As I'm sure many of you are aware, I've been experimenting with some new things lately. Captioned animated GIFs are the most obvious example, of course. I've always been fascinated with creating motion captions; I even tried to make a short (3-5 minute) video in the style of TG Tales, but it didn't work out all that well. I was quite pleased with the creative aspects of it, but the technical side just didn't quite click with me. I'm just not that versed in video editing. But I found myself wanting to put my characters in motion more and more; I've even considered trying to learn how to create real animation (and still may at some point) from scratch. That, however, is a little more time consuming than I want to get into at this point. So animated GIFs are my happy medium. I get to use a program I'm very familiar with (Photoshop), learn something new (GIFs are much harder to deal with than static pictures), and give you all a fun, moving picture.
The other thing I've been working on lately is creating more artistic pictures, using existing photographs as a base or as a reference. A good example of this is the Men's Fashion post I did a few days ago. I'm not altogether happy with how a couple of them turned out, but it wasn't bad when I consider how little experience I have with such projects. Still, I hope to get better. And that brings me to today's post, entitled
The Evolving Male Body
Our idea of physical beauty is forever changing. It is fluid, reacting to cultural pressures and societal norms, among other things. Of course, these changes are often gradual and go largely unnoticed. But recently, they have occured so quickly that one would have to be blind not to notice...
By 1995, man had reached the pinnacle of traditional masculinity. Size and strength were the order of the day, and men worked to accentuate their natural musculature. In addition, very few men chose to remove body hair, and many wore beards. The result was an entire population of hulking, hair brutes.
It is important to note that, in that time, a large penis was considered desirable. Men often even bragged about how big they were. Other, less well-endowed men were ashamed of what they considered their shortcomings.
At the turn of the century, however, times had started to change. While many still equated bulging muscles with male attractiveness, many men had come to accept that a smooth, hairless body (and face) was far more attractive than the hairy bodies of the past. In addition, perception of penile size had begun to change as well. The "bigger is better" mantra of the past had become "not too big..."
The most dramatic change occured between the years 2000-2020. Many people wonder what caused it; some say it was Hollywood. Others say it was a natural evolution (hastened by science). Still others claim that it was a conspiracy perpetrated by rich, powerful women who envisioned a gynarchy. Whatever the case, the ideal man was completely and irrevocably changed by 2020.
Gone were the muscled men of yesteryear, and in their places were slim, petite, and soft men. Size was no longer considered an attractive quality, and so, men everywhere worked to adapt. Surgery, radical diets, and strict exercise regimens were the tools of men who weren't lucky enough to rely on nature to do the work.
For nearly a decade, men had worked to become smaller, daintier, more petite...but now, they could choose their size (within a predetermined genetic range). More importantly, they could choose their shape. And science finally gave them what nature couldn't - curves.
Looking back, the next step seemed inevitable. It began as a sign that a man was willing to take over child rearing duties, that he didn't mind if a woman was the breadwinner. He was progressive. He would even breastfeed if necessary. And so, to show how commited he was, the progressive man obtained breasts. It became so popular, in fact, that by the middle of the century, nearly every man in America had breasts.
The penis had become almost an afterthought. So long as it was functional, it didn't matter how big it was. In fact, the smaller the bulge, the better.
And so, that's where we are in the world of male beauty. From huge, hairy brutes to petite, soft angels. How will the world change next?
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