The Failing New York Times Published A RIDICULOUS Article Claiming That 2018 Is The Year Of The Twink
I hate to politicize twinks by discrediting the New York Times but they’ve left me with no choice. You can’t publish an article titled ‘Welcome To The Age Of The Twink’ and expect me not to respond. So, before we get into it let me say this loud and clear:
I digress.
Source – There are several modern variations: Euro twinks, twunks, and femme twinks. But the latest twinks — many of whom are straight — are what you might call “art twinks,” building upon an aesthetic legacy established by Ryan McGinley’s turn-of-the-millennium photographs of the sloppily skinny, or last decade’s leather-pant-clad Saint Laurent models chosen by the designer Hedi Slimane.
And yet they are more culturally mainstream: a growing cohort of famous (and famously small) boys who stand in opposition to the lumbering, abusive oafs who have been dominating this year’s headlines.
Today, gay twinks such as Olly Alexander of the band Years & Years and Troye Sivan feel less costumed. When Sivan, 22, performed on “Saturday Night Live” in January, his shirt was blown open by a wind machine, his whole mien charged with sex. But there seemed to be safety in his slimness — both for the artist to express himself and for his countless questioning teenage fans.
Female body types have always cycled in and out of style; yet with men, alternatives to the ideal of imposing physicality have usually been ignored or lampooned. But as women continue to use their voices to undo that legacy of toxic masculinity, a different kind of change is taking place from within the culture: These twinks, after all, aren’t just enviably lean boys or the latest unrealistic gay fantasy, but a new answer to the problem of what makes a man.
Listen, I don’t disagree that twinks have become more mainstream. If you’re a Stoolie and have read any of my work you know what a twink is, but to say that they’re “the answer to the problem of what makes a man a man” is outrageous at best. I don’t even know what that means. Because skinny hairless guys are getting roles in movies they’re saving masculinity? It makes no sense. 2018 may be the year of twinks for straight people but every year has been the year of twinks for gay people. That’s just the way it is. They’re sexualized because they’re youthful in the same way that women are sexualized for being youthful. Now that straight people understand that, they’re giving them roles in movies. It’s all about money and twinks sell. That’s how YP got his start in porn.
You see it at every gay bar in New York; older guys fawning over boyish dudes. Now the infatuation has moved from those crowded dingy gay bars to the mainstream. This isn’t new, it’s just now being exposed. Straight people are stealing twinks from us the same way we stole Justin Bieber from them. And there’s nothing wrong with that. All I’m saying is there’s no need to give them any more attention than they already get. Maybe spread it out to the taller, more gangly, gay guys? Just a thought.
I wish the author had taken the time to explain his points more rather than list out a bunch twinks he’s attracted to. (You can read all about them here.) He makes some interesting observations. Oh well, don’t set your expectations too high, straight people. Twinks can be a real pain in the ass. No pun intended.