MasculineCurves

Poll of The Week: What is the average age of this blog's readership?

As I mentioned yesterday, this week I'm going to keep the editorial posts light around here. I've got a touch of writer's block, not to mention I'm wrapping up a few projects that need to take priority. So while I'm on a brief respite from posting any short stories, or self-indulgent commentary, you can expect to see lots of pics and some quick tidbits over the next few days. Yes. I try my best to keep things fresh around here even when I have nothing to say.

It's occurred to me that I haven't done a "poll of the week" in a minute. As you can imagine, polls are always fun for bloggers. You can find a poll on almost every blog these days. Bloggers want to know their audience's opinions on everything from who will be the next American President to whether people think Britney Spears is certifiably nuts. But the great thing about online polling capabilities is that it helps us keep our fingers on the pulse of who is actually reading our blogs. So, I'm curious to find out what is the average age of this blog's readership?

I'm a 30-something, gay, bi-racial man. I'm a child of the 80s who came of age in the 90s. This probably explains all the throwback YouTube videos and Madonna worship around here. But do my readers know what I'm talking about when I write an entire post on how the choreography in Pat Benetar's music video "Love is a Battlefield" is practically the same choreography in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video? Or are my readers so young that they'll be shocked when I post the Thriller video and find out that Michael Jackson was once a black man?  Or, worse yet. Do they even know who Madonna, Pat Benetar, and Michael Jackson are? Regardless of what this "age" poll reveals it doesn't necessarily mean I'll tailor the content I post. Afterall, this IS a PERSONAL weblog. But, like I said, I'm just curious as to who's checking out the day's and nights of this desperate artist.

Since the poll measures the average age of this blog's visitors, I must make my disclaimer statement. Please note the WARNING at the top of the page: Some content on this blog may be considered objectionable by some audiences and is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. Viewer discretion is advised. So youngins, please surf away from the blog and get back to work on your science fair project.

[note: the poll of the week is located in the top middle column]

Poll Results: Interracial Dating

Last week I revealed a little about the type of men I've found myself attracted to in this post, which made me curious as to people's attitudes towards interracial dating.  Keep in mind I am generalizing just a bit here, but I think sometimes we as gay men tend to make a mental note when we see an interracial male couple out in the club or on the street.  As black [or insert your particular ethnicity here] gay men, we may feel somewhat intimidated if we see a really fine brother out there with a non-black partner.  We might tell ourselves that his feelings towards his date must be demonstrative of some sort of self-hatred.  "Hhmmpph...He's black and I'm black.  He's not with someone like me, so he must not like his own kind."  How many times have we had that conversation in the back of our minds when we've seen this? We know nothing about his relationship with this man. Does it ever occur to us that he's with his non-black date because, quite frankly, dude's fine as hell too? 

It's worth noting that attractions are based a lot on physical attributes.  Some men are only attracted to men taller than themselves, others are only attracted to men who are shorter.  Some don't like brown hair, others don't like blond hair.  Some are size queens, others...well...enough said?  So it seems only plausible that color of skin may play a subconscious or even prevalent role in who we are attracted to on a romantic and/or physical level.  Does that make it wrong? Or racist? No. As long as we don't use race as a basis on how to treat others, we shouldn't feel shame for who we choose as partners.  Not to mention,  there are always those instances (and each of us have had these) where we find ourselves strangely attracted to someone who isn't typically our "type."  Thus, attraction, in and of itself, is something that really can't be explained.

Last week's MasculineCurves poll question asked:  Which response best describes your personal dating preference?

Survey says…

• I am an equal opportunity dater (race is unimportant)   60.9%
• I am NOT attracted to men outside my race  30.4%   
• I am ONLY attracted to men who are of a different race than me  8.7%   

Poll of the Week: Interracial Dating

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from the dating scene over the last couple years. There are a few reasons for this, but that’s a story for another post. However, I’ve recently decided that I am ready to start dating again, and I’ve made the shocking discovery that some of my closest friends have a misconceived notion about my “type.” They seem to think that I am only interested in black men.

I guess I can see how they came to this conclusion.  When I look back at the men I’ve dated and have gotten to a point in which I was comfortable introducing them to my social network, they’ve primarily been men of the dark-skinned persuasion.  Furthermore, I’ve learned that this perception of my “type” has actually hindered my dating life. In fact, I’ve had a few friends hold-out on me when it comes to introducing me to their non-black and very eligible single male acquaintances. I always get the “He’s a [insert doctor, lawyer, engineer, you name it], but you wouldn’t be interested in him. He’s not black enough for you.”

