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I’m not ashamed to admit that I enjoy the hell out of Glee. Yes, it’s cheesy and corny and silly and sappy, but it’s not pretending to be anything other than an hour of campy musical television.
Which is why when I heard that Glee’s resident choir-director-cum-rapping-whiteboy, Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison), was going to wear a gold lamé speedo for an upcoming episode (almost certainly for the Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute), I thought, “That sounds hilariously cheese-tastic” rather than “That sounds hot.” I assume …
… this is going to be played for laughs, not swoons. It’s a combination of the tone of the show itself and the article of clothing in question.
It’s not that Morrison isn’t physically attractive — although he’s not my cup of tea, the above picture certainly isn’t bad — it’s just that it seems as though a man in next to nothing is silly, effeminate, even “gay” — but not necessarily sexy. An attractive, fit and bikini-clad woman is provocative, sexy — even inappropriate. But a quick Google search reveals that most people equate Speedos either with homosexuality or older, hairy European gentlemen. A man in a towel can be hot, but a Speedo hardly has me reaching for my smelling salts to ward off “the vapors.”
There hasn’t been much reaction to this story yet on the intertubes, and for the most part, the only source appears to be The Daily Beast (your source for signs of divorce, French women smoking, sexcessories and other hard-hitting news) which doesn’t quote Morrison or anyone from Glee directly, so it does seem somewhat suspect. However, regardless of the veracity of the story itself, the article alternates between drooling over the image of Morrison in an American Apparel bodysuit and making light of the concept of Mr. Schue in a banana hammock on national TV.
And, ultimately, that’s the real question — whether you find the concept of Mr. Schue in a mankini sexy or silly, why is it that women can be endlessly paraded around in bikinis on TV or in film without it causing much stir, but a man being placed in a similar scenario is newsworthy?
What’s your take? Should we want Matthew Morrison to be objectified in the same way a woman would be? Do straight men look silly in small items of clothing like Speedos, and why?
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I totally agree with you, but I couldn’t tell you why. Matthew Morrison in jeans, and shirtless – rawr. In a speedo? No, thank you. It’s just… not attractive. But I don’t know why I think that.
On the plus side – GLEE!!