In paging through GQ it’s my impression a lot of the male models, especially the younger ones, seem to have a very gay sensibility to their look. Even the ones trying to look “tough” or serious look like gay hustlers. It’s hard to characterize precisely, but it’s sort of a seductive look and not at all a look that heterosexual men would present to each other under any circumstances. I could understand using that the look if what they were wearing was being presented or marketed to women, but assumedly the readership of the magazine of the magazine is mostly heterosexual males with probably a healthy component of gay male readers as well.
Are my rato assumptions wrong? Is the gay readership percentage of GQ that high or is it just the way male models are used?
Not being a reader of GQ, while also being a heterosexual man that doesn’t get seductive looks from very many men, I gotta say: Can you give some pictorial examples of what you’re talking about?
I’ve been working out and I lost some weight so I wanted to be pretty, plus the subscription was only $ 5.00 for the year. Oh well… apparently I’ve caught the gay, time for some life changes. If only I had known years ago I could have avoided the whole marriage, kids, divorce scenario.
Gay? I dunno. But it is very much aimed at young men with education, white collar jobs and disposable income who like to wear the latest fashion, shop at the hippest stores and eat at the coolest restaurants.
That’s not just a male thing, though. Many female models have that “seductive look” even though what they’re wearing is being marketed to mostly heterosexual women. They look seductive and sexy because sex/being sexy sells.
I’m not sure why that’s a “gay look” though. Male fashion editorial models can range from “rich straight bros with ladies on their arms” to “androgynous and/or homoerotic” depending on the designer.
I like the androgynous look myself. Baptiste Giabiconi is, I think str8 (not that I care) but there were ancient rumors that he was going to marry Karl.
eta: and then there’s Andrej Pejic a male model who upped his exposure by modeling women’s clothes.
I pretty much assume every male who works in (or even pays attention to) fashion is gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not an industry I, nor any other straight man I’ve ever met in my entire 31-year life, have even the slightest interest in.
Seriously, who’s buying all that cologne and all those $300 shirts? Poor guys can’t afford it. Do rich people really get their fashion choices from androgynous teenagers in magazines?
Really? Admittedly gays are probably a bit more into fashion then the average male, but I’ve known plenty of straight guys that are into fashion. I don’t think its particularly rare.
(plus, just form an economic standpoint, gay males are only like 2% of the population. It’s pretty unlikely that the entire male fashion industry could support itself if they were the only ones buying.)
It can also depend on area and such. There’s plenty of straight guys in southern California that follow and are heavily into fashion. In Burbank, I worked with a bunch of them.
It’s the way models are used. Did you think heterosexual women present to each other as they are depicted in Vogue, Elle, and* Style*? [No, please don’t respond with that tired old fantasy, okay?]
Fashion presents models not as subjects of their own lives, by as objects of other’s desire. The aim is present an image that is desirable, to whomever the viewer wants to appeal to.
Could your real question be, do heterosexual women [also] find the male images in GQ attractive?
Or, it could assume that women are the primary decision makers in men’s clothing, as well as so much else, and the ads are designed to encourage women to encourage men to buy the goods? I think women are a bit busy with their own lives, though, and while they’re willing to put a lot of effort into things like cars and appliances, they expect their spouses to be all growed up and buy their own clothes.
