ABSTRACT
In our society women are bom barded with advertising and exhortations to maintain their attractiveness by keep ing thin, and fashions are designed to suit those who succeed. Predictably, some overdo it and become anorexic. While men too are enjoined to keep trim, many fail to achieve the ideal. Gay men are more suc cessful in this struggle than straight men, and the styles they favor tend to show off slender bodies. Yet even within the overall "thinist" aesthetic there are variations. In the 1960s and early '70s an almost emaci ated look prevailed, promoted by the counterculture and no doubt conditioned by appetite-suppressing drugs. With the increasing popularity of gymnasia, how ever, gay men began to admire a more hefty look, though one characterized by muscle rather than fat.
