I guess when I see that other grown men with large followings online openly state they basically see the world through the eyes of a horny 13-year- old, I just can’t take it seriously.”ĭouglas, 23, says, “ I think mocking anyone for their body – whether they're ripped or carrying a few extra pounds – is lazy, but mocking anybody who’s arrogant or exhibiting shitty behaviour is totally warranted.
Saafyan, a 24 year old gay Twitter user, takes a similar view: “I guess I’ve always been aware that the image of a ‘perfect man’ that’s been projected across most media today is fiction and that most guys don’t – and shouldn’t – look like that. “Speaking negatively about your fit body can inadvertently harm less muscular people in your community who read what you say, including queer youth.” If they feel so bad about their bodies, how are we supposed to feel about ours? What’s being implied? “While I’m sympathetic to gym gays who suffer from body image issues – as someone who’s dealt with them myself – I think it’s important to be careful about the messaging we put out online,” one 24-year-old gay Twitter user, Kyle, tells me. And if there’s one thing gay men love more than having body image issues, it’s talking about them!įor those of us who don’t look like we spend five days a week in the gym, it can be tempting to wish the six-packed gays would shut up. A 2018 survey by gay magazine Attitude found that 84 per cent of respondents said they felt under intense pressure to have a good body, while only one per cent considered themselves “very happy” with their appearance. It could be a reference to ‘struggles with body image’ accompanied by a topless photo at the beach, with a wide smile and a caption framing this as the culmination of a profound journey. On Twitter, a body image controversy flares up every other week (the latest, now deleted, was an actor hosting a pool party and revealing, disgracefully, that he isn’t friends with any fat people – for which he has now issued a solemn apology.) It could be a slim person declaring themselves ‘thicc’ or a toned influencer captioning a photo ‘body by pizza’. I use Armacost as an example – simply because he’s a public figure – but many six-packed gay men have met with a similar fate. The text of the caption became a meme, copied-and-pasted onto ever more absurd images a toasted marshmallow, Winnie the Pooh, a dog wearing clothes. Some people replied with reaction GIFs of celebrities rolling their eyes, while others described Armacost as “attention-seeking” and “really fucking pathetic”. Don't like it, unfollow #FuckTheHaters #Happy.’ Although the horny reply-guy community was on-hand to offer some positive affirmation, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative. No 6 pack, no bulging biceps, & a little chubby BUT I LOVE my body.
The source of the hilarity was the disconnect between the image (Armacost is muscular and could comfortably be described as “conventionally attractive”) and the caption, in which he declared: “This is my body.
In 2017, American reality TV star Austin Armacost posted a topless picture on Twitter and quickly became a laughing stock.