How body ials shape the health of gay men

Contents:

• A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
• THE REAL REASON GAY MEN DON'T GET FAT
• PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS
• HOW BODY IALS SHAPE THE HEALTH OF GAY MEN
• STAT, SEXUAL PAL, AND TRAMORY BODY STIGMA A SIZE-DIVERSE SAMPLE OF GAY MEN
• GAY FURRY HACKERS ARE TARGETG US STAT FOR PASSG ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATN
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY
• REPORTED EFFECTS OF MASCULE IALS ON GAY MEN

A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN

The gay media reprents bety and sirabily the form of youth and gym-toned bodi, makg the gay scene a harsh place for people who do not nform to such ials. Some gay men suffer om what we ll "mcle distrs." No matter how much they go to the gym, how much mcle they ga, they have a distorted perceptn that they don’t have enough, so they keep phg themselv to achieve more body perfectn.

THE REAL REASON GAY MEN DON'T GET FAT

Many gay men velop harsh and cril thoughts about how they look, and n seem like an impossible battle to w. I see gay men whose strict liftyle has ma them miserable and they n’t fd a way towards ntentment for themselv.

Whilst the gay media perpetuat body perfectn and helps mata the distrs, the unrlyg disturbance that mak so many gay men predisposed to the stggl is homophobia.

PHYSIL, BEHAVRAL, AND PSYCHOLOGIL TRAS OF GAY MEN INTIFYG AS BEARS

In my practice, I see many gay men whose real stggle is the fear of rejectn, the hypervigilance of threats makg vulnerabily tolerable for them. Gay men may not be able to intify the unrlyg pa by themselv but gay-affirmative therapy, they n have a space to unpack the var layers of their disturbanc.

For example, gay men often have memori of beg bullied at school so beg "big wh mcl" is a way to unter that pa. Here they like the world at large may stereotype gays as mcg wrist flippers wh great taste bent on givg everyone they meet a make over.

That said, when the gays see a fellow homosexual the public sphere, we try to plug them to the nvenient taxonomy the muny has ma for self. They may not be very faiar to the world at large, but they are certaly faiar to the brothers butt say that each gay person belongs to one of the typ is a b ceptive. Dcriptn: This young breed of gays is never over 30 and tends to be on the queeny si and hews closely to the nventnal stereotyp of gay man.

HOW BODY IALS SHAPE THE HEALTH OF GAY MEN

Wild, ornery, and still gettg over their g out issu, the twk is the gay gone wild, and is ba to olr men who are to tryg to suck off their youthful energy. He wears T-shirts and ball ps wh his favore team logo, and lik guys who are "non-scene, " unls the scene is a gay sports team.

STAT, SEXUAL PAL, AND TRAMORY BODY STIGMA A SIZE-DIVERSE SAMPLE OF GAY MEN

Celebry Example: This is such a specific type don't really exists the world at large, but the Platonic ial of a circu boy is DJ Brett HenrichsenGay-Listers.

They ually work advertisg, PR, marketg, or the entertament dtry and make a ton of sh which they e to have perfect apartments, fantastic wardrob, and summer hom near all the other gay-listers. Dcriptn: The are the kids who are so gay they uld never f durg high school and sought refuge the mic partment. He drs eher the most current prissy fashns or like a homo versn of Terry Richardson, big glass, flannels, and jeans that looks so thrown together that took him hours to put together.

You're more likely to fd them at a gallery openg or mol party, but every so often they'll be at a gay bar to b elbows, and other parts, wh the other homos.

GAY FURRY HACKERS ARE TARGETG US STAT FOR PASSG ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATN

The drag queens are not only the urt jters of the gay muny, drsg up like clowns for our entertament, but they are also a bridge to the straight world. As much as gay men appreciate the queens for their looks, w, and sha, straight people love a drag show even more than the queers do. New York gay about town and Barneys creative director Simon Doonan jt sold a mancript for a diet book lled Gay Men Don't Get Fat.

The book is supposedly, "a stylishly slimmg disurse that prov gay men really ARE French women: prone to disda, favorg cheeky unrwear, nvced of their own artistic brilliance, and (of urse) lorie-obssed.

Y, every gay—at least those of the stereotypil abdomal-obssed physique that populat Fire Island and Palm Sprgs—is brought about bee gay men are aaid that they will be alone for the rt of their liv. If a gay man is not "servg body" while petg to fd a trick or boyiend one of the more mcle-bound climat of gay culture, he will be sorely shut out.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

That is why gay men don't get fat, bee if they don't have pecs, guns, and glut, they're gog home men, unlike their straight unterparts, don't have the luxury to stay "fightg shape" jt long enough to fd a partner before lettg their bodi fall to sh afterwords. I'm gog to let you on a ltle secret: There are untls mted gay upl out there who like to eher play on the si or ve gut stars to their beds. Y, gay men go to the gym to stay petive, but sce the man-eatg marathon don't end after marriage, they jt keep on petg and petg until ath do they funny thg about the gay petn is that, bee men (pecially of the gay variety) are so visually stimulated, the only piece on the chs board that matters is havg that tradnal lean body.

A good body is the only currency this also mak this unique for gay men is one of the other strange quirks of homosexualy. No straight man wants to look like a woman (and certaly not the reverse) but gay men fd what they are physilly attracted to and often remake their bodi the image of their ial mate. Sce society tells to want mcle-bound athlet, that's what gays want, and that's what they make themselv look like the pursu of their ial.

WHY BODY IMAGE ISSU PERVA THE GAY COMMUNY

If you want to bed mcl you have to have mcl, if you want to land a twk, you better be a twk (or at least some other type that is easily st any gay porn movie), gay men e all shap and siz (embrace the rabow, people) but still gay culture and inography is largely domated by the same juiced-out body type (and awful tribal tattoos) that you'd fd on Jersey Shore. While there are plenty of average-physiqued homosexuals (who barely mer mentng) there has been a reactn to all this body fascism over the past so many years.

Y, the "bear" movement, spearhead by gay men who are hairier and chubbier than average, is forever gag steam.

While they might be reversg the normal athetic ials of gay culture and Amerin culture at large, they still discrimate jt as much based on physily as their circu party-lovg is tryg to palize on those skny gay men of legend, but what erns them and erns the bear is really the same thg: fear.

REPORTED EFFECTS OF MASCULE IALS ON GAY MEN

Many gay men spend their adolcence as outsts or misfs, and when they fally get to a place where they n jo the gay culture at large, they react to their years of social solu by nformg wh the sort of fervor ually rerved for packs of teenage girls. Most gay men get for ee, and now, wh this book, you too n be a pariah for years, then enter a nformist culture of sual sex and glisteng bodi, followed by a lifetime of hookups wh your signifint other and the waxed dolphs you pick up on Grdr. Published fal eded form as:PMCID: PMC5442596NIHMSID: NIHMS860386AbstractThe Bear muny exists as a subculture reactn to the larger gay muny.