‘People are attracted to bigger guys’: The new photo book celebrating plus-size men, in 7 images
"There are only two d*cks visible," says photographer Joseph Wolfgang Ohlert of his new photo book, Bigger. He adds of the men who took part: "They’re not depicted in a sexual way – it’s about intimacy, the love that’s there"
Joseph Wolfgang Ohlert, 34, has a face and body most would envy. Yet slimmer guys he dated in the past have kept him a secret. (“They liked my body, yet felt shame.”) Their loss. The Munich-based photographer’s body confidence journey has inspired a glossy photo book, Bigger. “People who reduce themselves to their level of fitness? It’s lack of personality,” he tells Attitude Uncut (the digital little brother magazine to Attitude, available to read now on Apple News+ and the Attitude app) in this exclusive excerpt.
“I grew up in Germany. For me, nudity is normal. If someone’s naked in the park, you let them be. My family has a garden and a pool; we were always jumping in naked. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“In Germany, we’re proud of our free-body culture, ‘freikörperkultur’. In Bavaria, we have ‘mir san mir’, meaning ‘we are we’. This feeling of: ‘This is who we are. Whatever. Take it or leave it.’ I like that.
“That said, there are only two dicks visible in my new photo book, Bigger. They’re not depicted in a sexual way – the guys are just casually sitting. And while there are some couples, it’s about intimacy, the love that’s there.
“Lots of people are interested and attracted to bigger guys, but I didn’t want to fetishise it. Often, bigger guys are accepted only if they’re fetishised.”
Dad bods
“I’m a full-time carer for a guy I know, Richard. He’s 81 and has Parkinson’s. I began taking care of him after his husband died.
“He’s a father figure to me – in fact, he adopted me! I still have my biological parents, so I now have two fathers.
“Richard is into bigger guys. He said: ‘Why don’t you do a book about that?’ It was a nice idea. That book, Bigger, now opens with a tribute to him.”
Weight and wisdom
“Now I’m older, something’s changed: I’m not dealing with insecurity shit anymore. I don’t feel I should be this or that.
“I’m not embarrassed to tell people what I want for photoshoots. Before I was like: ‘I’m just a student!’ By 30, I felt grown up. I wanted to stand up for myself.
“That also showed up in the way I see my body. In my 20s, I was stuck on others’ ideas of ‘hot’. Now I’m like: ‘Fuck that’.
“It’s not like I’m not desired by people because I’m older and bigger, anyway. I don’t have any problems there!”
To read this interview in full, check out Attitude Uncut, available to read now on Apple News+ and the Attitude app.
Bigger is out now. To order signed copies, email Joseph@ohlert.de.