Body Images and Gay Men

Re “I’m a Prisoner of the Body Beautiful,” by Daniel Harris, Commentary, Sept. 29:

Harris argues that pornography causes the gay obsession with lean bodies. I find gay pornography an overwhelmingly boring medium that has no influence on my life. My desire for a lean body comes from a heightened sense of self-respect, dignity and discipline, which is stronger than for many, owing to the process of growing up gay and feeling worthless.

Great health and good looks are the best revenge on oppressive, sagging, out-of-shape straight men.

MICHAEL J. LAMBERT

Laguna Beach

Just when I thought gays could not possibly become more self-indulgent, let alone more self-congratulatory (even for their flaws), comes Harris’ commentary. I’ll limit myself to just one comment:

Harris tries to justify his narcissism by blaming “the inflated aesthetic standards of physical beauty that mainstream gay culture practices like the most punishingly prescriptive form of eugenics.” Hardly. Eugenics refers to attempts to better the “gene pool” via deliberate acts of selection based on “desirable traits.” It can hardly apply to homosexuals, who by definition cannot breed and hence are the antithesis of survival of the fittest.

Harris needs to find a different analogy for his obsession with the body beautiful.

JAMES F. GLASS

Chatsworth