Living My Best Life With My Curvy Wife
May 24, 2019 6:32 AM   Subscribe

 
Will it silence his internet haters?

This may be the most vapid headline not-actually-a-question in the history of Betteridge's Law.
posted by automatronic at 6:41 AM on May 24, 2019 [32 favorites]


I thought this article would be clowning on him, but I found it to be a surprisingly thorough and sympathetic piece with a nice focus on his wife and on body positivity. I still think he is a fairly ridiculous human but this article was good.
posted by leesh at 6:44 AM on May 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


It's not hard to see why he's getting the backlash that he's been getting - he's tying fetishization into body positivity, which is bad. The point of body positivity (before it was hijacked by marketing) is self-care and being happy with yourself - not whether or not one's body sufficiently turns another's crank.
posted by NoxAeternum at 6:46 AM on May 24, 2019 [51 favorites]


I'm guessing women holding signs that say "THICK" or even "THICC" isn't going to travel well.
posted by chavenet at 6:49 AM on May 24, 2019


Is Curvy Wife Guy a Wife Guy?
posted by clawsoon at 6:53 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Is Curvy Wife Guy a Wife Guy?

Yes, he's one of the first guys mentioned in that article.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 6:55 AM on May 24, 2019 [11 favorites]


Alternate take: 1 afternoon with Curvy Wife Guy (Madison Malone Kircher at NY Mag)
posted by ohkay at 6:56 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Sarah seems okay with her husband’s exploitation of her body and her image (the article notes she resents outside observers describing their relationship as exploitation), but jeepers this whole thing is creepy.

“Right now the goal is “‘desert money.’” Indeed.
posted by notyou at 7:02 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Once we decide on whose whatzit we adore, it is fetishized. Such is the nature of our beast. I look at this as a ticket to "permission to be, or feel." This seems a healthy burlesque in some old school sense.

Maybe the sell job for the franchise is what? Well, you can't unsee it, that is for sure. Seems joyous to me, like a whole lotta love starts out. When love and attraction monetizes, everyone is product. This is a sort of sell / anti sell. There is a future for tanning products here.

This world!
posted by Oyéah at 7:03 AM on May 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Yes, he's one of the first guys mentioned in that article.

Thanks. I was completely confused by that article, so I didn't put things together.
posted by clawsoon at 7:03 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


I really can’t imagine the pressure I’d feel as his wife, like I could never escape an exploitative male gaze, even in my most intimate relationship. What happens if my body changes? What happens if I get tired of being defined by my body?
posted by sallybrown at 7:09 AM on May 24, 2019 [26 favorites]


Curvy Wife Guy’s wife is pregnant, so her body is changing now.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:15 AM on May 24, 2019


Doesn't everyone in a relationship with a man have those insecurities, though, sallybrown?
posted by Selena777 at 7:16 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


It's not hard to see why he's getting the backlash that he's been getting - he's tying fetishization into body positivity, which is bad. The point of body positivity (before it was hijacked by marketing) is self-care and being happy with yourself - not whether or not one's body sufficiently turns another's crank.

There's a more subtle point too, which is that even to the extent you may care about turning another's crank, this gives the message that the only people whose crank you'll turn are those who have a specific attraction to your body type.

It hides the reality that many people really just don't care that much about body shape in their partners. That's a perfectly healthy way to be, but something that the media often seems to be completely unable to get their heads around.

The assumption seems to be that if you date a fat person, it must be because you have a thing for that body shape and wouldn't be interested in dating a skinny person. Amplifying this sort of crap just reinforces that.

There's really nothing at all to distinguish this guy from anyone else. He's presenting his wife as a sex object and making music videos about how she's exactly the body shape that he has a thing for. No different from all the dudes doing the same for skinny chicks.
posted by automatronic at 7:24 AM on May 24, 2019 [35 favorites]


Doesn't everyone in a relationship with a man have those insecurities, though, sallybrown?