Okay, so I am a light-skinned, mixed (black/white) gay man, does the fact that most of the men I’ve dated have had very Afro-centric features mean that I have some sort of Mandingo fetish? Well, I would hate to think that I would fetish-ize a single group of people. But is there really anything wrong with being strongly attracted to specific physical attributes? I don’t think so. You can’t help, and shouldn’t feel ashamed about what or who you’re attracted to.

On the other hand, I’d like to clear up the myth that I am only attracted to black men. Many would be surprised to know that my first innocent crush was on a blond-hair, blue-eyed guy named Steven; I suffered my first broken heart over a white farm boy named Tim; and my most passionate romance was with a saucy Costa Rican named Allan (in fact, to this day I believe that Allan and I would be married if it weren’t for a faulty work visa situation). All this, not to mention that now I live in an apartment building which has a tenant population that is about 70 percent Asian-Indian; to be honest, quite a few of them have been turning my head as well. So it would appear that, in addition to fine black men, I am open to the power of attraction of men of other races too. Let the record show that Aaron is an equal opportunity dater. Any applicants?

The role culture and race play in romantic and physical attraction has always been intriguing to me. This week’s poll will provide a snapshot of how MasculineCurves readers feel about interracial dating. The poll is located in the top middle column and will remain open through 11 p.m. on Friday (10/19) and results official results will be posted on Saturday (10/20).

Poll Results: Who should I be for Halloween?

Friday night I attended a Halloween costume party and I'm excited to announce that I walked away WINNING the costume contest!  This is surprising because earlier in the week I still had not decided which alter-ego I was going to dress up as.  So I turned to readers of this blog to help me decide via the Poll of The Week.

Survey says…

50%       An exotic masked stranger

33.3%    A Creole New Orleans Vampire 33.3%

8.3%      Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada

8.3%      Magneto from X-men

Although the "exotic masked stranger" was the popular choice among readers of this blog, I did not go with that costume.  So who was I for Halloween?  I will reveal the answer and post the cell-phone pics in the next day or so (as soon as my friends email them to me).

Poll of the Week: Who should I be for Halloween?

Ever since I was a kid I have been oddly attracted to the villainous characters in movies and cartoons. Not because I was evil, but because these were the characters that always had the best costumes, the best lines, and were ultimately sexier than their do-good counterparts. On the playground my friends and I would turn the jungle gym into some sort of imaginary space ship and I was always volunteering to be someone from the dark side when we played StarWars, or a lizard person disguised as a human from the movie V.

As an adult, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it’s when I get to let my alter-ego out of the cage and have fun with it. This upcoming Friday I’ll be attending a costume party and I need a little help deciding who I’m going to be. I’ve narrowed it down to four characters and you may cast a vote in the poll located at the top of the middle column of this page. Results will be revealed on Friday (10/12), and perhaps sometime over that weekend I'll actually post pictures (depending on how wild and crazy things get at the party - what happens at a costume party might have to stay at a costume party LOL).

Here are the choices:

A Creole New Orleans Vampire Okay, so there will probably already be a hundred vamps at the party, but the thing with vampires is that they’re always mysterious, and always sexy. Plus, they can be done a hundred different ways. I’m thinking something sort of “Anne-Rice-ish.”

Miranda Priestly
I had never had the desire to dress in drag until Meryl Streep made Miranda Priestly the meanest boss in the world. This could be a lot of fun, just think of all the one-liners I’ll get to use. My only challenge is where the hell am I going to find a white wig and a pair of six-inch ruby red stilettos in a size 10?

Magneto
So my favorite scene in the last X-men movie was when Magneto used his powers to move the Golden Gate Bridge. Can you imagine? Okay, so I won’t be able to actually have the power to attract metal objects, but perhaps I can attract something dark and handsome.

An exotic masked stranger – Okay, so this one isn’t necessarily a villain, but it’s a mysterious fail-safe if none of the other costumes work out.

Poll Results: Would you want to be a MasculineCurves model?

