Michael Hootman gets hot under the collar about Lee Henrique’s opinion piece in January Gscene.
LEE Henrique’s article on body image is certainly interesting (January 2019 Gscene). Though I have to admit to being slightly puzzled over his reference to ‘overly glorified body types with six-packs and obnoxious muscles’.
Wait, what? I’ll admit to being a three-work-outs-a-week kind of guy, but I’ve never thought that the results were obnoxious. Perhaps Henriques should hold back on the muscle-shaming which seems a bit of a slip for the obviously caring, inclusive, non-judgey person that he is.
Being, like me, a keen armchair psychologist Henrique informs us that masculine men who are attracted to other masculine men need to ‘face the reality that feminine guys [are] making you uncomfortable’. Bit of a generalisation there, Lee. Perhaps, just maybe, it’s possible to be fine with feminine guys but to like to have sex with muscly ones. And what about feminine guys who are into muscle marys? Does being feminine give them a free pass? Or are all such guys axiomatically uncomfortable with their own femininity? Though on the plus side Henriques does talk about ‘hegemonic masculinity’ and ‘systemic heteronormative ideals’ which allows me tick off two squares on the Gender Studies Bingo Card which I carry around at all times.
I do, however, agree with the substantive part of what Henriques says. Society does tend to promote the idea that men, gay and straight, should ideally have a certain type of body and this can certainly lead to eating disorders. If you feel less respect for someone because they’re not white or cis then you’re a bit of a shit. And the idea that ‘all bodies are beautiful’ is, metaphysically, beyond reproach. It’s just a shame he sees body image as a zero-sum game in which one type of body can only be elevated by putting down another.
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