That has not been my experience at all. In fact, the feeling of being free from an exploitative gaze—that a man can truly see the me beyond/inside my body—has always been my signal that I found someone compatible.
posted by sallybrown at 7:26 AM on May 24, 2019 [14 favorites]


This somehow reminds me of leafing through People magazine in the break room at work when I was a teenager. On the one hand, it's hard to believe that something so bland and trashy is so popular; I mean who among us gives a shit about this one guy's perfectly normal sexual preferences? On the other hand, hey, it's sort of nice to get in touch with an aspect of mainstream culture that I'd normally never see, being all weird and isolated from it, and not a user of Instagram. It used to be that the Internet was going to make us more fragmented into separate social groups, but somehow it seems harder than ever to get by without being aware of this stuff.
posted by sfenders at 7:26 AM on May 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Yeah, I mean, I love my wife's body because it's hers. Like my own body, hers has gone through changes in the time we've been together, and I'm looking forward to continuing to love her body as it goes through more changes as we continue to age together. Despite what popular culture would have us believe, I don't think this is terribly unusual.

I can understand why body positivity focusing on the message "curvy and fat women are beautiful" gets traction, and I think it's important for people to understand that there is not one universally accepted standard of beauty. But it's also important for people to understand that an individual person's concept of what is beautiful can and does evolve with the changing body of the person they love. Unfortunately when the former message veers into fetishism, the latter message gets eclipsed.
posted by biogeo at 7:42 AM on May 24, 2019 [16 favorites]


Obligatory
posted by Philipschall at 7:49 AM on May 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


The best part is the postscripts.
As of publication, the writer of this piece remains blocked by both Curvy Wife Guy and his Curvy Wife.

Update May 13, 10:23 a.m.: The writer of this piece has been unblocked by Curvy Wife Guy, but not by his Curvy Wife.

Update May 13, 11:03 a.m.: The writer of this piece has once again been blocked by Curvy Wife Guy.
posted by corb at 8:00 AM on May 24, 2019 [30 favorites]


Wait I just watched the video and I desperately need to inform you of the lyric “I dunk that donk like Andrew Wiggins”
posted by corb at 8:05 AM on May 24, 2019 [10 favorites]


Spoiler alert: if you’re wondering, what does he rhyme with Wiggins? He doesn’t.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:13 AM on May 24, 2019 [9 favorites]


It's an interesting article, and I applaud the hubs and wife for undergoing such scrutiny and online rage.

Off-topic, I was tickled by this snippet about the challenge of shooting photos in the desert:

The sky is a frequent issue for influencers living in Arizona: Because it’s so bright, the subject ends up looking too dark. The problem is solved, however, when Robbie switches from a real camera to his iPhone. “This is it,” he decides. “This is the vibe.”
posted by davidmsc at 8:35 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


so uh, if Sarah gets really into Crossfit and a year later has a 6-pack and the ability to bench-press her husband, will he record a new music video?
posted by allegedly at 8:42 AM on May 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Maybe then he can become Love My Wife’s Body Because It’s My Wife’s Guy.
posted by sallybrown at 8:50 AM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


The thing that skeezes me out about this is he’s both doing a “my tastes differ from what mainstream society thinks they should be in a still-quite-acceptable way, and that makes me not just interesting but praise-worthy” thing AND a subtle form of the negging/abusive “you’re lucky I like you because no one else could” thing

ew.
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:52 AM on May 24, 2019 [26 favorites]


I didn't think it was so ~subversive~ to find your own conventionally beautiful wife attractive. It's actually kind of upsetting to find out that it is?

I also have to roll my eyes at this guy's total indifference to actually looking hot himself at ANY time. It's like the whole world is his Hot or Not contest and he's sitting there as judge, untouchable. But yet clearly a catch, ladies, because he's a marginally "open-minded" judge!

Who died and made him the personification of the male gaze. Done with that shit.

