Gay Parties in New York Attract the Superhero Crowd
This is Skin Tight U.S.A., the occasional costume-fetish party held at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village, which draws a regular group of men (and their admirers) who enjoy a special kind of dress-up. Some wear heroic outfits; some, wrestling gear. The crowd can range from 25 people on an average night to 250 on a spectacular one. The common thread is that the muscle-cuddling garb often leaves little to the imagination.
“I was always attracted to the superhero physique,” said Matthew Levine, 31, who helped found the party in 2005 with Andrew Owen, 44, and who was one of the few participants willing to be named. The two become friends as, respectively, the graphic designer and Webmaster for Hard Comixxx, a predecessor of Skin Tight, once held at the Eagle bar in Chelsea. Mr. Levine is a big fan of the X-Men (who have a handful of gay characters) and the Transformers (all of whom seem straight) and has been reading comics since he was 8. “As I got older,” he said, “I realized, ‘Oh, this is why I admire the Grecian ideal of manhood and musculature.’ ”
With apologies to Chris Knowles, author of
"Our Gods Wear Spandex", and the
Secret Sun.
6 comments:
Hey Now!
Ha! Hilarious article, no? I suppose I should include a link to your book...
Well, the fact is that if you saw a bunch of guys sitting around wearing brightly colored tights and leotards, you'd be forgiven for assuming they were FOD.
Funny thing, the people, places, & events that one might discover whilst Cerfing the 'Net in one's exploratory moments of e-leisure online, innit? Ah, the price of eXistenZ. Speaking of fetishes & fetishists, just this past weekend, happily enough, I happened upon the work of another Michael, one Michael Kirwan, & that through a fortuitous link on my friend & mythological fetishist colleague Greggerman's blog, Mythulinity, the byline of which is, "Where men align with their true natures."
One of Mr Kirwan's rants, though nearly a year old already, I Want an Apology, holds many, many of the timelessly funniest as well as the most scathingly honest of salient observations which I've ever been fortunate enough to've read. Although his artwork is quite clearly identifiably his and his alone, think burlesque caricatures with a pornographic twist merging with the best graphic novel art, they run the gamut of every conceivable homoerotic act & scenario & "scene", some of them having distinctively Gay Longhair appropriate themes running through them.
These would include albeit are not limited to his After School Special, wherein two buddies make an agreement, or this longhaired, inked, and intact dude, there, or this New Waver and Hippy coupling, or (please take note, Monsieur Robear) this ancient Egyptian threesome, or this throwback to the days of the Great Western Expansion into more arid climes, or this one of an arboreal rendezvous between interracial friends, or this one having to do with the thematic making of a randy movie, or this of an agreeable Native American with his hirsute, redhead bud enjoying an indoor dalliance, taking place somewhere in the Southwest, I'd presume, judging by the wall hanging's motifs.
Nifty talent the man has, ay? Hopefully, this other Michael will receive the message I shot him on his fb page and join our burgeoning international membership here on GL, too. Peace out, Peace in, and Peace is the only way to win. Namasté ~ (•8-D
Anadae - I've been ad admire of Michael Kirwan's art and his rants for years! Thanks for the link to this one - he puts the cur in curmudgeon. :-)
haha -i missed this one- so great that things have changed from not wanting to be named because one is at a gay party but because one is decked out in super-hero drag!! too funny -no offense please towards the superhero crowd - I think 98 percent (if not more)of gay men are attracted to the superhero physique (from 'swimmers build to weight-lifter superman build) and I have indulged in many sexual fantasies where I am saved by an extremely well built hunk from like 3 other dudes doing something horrible to me:-P)-they are usually only wearing skintight undies tho!!
I just now remembered something cool from seeing my 'mr right but so wrong' for a bit last night wrt your newest article Michael!!
these are almost his exact words "I never thought it would end, Devin, none of it-the- five hundred dollar meals, 2000 dollar suits, limo rides, even private jet rides. Then BOOM-Gone! Now I wonder whats left? Do I go on the grift-become a con-man-a Man of Mystery, (and this one gets me since it isnt an 'obvious' statement) the Mysterious Stranger?" sometimes I do indeed wonder if our gods not only wear spandex but if they are insane!!
my lame advice was to become a singer as he has a beautiful singing voice-at least it is honest work haha!!
cool wv for this*abled as in abled bodied:-)
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