Spornosexual

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Spornosexual is a blend of sports and the clipping porno, compounded with sexual. The term was coined by Mark Simpson in 2014 to describe a man "who is influenced in his appearance by the stars of sport and pornography". [1] [2] [3] It recognises young men who use "their toned bodies on social media as a means of feeling valuable in society." [4] Jamie Hakim has described this as a "power-shift of a segment of society who have historically defined themselves through their mind, whilst at the same time defining those they have subordinated - such as women - through their bodies". [5]

Contents

Simpson also coined the term metrosexual in 1994. [6] [7]

Details

The term originated in an article by cultural commentator Mark Simpson in 2014; [8] [9] Simpson's metrosexual is a portmanteau of metropolitan and heterosexual. [10] He describes spornosexuals as frequently working class men who exercise at a gym in order to share eroticised selfies of their toned bodies on social media. [8] [11] Simpson considers spornosexuality as the second, [12] more extreme, [13] generation of metrosexuality, since the "uptake by men of products, practises and pleasures previously ring-fenced for women and gay men" has become normalised. [12] Instead, Simpson claims, spornosexual men want to be recognised for their bodies rather than their clothes. [12] [14] Examples of such men include Dan Osborne, Thom Evans, David McIntosh [12] [15] [16] and Cristiano Ronaldo. [17] [18] [19]

Jamie Hakim's research, "The Spornosexual: the affective contradictions of male body-work in neoliberal digital culture", was published in the Journal of Gender Studies in 2016. [20] Hakim writes that young men defining their value through their body is a response to the effects of austerity on them since 2008, when the ability to create value through other means became harder. [8] [21] [22] "This is all the more surprising because this use of body-image to derive social value has long been associated with groups men tended to be viewed as inferior." [5] HuffPost said this research "went as far as blaming the financial crisis for the rise of the 'Spornosexual'". [4]

Greg Wolfman has written about a proliferation of men's "consumer lifestyles", or "marketed manhoods", that includes spornosexual with lumbersexual and hipster. [23]

See also

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References

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  13. Olesker, Max (12 January 2015). "The Rise And Rise of the Spornosexual". Esquire. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
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  18. "Forget metrosexuals, Cristiano Ronaldo is actually a spornosexual". Irish Examiner . 16 February 2016. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  19. "Cristiano Ronaldo a spornosexual at Real Madrid, Van Gaal explains truth of Bastian Schweinsteiger move to Manchester United, Leeds United fans protest owner, Pep Guardiola Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham". FoxSports.com . 16 February 2016. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
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Further reading