Sometimes I feel like I live in a parallel universe.
posted by rue72 at 9:13 AM on May 24, 2019 [34 favorites]


It's a reminder that not only are fat people's medicalized bodies open to everyone's critique, our familial, sexual, and social relationships are as well. So few people come out of this non-scandal scandal of the week looking good to me.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 9:19 AM on May 24, 2019 [7 favorites]


Actress Melanie Lynskey made the definitive tweets on this guy:
Like many women, I am not here for the curvy wife lovin' dude and here's why. I have had too many creepy men tweet @ me saying how hot they think I am & how they'd date me. The expectation is that I'll be flattered. ...and surprised. There's an entitlement that even the most average, mediocre man feels towards women who are not "conventionally attractive." There's this air of "call me crazy, but I'd bang you! Aren't I a prince?" It makes me truly sick.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:08 AM on May 24, 2019 [61 favorites]


I learned about this dude from the "Wife Guy" thread linked way up above, and didn't know until now that he had posted pictures of himself and Sarah. Which means that my main takeaway from this article is that Curvy Wife Guy might be Macklemore but I'm not sure.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:20 AM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


There's this air of "call me crazy, but I'd bang you! Aren't I a prince?"

rem acu tetigisti
posted by salt grass at 10:20 AM on May 24, 2019


I am a gentleman who likes the girls with the boom. I don't know why. I just do.

You know what I'm not, though? I'm not a guy who thinks I'm doing those women any favors, deserve special credit, need to call attention to it, etc.

This guy is a skeeze.
posted by escape from the potato planet at 11:14 AM on May 24, 2019 [5 favorites]


He wants to publish a rhyming children’s book, which technically he’s already written, called Getting Dressed With Sarah, about body positivity for young girls.

0_0
posted by Hypatia at 11:27 AM on May 24, 2019 [6 favorites]


there's nothing good that can't be spoiled by a dude who's way too into it
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:41 AM on May 24, 2019 [50 favorites]


He hasn't asked me, but if he wants my opinion on this it's: "Shut up." or better yet: "When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."
posted by tommasz at 12:11 PM on May 24, 2019 [3 favorites]


Just to get some terms straight according to various activists I follow:
Body Positivity - A political and social movement (modern waves started by fat black women) that pushes not just personal acceptance of the body but political and cultural acceptance and diversity and equality. It's external activism for inclusion. It also includes disabled people trying to make change within the government or access. Many activists have turned to other terms because of how mixed the message has gotten (such as Fat Activism, Disabled Activism, Black Activism, etc.)
(It does seem that the article uses Body Positively mostly correctly with it being about activism.)

Self Love/Body Love/Body Acceptance - Movements to accept your own body and be comfortable in it. It pushes against ideas against media, culture, politics but isn't necessarily activists externally beyond trying to reach others. It encourages diversity but the focus is mostly internal.

What body positivity or body love is NOT:
A sexualization of certain body types that you are not a part of.
Expecting praise because you are attracted to someone who is outside the very narrow range of body expectations set by society.
Acting like your gaze legitimizes a body type as being worthy.
Acting as if her body is SO FAR outside of the conventional beauty standard that you must be a saint to look past it or be attracted to it. (Not at all do discredit her, I am SURE she has faced discrimination. But she is conventionally attractive, white, able bodied, and can still shop straight sizes*. As far as I know. )
And finally, making a silly "rap" appropriating black culture with BVE with the male gaze.

On one hand we have (often white, often able bodied, often on the thin/thinner side) people who came out of bat for this extremely low bar of loving someone. And yet Dr Phil says a couple can't last if one of them is disabled and hardly a word from anyone able bodied in response.

This guy doesn't deserve hate and threats. But he also shouldn't get a cookie. And I do still feel bad for her. He seems to want to profit off HER body. Why didn't SHE write the body acceptance book about getting dressed?

