No fats, no fems, no problems? Working out and the gay muscled body

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.

“White, Tall, Top, Masculine, Muscular”: Narratives of Intracommunity Stigma in Young Sexual Minority Men’s Experience on Mobile Apps

“…The men in our study narrated compulsions to conform to particular body ideals consistent with other recent research (e.g., Chow, 2021 ; Conner, 2019 ; Tran et al, 2020 ). The experience of race/ethnicity stigma was central to the narratives of many men of color in our study, affirming recent research which has found proliferation of language of “preference” for White men or men of lighter skin tone on the apps (e.g., Conner, 2019 ; Tran et al, 2020 ).…”

“…For example, research suggests that sexual minority men experience pressure to conform to a lean and muscular physical ideal (e.g., Atkins, 2012 ; Calzo et al, 2013 ). Messages related to normative body ideals have been widely circulated on mobile apps since their inception, best embodied in the phrase “no fats, no fems” (Chow, 2021 ; see also Miller, 2018 ). The extent to which men publicly discuss “working out” on the apps also contributes to the promotion of a particular body ideal for sexual minority men (Chow, 2021 ; Miller, 2018 ).…”

Androgen abuse among gay and bisexual men

“…This increased internalization may (in part) be attributable to the privileging of lean and muscular bodies within the gay community, wherein fat bodies are perceived as less masculine (or more feminine), and therefore, less desirable [38]. These intersections of body image, sexuality, and masculinity, are, again, evident on dating platforms that cater to sexual minority men, where statements like ‘No Fats, No Femmes’ were commonplace in users’ profiles [39].…”