Why I’m not a model

Posted on September 30, 2005 by Gene

You know how women generally are pissed off that the media — magazines, television, movies, and advertisers — promote an unhealthy, unrealistic standard of beauty? Well, just try being gay some time.
In the gay world, if you don’t have washboard, 6-pack (or preferably 8-pack) abs, a smooth body, and in general look like an Abercrombie and Fitch model, you might as well be dead. It’s really incredibly annoying given that you’d expect us to be one group that embraces diversity.
I’ve even found myself guilty of this expectation as well, although it mostly asserts itself when I’m hit on by a guy who’s 20 years older than me.
As an experiment this evening, I thumbed through the October issue of Out magazine, taking note of the images within. I ignored images of people too small to be really seen, like the covers of books in a book club ad. All in all, there were 202 images of slim, classically good looking, tanned, muscular or gym-fit people.
There were 37 images of average, overweight, or people over 45 (or so). And these images included:

  • Liza Minnelli and David Gest
  • President Ford
  • Sarah Jane Moore and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme
  • Kathy Kinney
  • Elton John
  • an ad portraying straight real estate “experts” as unattractive
  • an ad featuring a portly Provincetown policeman expressing his unappreciation of public nudity to a slim and gym-fit nude man

Is it any wonder that even trim, fit, hot guys are afflicted with body dymorphic disorder in the gay community?

Category: General Annoyances