If you’ve ever wondered how the young hetero men of YouTube (many of which can be found on our friend DudeTube’s site, NSFW) feel about being ogled and egged on by gay men, you’ll be interested in a story by The Advocate‘s Jason Rowan, who talks to some of YouTube’s amateur superstars.
Rowan talked to 19-year-old “Weatiez” (above), who at first appeared unfazed by the male-on-male attention: “Yeah, I’m aware of it, but it does not bother me. I’m comfortable with that because I know working out will give me a great body, and I know that will get attention, both female and male.”
Yet when pressed further, “Weatiez” became silent: “Weatiez stopped responding to my e-mails soon after I contacted him. He was the first self-made flexing star I approached for this piece, and while I have no way of really knowing what happened, I can only assume that our communication must have crossed that invisible variable line between ‘flattering’ and ‘threatening.’ My questions must have been too much for his straight-jock comfort zone.”
Another poser, “Shanejj” (below), seemed less defensive with Rowan: “It doesn’t really matter to me—I’m actually intrigued that gay guys respond to it. It’s on my profile that I’m straight, and if guys ask if I would go that way, I just say, ‘No, but thanks for thinking of me.’ Most of the guys posting aren’t average guys—they’re into their appearance, their clothes, their grooming. They shave; I shave. It’s more a metrosexual thing, and in that way I think we have something in common with gay guys. So when I get attention from them, I like it. It confirms that I’m doing it right.”
In the end, Rowan notes that like the physique bodybuilder models of the 50’s, the vanity is echoed in these new media stars, as is the unattainability: “At the end of the day, you’re still sitting alone in your bedroom, lusting after the same boys who were so unavailable as a teenager.”
