Out Magazine announced its list of most eligible gay bachelors June 24, and as usual, we have quibbles!
But first, for the bachelors named: Chella Man (Titans), Noah J. Ricketts (Fellow Travelers), Ricky Martin, Colton Haynes, Troye Sivan, Wilson Cruz, David Archuleta, Kade Gottlieb (Gottmik), Ncuti, Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education).
No one is saying the men chosen are undeserving of the title. (Or at least, not here.) But yet another year when the preeminent publication for the LGBTQ+ community doesn’t include a porn star? That’s par for the course (god forbid the Pride Month advertisers see their ads next to a gay porn star!). What’s even more startling is that, despite the list’s diversity, all the men have conventionally attractive bodies.
Look, we work in porn. We see the most gorgeous physical specimens strip completely naked and fuck on a daily basis (and we get paid for the privilege). But that doesn’t mean we think a slender or muscular build is a requirement to be considered an eligible bachelor. Or even a requirement to sleep with us! The men on the list are all talented, and they are all breaking new ground for the queer community in some way. But really? Nobody with a dad bod gets included? Nobody with body hair gets included? (That’s right: Hirsute men are also conspicuously absent from the list.)
Maybe high-profile gay guys with dad bods are all in relationships. Or maybe dad bods are about to be a thing of the past thanks to Ozempic and its brethren. (As if Instagram wasn’t already giving us body dysmorphia.) Regardless, the list feels like a missed opportunity to remind gay men that we don’t have to be ripped to be considered worth dating. Or that we can be hairy and hot. The whole list feels like another reminder that we are decades removed from the hunky heyday of Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck.
You guys watch porn: If you were to nominate gay porn stars for an eligible bachelor list, who could make the cut? What earns someone the title of eligible bachelor? And can it include chest hair, at the very least?
I thought the gripe would be that many of these guys look like lesbians (not even that butch). As far as their builds…they’re mostly celebs. Of course they’re not going to be overweight. Ricky Martin and Wilson Cruz aren’t “smooth”. With the exception of about four of them, none are “ripped”. This was about what I’d expect from an OUT list.
“despite the list’s diversity, all the men have conventionally attractive bodies”
I don’t think any of these men are “conventionally attractive.” Most of them are incredibly feminine and outside the norm of the ideal gay. But I get it, perhaps Out should have thrown in a dadbod or two to suit the tastes of some readers. Maybe if this were a list of fifty men, every possible ethnicity, body type, hair style, disability and body hair grooming could have been thoroughly addressed. But it’s a short list. Also, on what planet would a sex worker be considered an “eligible” bachelor by a mainstream publication?
Haynes, Martin and Cruz are all “conventionally attractive”. Was always surprised Colton didn’t make it far as an actor, especially since acting capabilities aren’t even required soft skills for gay movies and shows.
old, too chubby man, with money and personal trainer….and ?
Ricky Martin shouldn’t even be on the list. A hypocrite who pretended for decades he was a straight Latin stud out of pure financial interest. But when Pink Money began to take hold, he rekindled his career, admitting homosexuality and, in a marketing coup, releasing a new album and an incomplete biography, in which he portrays himself as a suffering saint who deserved canonization (erasing his past sexual relationships).
I couldn’t agree with you more. He has mouse balls. And his performance on Palm Royale playing the gay bartender… do you think he would have taken a role like that 10 years ago? NO WAY… his mouse balls wouldn’t let him.
Get over yourself
Good thing for the entire gay community, you aren’t the gatekeeper of who is or isn’t deserving of recognition. You, my dear twat, are part of the problem.
you either get Ozempic or for the poor people Lizzo aka body positivity.
Everyone has their own personal “tastes” but unfortunately it seems as though when it comes to things like this, the “concept” of what constitutes “perfect/ideal” the preferences of a few seems to be the standard that is used