Not that I really need an excuse to post man-pretty on my blog–it’s MY blog, and I don’t have a boyfriend to get jealous, so what the heck, right? But there are a few more that I wanted to get on here before this whole shebang ends. Plus a few more thoughts on desires.
See, I think the point to all this (other than gratuitous pretty men) should be thoughts about ‘the gaze,’ as it were, and what it really means. If it is about power, or just about appreciation, and if we can look at someone just purely in a sexual manner (tell me that if you’re attracted to men
at all, that bottom picture here doesn’t get you going) without necessarily taking away their humanity or acting as though we’re entitled to them.
I suppose in one way or another I am acting entitled to these pictures–they’re up on the web and I used them.
At the same time, I’m not treating them as less than human because I’m acknowledging that they are attractive–particularly because these pictures are put out there (particularly, again, the last one) to give a specific impression. I’d hope that if someone posted a picture on their blog of me in a pretty outfit and said I was sexy, I wouldn’t take offense. That doesn’t mean that ALL I am is sexy. (whereas if they said “it’s a good thing she’s hot because she’s so dumb” or suchlike, well, that’s a different ballgame, isn’t it?)
I suppose that at the end of the day, sexuality isn’t going anywhere, no matter how badly the religious right or the radical feminists want it to. And it’s not going to stop playing a large role in our lives unless we deliberately ignore any and all occurrences–and even then, someone’s probably finding you attractive whether you like it or not.
So enjoy, from top to bottom: Adam Foote and Joe Sakic, Robert Downey, Jr., the guys of Lucero, and Josh Hartnett without his shirt on.