If you follow this blog consistently you know that I am a fine art photographer and each month I feature a different MasculineCurves man (hand selected by yours truly) in the physique pictorials. I prefer to work with men who are non-professional models because I think they are more interesting in front of the camera. Plus, they prove my point that beautiful things come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors.  Of course it’s not easy finding that everyday guy on the street that is comfortable getting his picture taken, let alone taking off his clothes for artistic physique shots. Another challenge is that this site often gets categorized by ad networks and search engines as an “adult” site. While I agree that no one under legal age should be here, I resent the association of my work to porn. So I thought it would be interesting to poll MasculineCurves readers’ personal attitudes about their bodies and posing nude for artistic photography.

The poll question was: If asked by a professional photographer, would you ever pose nude or semi-nude if the images were artistic?

Survey says…

• 65% of respondents said yes, they would absolutely pose.

• 5% of respondents claimed they had posed in the past and would do it again.

• 10% of respondents would decline because they are self-conscious about their bodies.

• 15% of respondents said they would be flattered, but would decline anyways.

• 5% of respondents were unsure.

• Surprisingly, no one said they would be offended if asked.

Poll of the Week: Would you want to be a MasculineCurves model?

As a photographer it has always been my intent to showcase the beauty that exists in a diverse array of body types. Soon, I’ll be conducting a model search for new faces and physiques to feature in the MasculineCurves pictorials for 2008 (more on that later this week). So for this week’s poll, I thought it would be interesting to gauge people’s personal attitudes towards physique art and their own body. (The poll will close at 11 p.m. on Thursday, October 4th, and official results will be reported on Friday the 5th.)

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Sexual Identity Poll Results

It looks as though the 80/20 ratio holds true for readers of this blog. The poll question asked MasculineCurves readers to identify their sexual orientation. According to our poll approximately 80 percent of respondents were male, and 20 percent were female. More specifically, here’s how visitors to this blog identified their sexual orientation:

Gay Male 69.4%
Bisexual Male 11.1%
Straight Female 16.7%
Bisexual Female 2.8%

Not surprisingly, no men identified as being straight, and no women identified as being lesbian.  Tune in tomorrow  and vote in a new MasculineCurves Poll of The Week.

Poll of the Week: The Sexual Identity Survey

I develop the content for this blog with people like me (a gay male) in mind.  I find it interesting that I often receive emails from women, and many of my straight male friends have shown support for my work, as well. Some have even posed for the MasculineCurves Pictorials. So that’s why I’m curious as to who actually reads this blog. Please take a moment to enter your response in the survey box in the upper left of the page.  The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, September 27, and official results will be reported on Friday the 28th.

Body Image Poll Results

So now it’s time for the official results of our first weekly poll. I was curious as to how MasculineCurves readers felt about their own body image, and as you know, this is a particular topic of interest to me.

The poll asked readers to choose as many answers that best described their response to this statement : “I have turned to (or considered) the following extreme measure(s) to change my body image.”

Survey says…

Excessive exercise 28.6%
An eating disorder 21.4%
Steroids 0%
Plastic surgery 21.4%
None, I am fine the way I am 42.9%

Note: Readers had the  ability to provide multiple responses so these numbers tally over 100% (if anyone’s counting).

As a person who has struggled with body image issues, I can honestly say that I have tried, or at least considered every single one of these options. In fact, I was surprised that no one selected steroids. While I haven’t gone to that extreme, I can’t say the idea of taking a magic pill has never crossed my mind. And that’s exactly what they are – magic pills. I’ve witnessed a friend mess around a bit with steroids and within a matter of days (not weeks) his body responded. But with everything that seems too good to be true, there is also a major downside. They may rapidly enhance your muscle mass, but they tear down your health just as fast. Not to mention the aesthetic side-effects of long-term use are ultimately undesirable. At the gym it’s easy to spot the guys on the juice. Sure, they may have nice biceps; but did you happen to notice the big ugly rolls of skin on the back of their necks, the blotchy acne-prone faces, and the shrunken gonads? (Oh come on, don’t tell me you don’t sneak a peek every now and then in the locker room.)

Anyways, let me come down from my steroid soapbox and climb up the plastic surgery pedestal. Obviously, there is the risk of plastic surgery addiction (Michael Jackson for example). However, I believe plastic surgery is appropriate for some people, as long as it is approached with a healthy attitude. If I choose to get a little liposuction I don’t expect it to change my life. I don’t expect to suddenly have all kinds of friends, fortune, and fame as a result of the procedure. About the only thing that it will change is how I feel about that small area of fat I had sucked out.

In conclusion, most respondents said they are fine just the way they are. Yes, I have flaws, but so does everyone else on this earth. So I must be just fine the way I am too.