Whether or not unconscious, there's a disturbing element of homophobia and misogyny mixed up in the criticism. 'Real men' are apparently above engaging in such silly vanity exercises. While individual explanations vary, they all seem to boil down to one essential idea - that the contraptions are ridiculous, effete and somehow altogether too feminine to be considered attractive. Most people I've spoken to casually about the images reject them on sight. Cast so wholly and unabashedly under the gaze typically reserved for women, I started to think that the look was - dare I say it - kind of sexy. Skimpy slings (or 'schlong thongs' as Norris jokingly refers to them) leave very little to the imagination, which is an unusual position for most men to be in.
Where did it all go? How did it stay up? Why is this on my computer screen? But as the days passed and person after person reposted, I started to feel a little differently about them.
When I first saw the images, I balked along with everyone else.
