Society loves telling us how we should look.
We should be thinner, taller, more muscular, lighter or darker, less wrinkled and so on. The list is endless, and it tends to change with different cultures and over time. At some level, we know these standards of beauty are superficial and arbitrary, and serve only to enrich companies who profit off of our insecurities – and yet, unconditionally accepting our bodies still feels impossible.
This is especially true for gay men. Studies have shown that gay men embody higher levels of body dissatisfaction than straight women, straight men and lesbians. After all, it’s just as hard to be Ken as it is to be Barbie.
Guys are pretty good at objectifying people. Straight men have objectified women since the beginning of time and throughout history – but, in my humble opinion, gay guys aren’t much better. Instead of women, we objectify other men. But unlike straight guys, we also live in the bodies that we objectify. A straight guy that likes big boobs isn’t going to beat himself up for not having an amble bosom. But a gay guy who likes big pecs may be critical of himself for being inadequate. I think it’s this unique predicament that makes body image so toxic for gay men.
So how do we change the conversation?
Today’s video is titled The Bath and it features a body acceptance ritual with Men.com exclusive Diego Sans. Check out a free preview here.
In the same way that climbing a mountain seems less daunting when you break it down into a series of many small steps, this ritual seeks to make body acceptance more doable by focusing in on one body part at a time. From head to toe, and while transmitting love and acceptance, the audience is invited to follow a voiceover written by sexologist Dr. Jallen Rix.
The truth is, it’s going to take more than any one single video to repair the relationships that we have – individually and collectively – with our bodies. But in a world where it feels like we’re often at war with our bodies, this ritual represents a disarmament of words and thoughts.
It’s powerful first step in recognizing that how we should look is how we do look.
Through juicy erotic content, Davey Wavey created Himeros.tv for gay men to have hotter sex, to experience toe-curling pleasure and to fulfill their deepest desires. Learn more at Himeros.tv.
