Who—and what—exactly is this “spornosexual”? As described by Simpson, the “spornosexual” is a man who has become everything to himself, and then given a one-ticket exhibition in the Louvre. He is his own inspiration, his own disciple, his own jealous lover. The image of himself upon which he expends so much attention and effort holds his admiration; the product of countless hours of consuming “selfies, social media, and porn,” his body is essentially himself “photoshopped in real life.” But the phenomenon is something beyond simple egoism, preening, or dandyism instagrammed and selfied. It is its component of physical exhibitionism that distinguishes it as something new and remarkable…
On the “bro” side of the spectrum, the increasing exposure of the manly hairy thigh has become something of a commercial and cultural phenomenon. With a tag line of “Radical Shorts For Men” and a “Sky’s out, thighs out” official mentality (and unofficial motto—just google the phrase), Chubbies—a line of short shorts aimed at men—have conquered the male clothing market. In the second three months of 2012, sales of Chubbies shorts skyrocketed 600 percent. The success of the mid-thigh, elastic-waisted shorts since then continues, and has spawned a type of virtual fraternity: the “ChubsterNation,” with its own phraseology and set of facts to live by. (Its influence has also moved upwards, with couturiers this summer attempting to make the male “short suit” an office staple.)
“Men have objectified women for ages,” said founder Rainer Castillo. “We’ve flipped the game. Now women will objectify them.” While Chubbies’ culture is explicitly fratty (its official Instagram account announces, “Retro badasses, bacon, and occasionally shorts;” beer is a given) and is gleeful and boastful about the Chubster’s supposed knee-weakening effect on women, the conversation, the language, and the culture are explicitly self-referentially male.
