No fats, no fems, no problems? Working out and the gay muscled body. (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chow, Jeremy
• Is Part Of: Sexualities. Volume 25:Number 8(2022)
• Page Start: 1077
• Page End: 1095
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: Gay social media -- ableism -- muscle -- SCRUFF -- work out; Sex -- Periodicals; Sex customs -- Periodicals; Sex (Psychology) -- Periodicals; 306.705
• DOI: 10.1177/13634607211018331
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1363-4607

Abstract

This article investigates two ubiquitous slogans that circulate among gay social media apps: 'No Fats, No Fems' and 'Masc for Masc'. In their recurrence, both offer gendered readings of corporeality and ability, which equate muscled bodies with forms of desirable masculinity. In collecting data from SCRUFF, I document how gay male social media apps generate narrow definitions of masculinity that, like the slogans, uphold physical fitness and compulsory able-bodiedness as hallmarks of gay desirability. Alongside these trends, I highlight 'working out' as an exceptional form of gay male labour that prioritises ability and transforms the muscled body into a commodity that is successfully advertised on these apps.