(From left to right) Gay MPs Alan Duncan (Con), David Borrow (Lab), Chris Bryant (Lab) and Stephen Williams (Lib Dem). Photograph: Gay Times
Goodness knows how they resisted the temptation to strike a Saturday Night Fever pose.
The disco dancers in the photograph are four of our openly gay MPs posing for one of the 76 portraits in a Gay Times special edition out next week on the "movers and shakers in the gay world".
The MPs are Alan Duncan (Con), David Borrow (Lab), Chris Bryant (Lab) and Stephen Williams (Lib Dem), and they were photographed on the 70s dance floor at London's Eve Club.
In a way, it is a remarkable photograph when you think that it's only in relatively recent years that gay politicians have felt confident enough to be more open about their sexuality.
It is, after all, just over 20 years since Chris Smith (now Lord Smith, who is also featured elsewhere in the magazine) came out as the first openly gay MP, and only just over three years since Mr Duncan came out as the first openly gay sitting Tory MP.
Gay Times editor Vicky Powell said: "We were very grateful that the MPs agreed to do something so high profile. They were very trusting with us and turned up at the club without really knowing what we wanted to do. It's one of my favourites of all our portraits - they look dignified but it's still fun. Apparently Alan Duncan was really loving it.
"Things have changed with politicians and it is more relaxed. I don't think we would have been able to do a photograph like this five or six years ago."
She said that there were at least another five or six gay MPs who they could have asked to take part.
It's not all about politicians. Others featured in the series of photographs, which Gay Times says is the most ambitious of its kind carried out by any gay magazine in the world, include Brian Paddick, Britain's highest ranking openly gay police officer. The deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan police is pictured wreathed in swirling blue mist in a London street scene.
Also featured are political columnist Matthew Parrisswinging in a hammock, writer Jake Arnott, the League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, shoe designer Patrick Cox and television presenters Paul O'Grady and Graham Norton. Activist Peter Tatchell is photographed in a mocked-up repeat of his infamous attempt to arrest Robert Mugabe. Actor Anthony Sher and Lord Alli are also there.
There appear to be less gay women in the feature (the magazine's core readership is gay men) but Fingersmith author Sarah Waters, author Jackie Kay and artist Maggi Hambling are included. Powell said there had been "heated debate" at the magazine about including more women and more people from ethnic minorities but they had to cope with the fact that there were more prominent white gay men. "Hopefully this will change," she said.
The magazine said it wanted the portraits, which were shot over seven weeks in November and December, to be warm tributes to "influential and inspirational" people.
"Some have changed laws, but others might host your favourite TV show or run your favourite club.In some ways everyone of them has played a part in shaping the community we are today either by changing laws, or increasing our visibility, or influencing us in lots of different ways," she said.
