She describes how the women she interviewed are labeled as “bad women and bad mothers” and how they struggle to redefine themselves, despite the many barriers to employment and stable housing. In her book, She describes what she learned through her interviews with women who had recently been released from prison. If we keep letting Soria and his army of sculpted gods take all the attention, it only further skews the notion of what it means to be a happy, healthy gay man.On the other hand, Leverentz, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Criminal Justice Program at University of Massachusetts: Boston, studied a vastly different population in her book, The Ex-Prisoner's Dilemma. But there are limited gay voices out there, and gay body image in particular is something we still don't talk about enough. It's totally your call, and Soria's perspective is his own. All I'm saying is, he's one of them.Īnd whatever, like what you like, date whom you want, work out for hours a day or sit on your ass and eat Bugles. There are lots of reasons why gay men hate their bodies. I can't blame Soria exclusively, as that would be absurd. Why do gay men hate their bodies? Because they should, Soria argues. But my own body image issues aside, articles like Soria's piss me off - they contribute to a culture where you can never be thin enough or tall enough or hot enough to be happy.
Fat gay men free#
I don't give a shit: feel free to call me both of those things. Soria writes that he hopes his bitter and insecure tone doesn't make people think he's really that bitter and insecure. Also, anorexia is positive because the end result is you getting super skinny. Yes, body dysmorphia is truly a force for good. His last line, however cheeky, betrays that motive: "Ultimately our body dysmorphia is a good thing which will force our community and outlive our straight peers and take over the world." If he is consciously reinforcing the myth of the perfect gay male physique, maybe it's because he truly believes fat people are better off being unhappy. All of this will lead to me living a longer, healthier life, aside from the mental anguish that comes with not having perfect abs. Sometimes I appreciate it because it inspires me to keep in shape and think of kale as an acceptable meal replacement. Sometimes I resent it because I tend to be the chunkiest person around and I'm not even fat.
![fat gay men fat gay men](https://media.them.us/photos/5b69b87b36850000117843dd/4:3/w_960,h_720,c_limit/guy-branum.jpg)
I have no idea why everyone around me is so skinny. On the other hand, Soria does wear his suffering as a badge of honor. Instead, he pretends to be just another gay man, suffering through life being less than perfect. If he were writing a "death to all fatties" screed - reprehensible as that would be - it would at least be consistent. But there has to be some sincerity to the piece, or Soria would not cop to his own insecurities. I'm not an idiot: I get the tongue-in-cheek tone.
![fat gay men fat gay men](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1094732327316377601/fz0s5J4f_400x400.jpg)
This teaches us that we are only having fun if we look like models. Like go to clubs, buy underwear, and drink more alcohol. Marketers know this and they use hunky pictures of gay men to get us to do stuff. Every bullet point on his list perpetuates the bullshit he attempts to underline.īecause men are inherently superficial and inferior to women, we rely on visual cues for arousal. But I don't think Soria holds himself accountable for the role he plays in that.
![fat gay men fat gay men](https://cfs.osu.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_and_events_image/public/news-fat-gay-men.png)
I think a lot of what Soria writes is accurate: men are, for the most part, shallower than women gay men compare themselves to their partners media representations of gay men, which are limited, mostly focus on unequivocal hotties. To any genuinely insecure person reading Soria's piece, good luck trying to feel any less shitty after finishing it. The end result is an article about impossible standards of beauty illustrated solely by the physical embodiments of impossible standards of beauty. Or maybe because he likes looking at perfect abs: I'm not a mindreader. Soria also includes photo after photo of fit, conventionally attractive men, I guess as meta-commentary on the images we're faced with every day.
Fat gay men skin#
I would prove my point with a shirtless photo like Soria does, but as an actual insecure gay man, I'm not comfortable baring that much skin on the internet. I'm also a current fat person: I am significantly overweight by medical standards, so please, let's not argue about this one way or the other. He's not fat - not even by the broadest definition of the word - but he was fat once, so he gets it, OK? Over at Hommemaker, he writes about why gay men hate their bodies from the privileged perspective of a former fat person.
![fat gay men fat gay men](https://s18670.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/Putting-Makeup-on-a-Fat-Boy.jpg)
Orlando Soria knows how hard it is to be a fat gay man.