks at celebrities and their impacts on the LGBTIQ community, such as former High Court justice Michael Kirby, singer Rufus Wainwright, and Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham.

Written in 2001, GAY was a response to the John Howard era.

“Because of the time, ‘gay’ was a metaphor for human rights with what was going on,” Dow said. “He was coming down on lesbians accessing IVF at the time.

“I thought the country was becoming progressively meaner so I wanted to put together a book of stories but saw it as a bigger picture issue.”

Dow was particularly interested in the issue of body image.

“We go out there, and we do the gym thing three times a week, and we’re trying to live up to some sort of ideal,” Dow said.

“And this has become more pronounced over the last decade.

“The perfecting of the objectified male body in media must be impacting upon the self-esteem of gay men like never before. It’s a goal made almost unattainable by most guys’ genetics, age and having a balanced life.”

INFO: Gay: The Tenth Anniversary is available as an eBook on Amazon.com or check it out on Facebook