You can be an ally and co activist in spaces you personally aren't part of. My husband has shut some shit down when he's heard ableist garbage. But he also doesn't feel like a hero. He feels like a guy who did the right thing and doesn't brag about it on social media.

And that's the issue at core. Curvy Wife Guy WANTS attention and accolades for himself for loving his wife. Not to push against ideals of beauty in general. Not to give his wife praise for dealing with all the garbage that comes with being a woman and a larger woman. No. He wants a New York Times best seller.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:19 PM on May 24, 2019 [19 favorites]


Like many women, I am not here for the curvy wife lovin' dude and here's why. I have had too many creepy men tweet @ me saying how hot they think I am & how they'd date me. The expectation is that I'll be flattered. ...and surprised. There's an entitlement that even the most average, mediocre man feels towards women who are not "conventionally attractive." There's this air of "call me crazy, but I'd bang you! Aren't I a prince?" It makes me truly sick.

I'm about a dress size larger than chubby wife and basically stopped dating, not so much because continual barrage of "You're almost hot for a fat girl" or dates where I'd literally get told that "we have chemistry, but I mean, I'm trying to project an image of success and you're not what success looks like," but the guys who thought they deserved a medal for taking me out in a "look how open minded I am" typically followed up by " I thought it would be cool to take out a fat girl, once, but I'm going to hand it to you straight: I could never actually be in a longterm relationship with someone who so obviously doesn't care about body or her health."

So yeah, I'm glad they're happy ( I guess), but whatever. Not helping.
posted by thivaia at 1:02 PM on May 24, 2019 [13 favorites]


It hides the reality that many people really just don't care that much about body shape in their partners. That's a perfectly healthy way to be, but something that the media often seems to be completely unable to get their heads around.

Well the thing about media is it's made of pictures and if all you got is pictures, then how someone looks is gonna be the main thing that matters.

When you're with someone in person, how they look is just one piece of the experience of being with them. And when you know someone for a while, what you see when you look at them is drastically affected by all the other things you know about them.

I have twin daughters who many people can't tell apart, but they don't look the same to me at all. I often have to make a conscious effort to even be aware of the similarity between them.
posted by straight at 4:18 PM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Doesn't everyone in a relationship with a man have those insecurities

Dudes? And other folks? It's possible to just never talk about who you think is and isn't attractive. If you have a significant other, you don't have to compare and contrast them with anyone. You don't have to tell other people what attracts you to your SO nor go off to your SO about who else you are or aren't attracted to.

I recommend it.
posted by straight at 4:22 PM on May 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


Ugh. White guy rapping.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 4:26 PM on May 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


I’m enjoying singing the song to my baby as though she is My Curvy Wife - I haven’t slept in weeks! She keeps me up at night!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:29 AM on May 25, 2019


I was just thinking of Steven Universe, as you do. Early on, the cartoon had a song called "Giant Woman," which, in context, is the most innocent little thing you could ask to hear. It's about how cool it would be to be a giant woman because then you could kick ass. When I heard it, I had a brief traffic jam of emotions. I had heard of fetishes for giant women, of course, but I had never heard somebody just say a giant woman would be awesome just because being huge is awesome and women are awesome. I loved that.

This? Is not that. It is the polar opposite of that. A man crowning himself for the achievement of recording a hip-hop song about how he likes huge asses is the whitest thing I have seen today, and I have been to the mirror already.

His wife seems happy. I hope she is. It is not the way I would want to be loved, and that is fine. But someone who makes a production out of adoring you is dangerous. You never know what they will do when you stop giving them what they want. And sometimes you don't even know what that really is.
posted by Countess Elena at 9:03 AM on May 25, 2019 [7 favorites]




He makes money doing this so, by the laws of capitalism, he is doing a good thing.
posted by mellow seas at 3:00 PM on May 25, 2019


Doesn't everyone in a relationship with a man have those insecurities, though, sallybrown?
no. you have to be with the right man tho.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 3:54 PM on May 25, 2019 [1 favorite]


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