I’ve always considered myself a broad-minded person, and certainly not caught up in the worlds of discrimination, exclusion, or enabling others in these areas. Well, it seems I’ve had a bit of a reality check, quite unintentionally being a hypocrite…something I don’t readily admit to.

Recently, I watched a local documentary called “Shape” (on Tubi if you are interested to view). The documentary maker interviewed a cross-section of local gay men…an Asian twink, bear, muscle guy (who identifies as a nerd), drag queen, elder (who I identified with)…prompting their reactions and opinions on the current trend of male body obsession, and how its tentacles are reaching into many areas of our lives, such as social media, advertising (both print and video/television/streaming), movies, celebrities, and at gay parties, as well as the pub and club scene. It points out how this current trend is encouraging both discrimination, and exclusion.

Like many, I had an Instagram feed that was full of muscle eye candy. I never really thought about it, I guess it was just a gay male thing to do. I have to admit…they did pretty much all look like clones…all pecs and 6-pack abs, all posing with their arms held to show of all the biceps, all in briefs or boxer briefs, or gym gear, or just a towel, making sure attention was drawn to the nether regions, or butt shots either fully naked or in very tight briefs…or doing gym workouts. There really wasn’t much to differentiate one from another. What really made me sit up, and start rethinking WHY was I addicted to this was when the documentary brought up one very simple fact…that these guys didn’t care one iota about me. All they were interested in was accumulating “Followers”, and getting “Likes”. To them it is a competitive business, getting one-upmanship on the other guys doing the same thing. And though obviously posing for a gay audience, many are straight, and don’t care where the likes and comments are coming from. Not a single one of them ever liked,or commented on my posts. When they have anything from 45K upwards of followers, any posts from followers would just be left in the storm of images on their feeds. We really didn’t matter! Yeah, SOCIAL media…NOT!

I will say…which makes my unintentional obsession with muscle boys a bit contradictory…that for some time now, I have expressed to friends my concerns that this over emphasis on the muscled body image must be having a negative impact on young guys, especially those going through puberty, or coming out of it, and becoming aware of body Image. It was sending out the wrong messages about what a healthy, active life was, about excessive exercising, about diet, and about how they viewed their bodies. Body Dysmorphia Disorder was something we used to associate with women, and led to things such as anorexia, and bulimia, and amongst schoolgirls could lead to suicide as a result of bullying, and being excluded from peer groups, especially in late developers. However, this has now crossed the gender divide, and has become a big problem with men, especially gay men.where body image can be seen to determine your desirability, and sexual attractiveness. One in four persons with DDS will commit suicide…a sobering statistic.

Another concerning aspect of the documentary was getting the interviewees to read out typical gay profiles from Tinder. All participants were quite shocked to finds terms such as “no fats or fems”, “no Asians”, “no guys over (whatever age group) and specifying age groups was prevalent. Discrimination, stigma, prejudice and ageism were rife. One guy stated that it made him feel ashamed. Personally, I was horrified at so much internalised homophobia. One could only see it as toxic masculinity. I ditched the apps over ten years ago after encountering discrimination, and ageism.

As gay, HIV+ men, we are only too aware of the ravages to,our bodies from HIV and AIDS. My personal run in with AIDS in 1996 saw my weight (due to Wasting Syndrome) drop to 46kg. That was not a good look. As part of my recovery I was in a trial involving regular injection of Deca-Durabolin (an anabolic steroid) to restore my weight loss. After initially going to the other extreme and turning into a 86kg bear, my weight returned to my normal 68kg after the trial ended. But many of us have endured lipoatrophy, and lipodystrophy as a result of lifesaving drug routines. Even with newer, simpler treatment options now, many of us are still seeing weight gains that affect our bodies, giving many of us (like me) bellies, and dad bods. And no amount of diet or exercise will solve the problem. I guess that counts us out as muscle-bound posers on Instagram! Yet despite this, there is still an attitude of body positivity among this group, guys who unashamedly flaunt their bodies as a way of gaining control, and empowering themselves, in a world dominated by the male body beautiful.

Which brings things back to me, and my muscle guy dominated feed. The “Shape” documentary gave me a real kick up the behind, made me see these guys for what they were…narcissic posers. Even before seeing the doco, I had reached a point of boredom with it, just scrolling and double tapping from habit…and the algorithm that just presented me with more of the same. I intentionally went back to my feed, and started unfollowing the muscle guys, in particular those with a “K” after their followers count. To be honest, it felt really good! Instead, I ignored the algorithms suggestions, and alternatively searched out the guys who hid in the Instagram shadows, showing bodies that were often dressed, bodies that were proudly Bears, or had dad bods, or just ordinary everyday bods. Even older guys who were displaying their sags and wrinkles, espousing the doctrine of body positivity.…”this is who I am, I’m not ashamed of it, and feel proud in my normality”. And in return, more guys are visiting my profile, and liking my fairly mundane everyday life posts. When I flick through my feed now, I see the everyday bodies of everyday guys. And you know what? It feels really good!

Tim Alderman ©️ 2025