Neil Patrick Harris (Photo by Angela George; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

Russian Maxim has published a list of gay men that they still “respect” and consider “real men.”

The article begins by saying that their list of gay men are different from other gay men.

“We, men, do not consider men who love men to be men,” the article says. “But there are exceptions. There are gays who have earned our respect and the right to remain real men in our eyes.”

The list of gay men who have Russian Maxim’s seal of approval include Oscar Wilde, Alan Turing, Freddie Mercury, French actor Jean Marais and author Chuck Palahniuk.

Each gay man is given a description as to why Russian Maxim thinks they deserve their respect despite their sexual orientation.

Not everyone was included on the list easily. Russian Maxim writes that Neil Patrick Harris, although listed, was almost not allowed on the list.

“We weren’t sure about including Neil Patrick Harris in the list – after all, he declared himself a ‘happy gay’ in 2006,” the article says. “But his performance as Barney Stinson in the series ‘How I Met Your Mother’ hasn’t left us indifferent.”

The magazine praises Harris’s portrayal of the womanzing Stinson.

“It’s impossible not to respect someone who elevated the hunt for girls into a true art, who systematized all the tricks and techniques and created the ‘Bro Code,'” the article says. “Even if he was just acting the role. But how he acted!”

According to Gay Star News, the U.S. Maxim has denounced the list and said it was “entirely against  [our] views.”