Did you just comment on a thirst trap post that wasn’t even a real person? Artificial Intelligence is changing the world, but Steven Oates is concerned about what AI-generated hotties are doing to our self-esteem.
As far back as the early 1950’s, with the widespread publication of ‘Physique’ or ‘Beefcake’ magazines, many gay men have felt pressured to look a certain way.
These magazines, although not actually pornographic or officially ‘gay,’ were packed with homoerotic images of oiled-up muscle men posing and recounting their workout regimes. Presented under the guise of fitness and the pursuit of the ideal physique, there was no mistaking that the near-naked men spread across the pages were displayed as objects of desire. The images were quickly adopted as the physical ideal many young men aspired to emulate. To feel desirable is, of course, not exclusive to gay men; it’s part of the human condition regardless of gender or sexuality.
As the decades have rolled by, pop culture, pornography and pretty much every aspect of media has delivered a never-ending buffet of buff bodies. Bodies that have become bigger, more defined and unnaturally ‘perfect’. The pressure many gay men feel to emulate the images we see and the resulting self-esteem issues are well documented. Research shows the negative impact on one’s mental health is not confined to age or sexuality, also affecting many older gay men (and straight).
Of course, social media has taken these images to a whole new level. A few moments of doom scrolling through most gay men’s algorithms will take one down a never-ending rabbit hole of twinks, daddies and jocks. Often just doing the most mundane daily activities in nothing but their underwear. Who knew so many guys clean their house in nothing more than a jockstrap? We all know it’s to get likes and followers, and boy does it work…. For every thirst trap willing to film themselves flexing and preening, likes and praise in the comments are pretty much guaranteed.
Just when I thought the bodies on Instagram couldn’t get any more jacked, I noticed a new phenomenon creeping into my algorithms. The muscle bears have started to look even bigger than usual. Upon further inspection, it seems my algorithms have become permeated with images of super-buff, near-naked men, which are actually AI-generated.
A plethora of AI ‘Muscle Art’ accounts have popped up, full of men who could never actually exist in reality. A quick search shows that whatever your flavour is, AI accounts are proliferating, catering to every taste. All giving hyper-versions of stereotypes across the queer spectrum. I’m guessing the straight world is also experiencing this AI infestation, because it turns out the purpose of most of these accounts is to gain followers and onsell the account as a marketing tool.
It always fascinates me how people shower compliments and likes on total strangers on Instagram… ‘You’re so hot!’, ‘You’re my ideal man’, ‘I love you!’. But I get it – people hope the random hot guy on social media will come and sweep them off their feet. The comments on AI guys are the same, if not worse! The fawning is next level. It begs the question: do most people not realise that these guys don’t actually exist, or is it part of the fantasy? Most of these accounts state they are AI in the bios.
As porn has given people a false expectation of sexual reality, if the comments are anything to go by, AI may be giving some guys unrealistic expectations of what their ‘type’ is. Are we arriving at a place where normal men just aren’t enough anymore? Just as porn has pushed the limits of sex, making regular sex seem dull and unsatisfying for some, AI may be pushing aesthetics to a place where some people will no longer find real people desirable anymore.
Gay men already put enormous pressure on themselves to look like the images they see. I really hope we have the sense to know that aspiring to have the body of someone created by a computer with exaggerated features will only lead to disappointment. As if Insta fitness models and influencers weren’t enough already? No amount of steroids or punishing gym routines will give someone the body these AI accounts are creating.
Never has the old adage, compare and despair, been any more pertinent than it is in the world of social media. If you think the hot guys on Instagram are happier than you, think again. And if you think AI-generated muscle men are happier than you… honey, try and remember – they don’t think at all!
