When I asked if any of my gay male followers had battled body image issues, someone responded: “That’s literally all of us, surely.” A zinger, sure, but at the same time, he probably wasn’t indulging in what Natasha Bedingfield famously mispronounced as “hyper-bowl.” When agenda-setting gay men’s magazine Attitude conducted a body survey in 2017, 84% of people said they felt under “intense pressure” to have a so-called “good body.” “No fats, no femmes.” “Gym-fit only.” “I work out and you should too.” Over the years, we’ve all heard that trite line: “You can be straight thin, but gay fat.”
Open an app like Grindr and you’ll be greeted with body-shaming phrases so familiar and cliched that straight people know about them, too. Body image issues aren’t unique to bi or gay men, but toxic thoughts pertaining to self-worth and physical care have become dangerously prevalent within the MSM (men seeking men) community. Even though we're nearly a month into the new decade, it's proven frustratingly easy to fall into the pitfalls of Januaries past.
