Real Bodies: “There’s pressure to fit the ‘gay porn star ideal'”
Darren Pritchard, 23, Performance ArtistHeight: 5’8 Weight: 9.5 stone / 133 pounds
I’m very passionate about body image and men of alternative body styles. I get really annoyed about how the media just shows these Adonis, muscular men. It’s great to look at but there are other types of bodies as well. As someone who feels very passionate about accepting your body and how you look that’s the one thing that really drove me to take part.
Diet
I eat a lot in moderation. I do like a pizza every now and then but I try to eat as healthy as I can. Also I’m a vegetarian
Guilty Pleasures
Most probably pizza and chips… Drink? A lot! I’d say a good couple of times a week at least!
Ideal man
Zac Efron or Scott Eastwood. Again they kind of fulfil that muscular stereotype. I really like Billy Huxley…he’s a model and covered in tattoos and really skinny! I’d probably rather look like him and get with Zac Efron!
QUICK QUESTIONS
Do you believe there’s a pressure on gay men to look great?
Definitely! It really irritates me as I feel it’s always going to be there. There’s this pressure in the gay community that you have to be massive, muscular and bronze – sort of a gay pornstar ideal – or if you’re younger you got to be really thin and hairless… you’ve got to look like a child!
Have you posted shirtless selfies or anything similar online?
Yeah I have. I mean I still do. My Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are all linked so if I post it on my Instagram it’ll appear on the other accounts. I try to avoid Facebook if I can because my friends will rip the shit out of me.
How important is a good body for you in a partner?
Physical attraction is very important to me. I couldn’t date someone who I wasn’t physically attracted to. In terms of having a good body that doesn’t matter to me. I tend to go with guys who… I hate the word average but sort of the average man who looks like everyone else.
Would it make you feel insecure if you were with someone who looked after themselves a lot especially when it came to sex?
Probably! I think part of it would be that but I think at the same time I just don’t find that massively attractive. I like thinking that Zac Efron is going to be great as a boyfriend and great in bed but when it comes to dating men I do find that I tend to steer away from the muscular men or the ridiculously attractive. I don’t know if that’s because I’m not sure whether I could get them or whether it’s because I’m just not attracted to them. I tend to go for whatever floats my boat really. I think sex can already be intimidating enough without the added pressure of lying naked next to perfection.
Manscaping?
I do but not completely… I couldn’t be hairless. I’ve got a hairy chest and a bit of a snail trail but I quite like that at the moment. I used to obsessively wax it when I was younger but now I’ve grown to really like it.
Top body product?
Do hair products count? Then definitely TRESemmé hair spray. I carry it everywhere with me. I think in terms of my body I’m more focused on my hair than the rest of me.
Clothes?
I tend to dress to fit my body type. I love skinny jeans and sort of fairly tight fitted shirts. I wouldn’t typically wear baggy clothing.